Historians, even cultural historians, don’t usually pay a lot of attention to children’s literature. I learned this the hard way when I was working on my own (and only, so far!) article for a publication. I searched high and low for someone else that had done something similiar–using an author’s work to see how change [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Louisa May Alcott’
A New Year’s Wish
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Christmas, Little Women, Louisa May Alcott on December 30, 2010 | 3 Comments »
Ordinary things
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Little Women, Louisa May Alcott on September 13, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Last week, I finished American Bloomsbury: Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau: Their Lives, Their Loves, Their Work by Susan Cheever. It’s an odd little book, full of lots of literary gossip and fluff and not much substance. But towards the end, there’s this passage: “Reading Little [...]
Idol or friend?
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Elizabeth Enright, L. M. Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott on April 15, 2010 | 1 Comment »
As a kid, my focus was always on the stories. Eventually, I figured out that some of my favorite authors had careers beyond the books I loved so much. Or that their lives were very different from what I imagined based on their novels. But no matter what, they were my literary idols. My love [...]
Wanting to know more. . .
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged L. M. Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, Maud Hart Lovelace on December 27, 2009 | 6 Comments »
A big part of the intrigue with kidlit history is the idea that there’s always more to discover. These favorite stories are based on something within the author’s life, which should make the biographer or historian tingle with anticipation. But, because these were written for children, these authors are rarely given the same consideration that [...]
The best presents. . .
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged A Little Princess, Anne of Green Gables, Betsy and Joe, Christmas, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Heaven to Betsy, L. M. Montgomery, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House, Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, Maud Hart Lovelace, Roller Skates, Ruth Sawyer on December 22, 2009 | 6 Comments »
I admit it–my favorite part of Christmas just might be presents. And it’s not so much the receiving (though don’t get me wrong–I do love receiving), but the giving. It’s the joy in finding just the right thing, something that is more than the sum of its parts, and seeing the reaction when it hits its mark. [...]
Christmas won’t be Christmas. . .
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Christmas, Little Women, Louisa May Alcott on December 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
This Christmas will be quite a bit smaller than usual. Of course, with the economy still in the doldrums, I don’t think I’m alone in this. But it’s not like things are quite to the point of Jo’s moan: “Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents!” Looking back at kidlit history, there are plenty of [...]
Pilgrimages
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Anne of Green Gables, Betsy-Tacy, historic sites, L. M. Montgomery, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House, Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, Maud Hart Lovelace on October 18, 2009 | 3 Comments »
This afternoon, while attempting to be domestic, I caught up with one of my favorite NPR programs, This American Life. A few weeks ago, they aired a new episode called “The Book That Changed Your Life.” How could I not listen? The entire show was fantastic, but I was particularly intrigued by Act 4: Little [...]
