Louisa May Alcott's Civil War

by Louisa May Alcott, Jan Turnquist (Introduction)

Collection of Louisa May Alcott's writings on the Civil War.

Genres: Civil War

272 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2006

About the author

Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known for writing the novel Little Women (1868) and its sequels Good Wives (1869), Little Men (1871) and Jo's Boys (1886). Raised in New England by her transcendentalist parents, Abigail May Alcott and Amos Bronson Alcott, she grew up among many well-known intellectuals of the day, including Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Alcott's family suffered from financial difficulties, and while she worked to help support the family from an early age, she also sought an outlet in writing. She began to receive critical success for her writing in the 1860s. Early in her career, she sometimes used pen names such as A.M. Barnard, under which she wrote lurid short stories and sensation novels for adults that focused on passion and revenge.
Published in 1868, Little Women is set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts, and is loosely based on Alcott's childhood experiences with her three sisters, Abigail May Alcott Nieriker, Elizabeth Sewall Alcott, and Anna Bronson Alcott Pratt. The novel was well-received at the time and is still popular today among both children and adults. It has been adapted for stage plays, films, and television many times.
Alcott was an abolitionist and a feminist and remained unmarried throughout her life. She also spent her life active in reform movements such as temperance and women's suffrage. She died from a stroke in Boston on March 6, 1888, just two days after her father's death.

Reviews

[Karina Mendoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating read! Alcott's journal entries during the Civil War only increased my admiration of her as a person. I loved reading about her involvement with the war efforts and her support for the 54th Massachusetts Regiment and other African-American soldiers.

Moreover, her short stories published during the war offer fascinating glimpses of soldiers' emotional vulnerability during convalescence, the myth soldiers (and civilians) must tell themselves to justify the brutality of war, and the need to serve its veterans afterwards.

[Mardell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short bio but the short stories on her time in the hospital are very revealing about people and wars.

[Marlena · Rating 4 out of 5]

The journal portion of this book was very brief - just about 40 pages of it. But maybe writing a journal a month at a time is the way to go. The next portion of the book are Alcott's stories from her time as a civil war nurse. The stories are very well told and insightful. The final portion are some of the stories she had published during the war time. It's really interesting to put yourself in 1863 and see what you would've read in the papers. Very insightful w Storytelling you would expect from Alcott.

[Kris Lodwig · Rating 4 out of 5]

8th grade Nonfiction unit

[Sarah Brewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is an interesting read for people who want short stories during the civil war era

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it took me a litle longer to finish than I would have liked, I really did enjoy this read. I'm generally a fan of just about everything LMA has written, and was happy to read actual pieces of her journal, along with the collection of CW stort stories.

[Kathy Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Various short stories of experiences in hospitals in Civil war time period in Washington, D.C. I especially liked the one called "The Brothers" that mentioned the 54th Mass. regiment