Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
62nd out of 90 books
—
1,576 voters
Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women
Biography tracing the fascinating life of Louisa May Alcott from her happy childhood in Pennsylvania and Boston to her success as a writer of such classics as Little women.
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
October 1st 1995
by Little, Brown and Company
(first published January 1st 1933)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
2,984)
This is one of the greatest biographical stories that I have ever read.
It is exceptionally heartfelt and wise and touching for any fictional narrative, but for a TRUE story it simply blows almost all others right out of the proverbial water. Cornelia Meigs has a brilliantly sweet touch that infuses her writing with warm energy, flowing unmistakably through every paragraph and sentence and word. I found myself on the verge of tears at several points, but what really resonated with me deepest of...more
It is exceptionally heartfelt and wise and touching for any fictional narrative, but for a TRUE story it simply blows almost all others right out of the proverbial water. Cornelia Meigs has a brilliantly sweet touch that infuses her writing with warm energy, flowing unmistakably through every paragraph and sentence and word. I found myself on the verge of tears at several points, but what really resonated with me deepest of...more
I have long been a fan of several of the books by Louisa May Alcott -- especially "Little Women." Who isn't a fan of that book?? Several years ago my four daughters and I fell in love with the movie adaptation of the book (Wynona Ryder plays the part of Jo). It is a beautiful family movie, especially for moms and daughters. Then, two years ago my husband and I went to Boston on vacation and while reading a brochure of things to do in the area, my husband found that Louisa May Allcott had grown u...more
First of all, I have to say sorry, and at first time, I did not know that if I put “currently reading” on Good Read then my review is not show up to other people, so I had to read another short book, so I picked this book, which is “Little Women”, this book was short, and I knew this story before, so I could read in short time. Anyway, after read this book I realize that this story has not only these sisters’ childhood but also their adult life too. Maybe other people think that ‘you did not kno...more
The winner of the 1934 Newbery, this non-fiction work tells of Louisa’s family, her deep bond with her loved ones, her struggles in poverty and as a nurse and with typhoid, and finally her writing success. It’s an informative book, written in the rather overly convoluted style of the time, but certainly understandable to anyone who enjoys Alcott’s own works. I had no idea that her father, Bronson, was celebrated in his time for his prescient and bizarre ideas on children’s education and communal...more
Nov 05, 2011
Kristine
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
memoir-or-biography
What a wonderfully vivid portrait of Louisa May Alcott has been given to readers in this biography by Cornelia Meigs, first published in 1932.
I read the Centennial Edition of INVINCIBLE LOUISA, which was released to honor the hundredth anniversary of the publication of Little Women.
In that edition, the author included a three page introduction that suggested to me at least one possible reason why this particular biography outshone some of the other biographical writings I have read previously...more
I so enjoyed reading the story of how one of my favorite childhood books came about. Yes, I loved Little Women, but I was caught up in Eight Cousins. I remember getting my first copy of LW while sick in bead from a beloved aunt. She had gotten me Black Beauty my previous illness. I think reading of Beth's illness while oI was laid up was too much for me at the time. But , I loved her writing so much that I had to keep going through all the books! Reading of the great friendships with Emerson an...more
I can't believe I'm already up to 1934 in the Read the Newberys project!
Several one-off comments I wanted to record here:
I just recently re-read Little Women (which I highly recommend adults do), and I really enjoyed this one more having done so. I read this in 3rd or 4th or 5th grade, but I'm sure it was only because I'd just read LW. My guess is that this is much more enjoyable if you read it following the novel. Much less plodding, and far more interesting.
The secretary on the cover of my...more
Several one-off comments I wanted to record here:
I just recently re-read Little Women (which I highly recommend adults do), and I really enjoyed this one more having done so. I read this in 3rd or 4th or 5th grade, but I'm sure it was only because I'd just read LW. My guess is that this is much more enjoyable if you read it following the novel. Much less plodding, and far more interesting.
The secretary on the cover of my...more
This biography of Louisa May Alcott won the 1934 Newbery Medal. This biography would not have been written today. Many things were commented upon by the author, often in a nostalgic, “and it shall never be that way again” sort of way. I found the content to be somewhat interesting, but the narrative style to be annoying when it deviated from relaying events and instead turned to the writer praising the wonderfulness of the Alcott family or lamenting the loss of days gone by. I did learn many thi...more
Written in 1933 the language is beautiful. I am amazed, however, at the positive and glowing description of LMA’s father. Her father is well known to have been a dreamer, a never-do-well, woefully inadequate as a bread-winner for the family. The family was in constant finical distress till LMA herself began her publishing career; the strains due solely to her father’s wandering and placement of vague ideals above solid employment to support his wife and 4 children. The hard life and the constant...more
I got this book from my neighbor, who is trying to read all the newberry award books. Since I own a few I think I will try the adventure as well. This book is aobut Louisa May Alcott, her life and works. The book has been criticized by some as a low ranking newberry honoree, but maybe because it was a biography and not some thrilling fiction tale. I enjoyed the book and was interested in hearing about LMA's background and how it figured into her beloved stories. It also brought to my attention m...more
Just one of many books that makes me wish I had a daughter to pass it on to.
Confession time for me: I use to stay up late at night, writing in my journal, pretending to be Jo March ;) What a great role model for young women...and I just love the sisterly relationships and of course, the beloved "marmee"!
Confession time for me: I use to stay up late at night, writing in my journal, pretending to be Jo March ;) What a great role model for young women...and I just love the sisterly relationships and of course, the beloved "marmee"!
I’ve often heard little stories about the Louisa of this book, Louisa May Alcott, but I’ve never read much real information about her. This is a biography of her life. Louisa grew up in a family determined to change the world by actively living their beliefs. She was best known as the author of Little Women.
As interesting to me as Louisa May Alcott was her father. Bronson Alcott was friends with every influential person of his time including Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorn. He barely made enough...more
As interesting to me as Louisa May Alcott was her father. Bronson Alcott was friends with every influential person of his time including Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorn. He barely made enough...more
AMAZING! Beautiful and revealing story of the life of Louisa May Alcott. What a person she was! No wonder this book won the Newberry! Told in such a way that we can feel the things Louisa felt!
Decent for a biography, some good descriptions. Otherwise unremarkable. I think I would have enjoyed reading Little Women instead.
"It was a time of great happiness, peace and security, those first two years of the Alcotts' married life. Happiness was to continue, sometimes interrupted in strange ways; but peace and security were not to come again for a very long time."
"...here, most of all, were the unruffled peace and the genuine happiness of living, of a household devoted and gay, high-spirite...more
"It was a time of great happiness, peace and security, those first two years of the Alcotts' married life. Happiness was to continue, sometimes interrupted in strange ways; but peace and security were not to come again for a very long time."
"...here, most of all, were the unruffled peace and the genuine happiness of living, of a household devoted and gay, high-spirite...more
This book was a past Newbery Medal Award winner, but I'm not a fan of this book. It was directed at a younger audience, maybe ten to thirteen years old. I can see it being a decent read for that age, but I disliked how the author really glossed over the difficulties Louisa experienced in her life. I think it would be interesting for the author to comment on her father's choices and on how they influenced Louisa. Her father seems like a very interesting person, but the author doesn't seem to know...more
I loved this book. I learned so much about her. I now want to reread all of her books. So much of what she wrote was from her life. I want to find those connections. Just loved it.
I took a long time reading this book. I'm glad I did, because I enjoyed savoring it. I'm also glad because Louisa May Alcott's life was terribly sad and difficult. I cried over and over again reading about her father's idealism (and the sacrifices it required of the family), the many times they moved, the deaths of many good friends and her sister, the terrible jobs she worked to help her family. The trials seemed to keep coming and coming and somehow the Alcotts endured them with grace.
Alcott p...more
Alcott p...more
Louisa May Alcott was an amazing young woman. Her parents both had strong personalities, compassionate hearts, and a great love for learning. Louisa herself takes after them. She had a strong bond with her parents and sisters, an imaginative mind, a strong work ethic, and also a big heart. I was pleased to see so much of Louisa in her book Little Women. Reading this book made me want to re-read Little Women and read something new by her. I also hadn't realized the connections between Louisa and...more
Those young fans of Little Women might have incentive enough to read this book about beloved author Louisa May Alcott -- certainly her life was unusual and fascinating, and the facts of it enough to capture attention. But the writing style of this 1934 Newbery-winner is so quaint and old-fashioned that it likely will not appeal. Also, passing references to people like William Dean Howells and Edward Everett Hale will mystify juvenile readers. Still, I enjoyed learning more about the real-life Jo...more
My niece was excited to see me reading this book over the weekend. She had just finished it for school. She liked it better than I did I'm afraid. It just seemed to drag a long a little for me. I was drawn to fact that it was the story of the author of Little Women, since I really enjoyed that book. This was just a little hard to get into and didn't really interest me until the end of the book. I did enjoy the New England history shared in the book!
Newbery
Informational
(3 points)
Newbery
Informational
(3 points)
Having loved "Little Women" and "Jack & Jill," I was very curious about Louisa May Alcott. This book provided a very informative look into Alcott's life and personality. Besides being an extremely interesting biography, "Invincible Louisa" was easy to read because of the flowing prose. My only complaint was that perhaps the author was a little too enamoured of all things Alcott. There was absolutely no criticism whatsoever of Branson Alcott (Louisa's father) and his interesting, yet failed b...more
This is the biography of Louisa May Alcott. It was interesting to see what really happened in her life and how she intertwined it into her writing. She is Jo in her books. When I began reading the book, I think I was reading it more as a novel. When I began reading it more as a biography, I really enjoyed the book more. My favorite part was about Laurie and how she came to write Little Women. Her goodness and her unselfishness is also a great part of the book.
This was the 1934 Newbery Medal Winner and is the story of the author of Little Women. I think that she had a very fascinating life but thought the author wrote about it in a boring way. It was fun to see how she mirrored Little Women after her own family, all the famous authors her family was friends with, her part in the Civil War, and how she handled fame. If you are a die-hard Little Women fan, then I would recommend this book to you.
While I actually was troubled by the writing style of Ms. Meigs, from time to time (at times, the word choice and grammar appeared closer to a high school paper than to an Newberry Award winner). However, I so much enjoyed her telling of life in Concord with some of my all-time heroes involved. What an group of people were together in the Concord/Boston/Cambridge area at this time. Many others could be mentioned than were in this story. Concord, Massachusetts in the middle nineteenth century is...more
I found it really interesting to learn about all the famous authors that Louisa knew. It seems that they all knew each other and hung out together. It's also pretty cool how respected authors (even women authors) were back then. Probably because there was no tv or radio - authors were the equivalent of actors today.
Louisa tried to live an amazing life but was held back by illness or family obligations. But if she had done everything she wanted to in life we might not be enjoying her books today...more
Louisa tried to live an amazing life but was held back by illness or family obligations. But if she had done everything she wanted to in life we might not be enjoying her books today...more
Dec 31, 2010
Lynnette
added it
Newbery, 1934
This is the biography of the author of Little Women, telling of the courage which Louisa needed in overcoming the hardships of her family. Her strength became the mainstay of her family.
Louisa was different from girls in her time, in that her father taught her, even though she wasn't a boy. Family moved. Not stable. Shows you can rise above hard times.
Includes many minute details
This is the biography of the author of Little Women, telling of the courage which Louisa needed in overcoming the hardships of her family. Her strength became the mainstay of her family.
Louisa was different from girls in her time, in that her father taught her, even though she wasn't a boy. Family moved. Not stable. Shows you can rise above hard times.
Includes many minute details
This book is a biography of Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women and other novels. It was originally published in 1933 which makes the language a little antiquated. It is nonetheless a very detailed and heart warming journey through the life of Louisa and her family; a life full of trials and troubles. It is an excellent look into America before and during the Civil War.
1934 Newbery winner. Interesting that the Newbery went to a biography about Louisa May Alcott. This book will motivate you to read Little Women and all the books that followed. Also found it interesting that her father, Bronson Alcott was such a visionary in American education. Highly recommend to fans of Little Women and teachers who will find the history of American schools fascinating.
I thoroughly enjoyed this look into Louisa's life. It makes me appreciate her works all the more knowing what kind of person she was. She cared about her family, that being her only goal in life. She took care of them until her last dying day. She was a treasure. She gave the world such wonderful stories about the March family and others to read. It was interesting seeing how important people like her father and Ralph Waldo Emerson were to her. I really enjoyed this book and any fan of Alcott ne...more
What an amazing woman! The more I read of what she wrote, and the more I read about her, the more my admiration increases. The modern feminists seem to want to claim her yet she does not seem to be one of them. She could see problems in marriage for marriages' sake, but does not seem to be opposed as such. She was an incredibly strong woman.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCC Children's Li...: Newberry Novel | 2 | 2 | Mar 03, 2012 03:02pm |
Apr 23, 2009 06:15am
Apr 30, 2010 09:48am
Apr 30, 2011 05:34pm