A Hole in the Wall

by Louisa May Alcott

If any one had asked Johnny Morris who were his best friends, he would have answered,-- "The sun and the wind, next to mother." Johnny lived in a little court that led off from one of the busiest streets in the city,--a noisy street, where horse-car bells tinkled and omnibuses rumbled all day long, going and coming from several great depots near by. The court was a dull place, with only two or three shabby houses in it, and a high blank wall at the end. The people who hurried by were too busy to do more than to glance at the lame boy who sat in the sunshine against the wall, or to guess that there was a picture-gallery and a circulating-library in the court. But Johnny had both, and took such comfort in them that he never could be grateful enough to the wind that brought him his books and pictures, nor to the sun that made it possible for him to enjoy them in the open air, far more than richer folk enjoy their fine galleries and libraries.

Unknown Binding

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

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a wonderful story that shows the enate kindness of children. It is a short story and the book has a second story with it. The second tale is one of older children being resilient in a snowstorm. Both have some great moments that most kids can relate to. The skill of Louisa's writing is that, at no time, does it ever seem didactic with a lesson being shoved down a ids throat. So many children's books of that period are that way.

And for an adult, it is a pleasant easy read. How many of us daydreamed about a secret door in a brick wall between gardens or yards? How many of us wondered about riding a sleigh in the snow? About camping out in an old building? These two tales give you a possible answer and can give you the fun of a daydream again.

[Deb Grove · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my very old books. My copy was presented to the person on the inside in 1902. Sweet story for children.

[Amyem]

Contained in

THE LOUISA ALCOTT READER
A Supplementary Reader for the Fourth Year of School

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/7425/7...

[Cristina Munster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una historia que debo leer otra vez para hacer una reseña, recuerdo poco pero en general me gustó a pesar de la forma en que se narra.