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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
John Matteson gives quite a thorough history of not only the Alcotts lives but also America in general.
I borrowed a copy of this book from my library but am definitely going to purchase a copy for my own shelves. (It is worth owning just for the closing paragraph of the book—one of the best endings to a biography I have ever read!)
This is a masterpiece of research into two very fascinating lives. John Matteson clearly read every word written by Bronson and Louisa—every book, story, letter and journal entry—as well as journal entries and letters written by those close to them. His book is readable and thoughtful. He portrays both Alcotts with honesty, fairness and compassion.
It’s sometimes difficult to love Bronson Alcott, but just as often it’s impossible not to love him. Although Louisa was much closer to her wonderful mother, her father’s influence is felt on almost every page of this dual biography. So are the influences of the literary greats who were a part of the Alcott’s close circle—Thoreau, Emerson, Hawthorne—as well as education pioneers like the Peabody sisters.
Louisa’s own life was almost always limited by the needs of her family and sometimes by the constraints of the times, despite her independent feminism. Often her creativity was constrained by the demands of fans and publishers (who wouldn’t even allow Jo March to stay single).
The story of these two lives is sad, inspiring, and captivating. I loved this book and highly recommend it.
This is a masterpiece of research into two very fascinating lives. John Matteson clearly read every word written by Bronson and Louisa—every book, story, letter and journal entry—as well as journal entries and letters written by those close to them. His book is readable and thoughtful. He portrays both Alcotts with honesty, fairness and compassion.
It’s sometimes difficult to love Bronson Alcott, but just as often it’s impossible not to love him. Although Louisa was much closer to her wonderful mother, her father’s influence is felt on almost every page of this dual biography. So are the influences of the literary greats who were a part of the Alcott’s close circle—Thoreau, Emerson, Hawthorne—as well as education pioneers like the Peabody sisters.
Louisa’s own life was almost always limited by the needs of her family and sometimes by the constraints of the times, despite her independent feminism. Often her creativity was constrained by the demands of fans and publishers (who wouldn’t even allow Jo March to stay single).
The story of these two lives is sad, inspiring, and captivating. I loved this book and highly recommend it.
for January book club. . .
As someone who has been an Alcott fan for many years and who has now visited Orchard House twice, the broad outlines of Louisa and her father's life were well-known. But that doesn't mean there wasn't much to discover in this biography.
Matteson masterfully weaves together the stories of the Alcott family. Though the focus is certainly on Bronson and Louisa, there were stunning portraits of the rest of the family, in particular, Abba May Alcott. Bronson must have been an extraoridinarily frustrating man to live with, and yet, Louisa would not have been half the woman she became without these struggles.
Highly, highly recommended. I certainly have newfound respect for Louisa's work and am looking forward to our upcoming discussion.
As someone who has been an Alcott fan for many years and who has now visited Orchard House twice, the broad outlines of Louisa and her father's life were well-known. But that doesn't mean there wasn't much to discover in this biography.
Matteson masterfully weaves together the stories of the Alcott family. Though the focus is certainly on Bronson and Louisa, there were stunning portraits of the rest of the family, in particular, Abba May Alcott. Bronson must have been an extraoridinarily frustrating man to live with, and yet, Louisa would not have been half the woman she became without these struggles.
Highly, highly recommended. I certainly have newfound respect for Louisa's work and am looking forward to our upcoming discussion.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I finally hunkered down to read this book I purchased (gulp) 7 years ago. Matteson does a great job writing biographies on Bronson and Louisa Mae Alcott in one book. You get a true sense of these two people and their family. They lived an amazing life especially for the time. Bronson was a man well ahead of his time. He is a great example of never letting failure keep you down. Success can happen at anytime and any age. Louisa, had an amazing spirit and her real-life was far more interesting and dramatic than Little Women. The book makes me want to walk the streets they lived in Boston and Concord.
A lovely lovely book, an extraordinary telling of a family and a father-daughter relationship that reflected both the times and their devotion to the ideas that gave substance to their family. I adored this book.
This is a detailed biography of the lives of Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women, and her father Amos Bronson Alcott. To get a full sense of who Louisa was, one needs to get a fair picture of her father and her entire family. Bronson was of the group of Transcendentalists which included the likes of Emerson, Thoreau, and Fuller. Bronson, an author himself, educator, and speaker did not always live up to the same stature of his peers and the family often struggled because of it. His wife and their four daughters were often left alone to handle the home situation while Bronson traveled for business. It was during these times that the women spent together that gave Louisa inspiration to write Little Women and many other published works. Despite having a strained relationship at times, Louisa and Bronson became close in their later years.
This is a great book for any fan of LMA and the Little Women series. I wasn't always a fan of Bronson and reading about his life was my least favorite part of the book; however, it really helps to understand him and his thoughts and ideas to understand Louisa and what drove and inspired her.
This is a great book for any fan of LMA and the Little Women series. I wasn't always a fan of Bronson and reading about his life was my least favorite part of the book; however, it really helps to understand him and his thoughts and ideas to understand Louisa and what drove and inspired her.
This was a great biography of two remarkable people. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in 19th century American history.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
This was slow going at first, the Branson Alcott section was a lot to get through, pretty dense, and quite infuriating. But when Louisa arrived in the scene, things picked up and the story of the family, Concord MA and all the historical elements were remarkable. Pretty astounding that Thoreau, Emerson, Henry James, Hawthorne, and both Alcotts were connected and many were dear friends. #MountTBR
DNF'd because it was a library book I didn't finish on time.