{"id":102426,"date":"2025-04-07T12:22:21","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T16:22:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=102426"},"modified":"2025-04-07T12:30:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T16:30:05","slug":"author-louisa-may-alcott-loved-in-her-day-and-now-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/author-louisa-may-alcott-loved-in-her-day-and-now-part-1.html","title":{"rendered":"Author Louisa May Alcott: Loved in Her Day, and Now (part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this two-part article, Katie Rebecca Merkley writes of her lifelong love of the author Louisa May Alcott, especially her novel \u201cLittle Women.\u201d Katie specializes in U.S. research for family history, enjoys writing and researching, and is developing curricula for teaching children genealogy.<\/em><\/p>\n

Not everyone is descended from famous authors of olden times, but we can still feel a genealogical connection because our ancestors may have been influenced by their works. One such writer for me is Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), who was a popular author in her day and still is.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: \u201cLouisa May Alcott, writer, abolitionist, and Civil War nurse,\u201d 1870. Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I discovered her by reading Little Women<\/em> as a girl. Later, I found more of her books in the public library and my library app, including the sequel to Little Women<\/em> titled Little Men<\/em>. When I was dating my husband, I made him watch the latest movie adaptation of Little Women<\/em> with me.<\/p>\n

Modern authors and publishers post about their newest books on social media. Likewise, our ancestors had newspapers to inform them of their favorite authors. This two-part series will examine some of Louisa May Alcott\u2019s appearances in newspapers during her lifetime.<\/p>\n

How She Wrote<\/strong><\/p>\n

A newspaper reporter in 1886 wrote about how different authors of the time wrote their books. One of the authors featured in this article was Louisa May Alcott. Alcott\u2019s writing style involved forming plots in her head and then writing them down \u201cas if she were copying.\u201d She did not have a study, being content to use an atlas as a lap desk. She seldom wrote in her hometown of Concord, Massachusetts, but preferred to rent a room in Boston. There, she would write for 14 hours at a time, \u201cscarcely tasting food until the work was done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Springfield Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts), 13 November 1886, page 7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The report of Miss Alcott writing for hours at a time without eating is reminiscent of Jo in Little Women<\/em>, the character who is based on Alcott herself.<\/p>\n

Some Stories & Reviews Published in Newspapers<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cJimmy\u2019s Cruise on the Pinafore\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many stories from a variety of authors were published in newspapers, especially in the 19th century. I found a Louisa May Alcott story published by the Kalamazoo Gazette<\/em> in 1879.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Kalamazoo Gazette (Kalamazoo, Michigan), 16 October 1879, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The story is about a poor Boston boy named Jimmy Nelson. His sister was sick and needed to go to the country, but his parents couldn\u2019t afford it. As Jimmy was figuring out how to earn money to send his sister to the country, his friend approached him and informed him that \u201csome folks are going to get [the play Pinafore<\/em>] up with children to do it\u201d and those who got in would get paid. Jimmy and his friend, Willy, went to the auditions the next day and got into the play. The play provided Jimmy with enough money not only to send his family to the country but also to get himself nicer clothes and presents for his sister.<\/p>\n

When the story was first published, newspaper subscribers who liked the extract would have gone to their local bookshop to get a printed copy of the complete story. A quick Google search revealed that \u201cJimmy\u2019s Cruise on the Pinafore\u201d was part of a collection of stories called Aunt Jo\u2019s Scrap-Bag<\/em>, which was published in multiple volumes. Volume 5 was entitled Jimmy\u2019s Cruise in the Pinafore and Other Stories<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Advertisements & Reviews of Hospital Sketches<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Hospital Sketches<\/em>, a book featuring four sketches of Alcott\u2019s experiences as a nurse during the Civil War, helped Louisa May Alcott become famous. Initially, the individual sketches were each published in the newspaper Commonwealth<\/em>, in Boston, Massachusetts, before being compiled into a book and published in 1863.<\/p>\n

This photo of Alcott was taken in 1862 shortly before she began working as a nurse. The picture is from \u201cLouisa May Alcott: Her Life, Letters, and Journals\u201d by Ednah Dow Cheney, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1919.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Louisa May Alcott. Credit: Wikipedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The following newspaper advertisement announces the upcoming publication of the book Hospital Sketches<\/em>, with \u201clarge additions, and the author\u2019s last corrections,\u201d and warns:<\/p>\n

\u201cNo republication of the new chapters will be permitted in any journal.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"An<\/a>
Commonwealth (Boston, Massachusetts), 17 July 1863, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I found reviews of this book in GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a>. Reviews of stories published in newspapers seem the most likely ancestor of Amazon and Google reviews. Two of these are shown below.<\/p>\n

This first review was originally published in the newspaper New York Evangelist<\/em>, and reprinted in the Boston paper Commonwealth<\/em>. This review describes the story as a \u201cgraphic narrative of army hospital life\u201d with scenes of terror, pathos, and humor.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Commonwealth (Boston, Massachusetts), 27 November 1863, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Whether they read the stories separately in the newspaper or all together in the book, many people wrote about how much they liked them, such as the comments shown below.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Commonwealth (Boston, Massachusetts), 16 October 1863, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Were other stories by Louisa May Alcott also published in newspapers? In Little Women<\/em>, Jo published stories in the newspaper anonymously. She had written sensational stories that would sell but did not want her family to know she had written them.<\/p>\n

If this was based on real life, then there would be more stories written by Louisa May Alcott in the newspapers, but they would not come up by searching for her name. It is known she occasionally published under the pen name A. M. Barnard, and she may have used other pseudonyms.<\/p>\n

Aside from story extracts, reviews and advertisements for her books, some newspapers published biographical sketches of Louisa May Alcott. Stay tuned for the next article in this series to learn more!<\/p>\n

Explore over 330 years of newspapers and historical records in GenealogyBank. Discover your family story! Start a 7-Day Free Trial<\/a><\/p>\n

Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> Louisa May Alcott, from \u201cLouisa May Alcott, Her Life, Letters, and Journals,\u201d published by Little, Brown & Co, Boston, 1889. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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