Customer Reviews (2)

The Girlhood Diary of Louisa May Alcott: 1843-1846
Excerpts from a diary reflect the life and times of Louisa May Alcott.Through her entries in a journal, Louisa is presented as a real girl, with heartful emotions.An editor's note, afterword, and insets offer more information about the time period.Authentic, the author has attempted to preserve the original writings, including misspellings. I found the biography is easy to read and informative.

The Girlhood Diary of Louisa May Alcott: 1843-1846
Excerpts from a diary reflect the life and times of Louisa May Alcott.Through her entries in a journal, Louisa is presented as a real girl, with heartful emotions.An editor's note, afterword, and insets offer more information about the time period.Authentic, the author has attempted to preserve the original writings, including misspellings. I found the biography is to read and informative. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (41)

Now that's literature
What a spectacular book! I can't believe Louisa May Alcott wrote this at the age of seventeen. Without becoming unrealistic, the characters in The Inheritance embody all the generous, graceful, and gallant qualities that make our hearts skip a beat. Take a step back in time with this wonderful book; you won't be sorry you did!

A good way to spend an afternoon
The second of Alcott's "darker" novels that I have read.This was not nearly as dark as "A Long Fatal Love Chase".A much shorter book the characters are still very well drawn, the plot is a little less complex but not in anyway that detracts from enjoying the book.I am definately finding myself preferring this side of her pen.

Edith Adelon is an Italian orphan that has been taken in by a noble English family as the companion for the daughter. Her goodness and purity attract all except the haughty cousin of the family, Lady Ida--who is jealous of Edith's beauty and talents and the love that she inspires in those around her.Lord Percy is a friend of the family and is attracted to all things good and kind--he himself being an exemplary figure of kindness (sacrificing the love he felt for a woman so his younger brother could marry her).

Everything comes to a head in one very dramatic scene and is very interestingly played out. It sort of made me think of Cinderella in a way.A quick but enjoyable read.

a good Victorian story
This was a very enjoyable story to listen to.I enjoyed hearing it read by Kate Burton.Her intonnation and ability to switch her voice between English and American accents was very effective.

An Amazingly Wonderful Book
The Inheritance is a book that is amazing, romantic, and altogether wonderful. I just picked it up today, and I finished it in less than a half hour. It's THAT good.
The Inheritance pushed me into a totally different world. I was awed to see the incredible events in this book. It's about a shy, beautiful governess named Edith with an unknown inheritance and endless talents. She helps people in need, plays different instruments, and has a beautiful singing voice. She charms many people--especially men--and is loved by all. Unfortunately, "all" doesn't mean "everyone". There is a jealous, proud character named Lady Ida, the cousin of the girl Edith governesses, and she despises Edith. While Edith unconsciously falls in love with handsome and kind Lord Percy, she must fight off an unsuitable suitor, a terrible relation threatening her, befriend a page boy who is a thieving gambler, and still remain her humble and sweet nature. Somehow, after being accused of the page boy's theft and still remaining kind and stable, she accomplishes these things and makes this book a true winner.

For Louisa May Alcott fans
I bought this book after I saw the DVD version of "The Inheritance".If you do not like virtue, idealism, sweetness, nobility, and selflessness contrasted with utter maliciousness, don't buy the book.It was fun to see what Alcott could write at the age of seventeen and to observe the effects of what was popular at the time upon her own first attempt at a novel.Enjoy it for what it is without expecting maturity or perfection as a writer.Compare it to the fun of reading Jane Austin's first attempts at novels--"Love and Freindship," for example. ... Read more

Book Description
Louisa May Alcott is fascinated by her Concord neighbor Henry David Thoreau. He carries a flute in his pocket and a pencil behind his ear, and he takes the children of the town on nature excursions.

Writing is difficult for Louisa, so she admires the way Mr. Thoreau can jot down a few lines in his notebook when a thought occurs. Through their friendship, will Mr. Thoreau be able to help Louisa find her own inspiration?

The exquisite woodcuts of Caldecott Medal winner Mary Azarian transport readers to nineteenth-century Massachusetts to discover a friendship between two of America's most beloved authors, and their search to find their own inner voices. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN KINDRED SOULS

The childhood of Louisa May Alcott is surely a subject to fascinate young readers.While many recognize her as the author of the classic "Little Women," few may know that she also penned a poem, "Thoreau's Flute," a mournful tribute to her childhood friend, Henry Thoreau.In her verse she laments that "The genius of the wood is lost."

Louisa, very much like Thoreau, was drawn to nature.She wrote as a child and her authorial skills bloomed under the tutelage of her proud parents.Nonetheless, she found time to run off to the concord woods where Thoreau had built a hut, and Louisa said that she felt closest to God.

The Walden Pond area was often visited by Louisa and her sisters who enjoyed picnicking near the water and rowing on the Pond.

This story of a young girl's friendship with a kindred soul is beautifully illustrated with woodcuts, apt companions for a tale emphasizing individual realization and nature's bounty.

- Gail Cooke

Inspiring for young creatives
The other evening I descended my stairs to find my husband snuggled on the couch with a picture book and my 3 year old son, reading. This is not unusual. What was unusual was that my thirteen year old daughter sat with them listening intently as well. The book, not surprisingly, was Louisa May and Mr. Thoreaus Flute.
It is a well woven story of inspiration and the search for authentic self. The illustrations have a distinctly natural appeal that defers to the passion of Thoreau very well. They absorbed my youngest. The story and the words are engaging and inspiring enough for my eldest, a big fan of Little Women. It is a lovely book to share with your young creatives. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Informational Book
I had to do an research paper on Louisa May Alcott,and I had to basicly base my paper on what influenced her to write, why did she write about the things she did, and that such.I received this book and it was an excellent source, and it had all types of valuable information. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent Literary Analysis
Sarah Elbert does an excellent job charting a cursory but thorough biography of Louisa May Alcott and her parents.Tying the development of philosophical beliefs and life events to her literature, Elbertdemonstrates the role of Alcott's intense committment to abolition andwomen's rights in her work.She conducts particular in depth analyses ofseveral of Alcott's "adult" novels as well as the March familyseries (Little Women, Little Men, Jo's Boys).I was especially interestedin the family conflict Alcott felt between her domestic obligations ofsupporting and caring for her mother and father and her dedication to hercareer.Things haven't changed all that much have they?I was previouslyunaware of Louisa's long struggle with illness brought about by thetreatment for typhoid she received after being infected while working as aCivil War nurse.An excellent resource and well-written. ... Read more

Book Description
Louisa May Alcott was very popular and respected as the author of novels, sensational tales, travel writing and temperance tracts. In addition to providing a wealth of new information for scholars interested in the writer, this considerable collection of nineteenth-century reviews also reveals more about the ways in which reading audiences were constructed in the nineteenth-century U.S.The reviews provide a window into nineteenth-century attitudes toward popular fiction and women writers as well. ... Read more