The daughter of Amos Bronson Alcott, a well-known New England reformer and Transcendentalist, much of her life was spent in Boston and Concord, surrounded by friends such as Hawthorne, Thoreau and Emerson. She began her writing career with Flower Fables in 1854, a collection of fairy tales for children. During the Civil War, Alcott was a volunteer nurse and contracted Typhoid, which was to leave her unwell for much of the remainder of her life. Her Hospital Sketches (1863), which consisted of her letters during this period, was very well-received and she began to publish stories in Atlantic Monthly. She published Little Women in 1868, which was an instant success and has remained one of the most popular "girl's" books ever published.
The majority of Alcott's work was aimed at an audience of children. She did produce some serious work as well, however, these were never as successful. |
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