Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women
has been loved by generation upon generation of readers. The March family’s
life in New England during the Civil War is unadorned but dignified. Meg, Jo, Beth
and Amy are distinctive personalities, engaging in all the dreams, despair,
pranks and laughter that betide most siblings. The girls are loyal to each
other and to their parents, becoming essential to the welfare of the family
when their father goes off to serve as a chaplain in the war. What many readers
of this classic may not know is that author Louisa May Alcott took inspiration
for her classic novel from her personal experience during the Civil War. Driven
by her concern about the realities and import of the conflict, Alcott traveled
to Washington, D.C., to serve as a nurse. While inexperienced, she
resolutely cared for sick and wounded soldiers, writing letters home that
captured her observations and feelings. Alcott contracted typhoid in the
hospital and had to return to her family. The reception of her first published
work – Hospital Sketches, based on her war letters – encouraged her
to introduce a vivid realism to her future writing. She set Little Women
during the war and was clearly able to understand the hardships of those
participating on the front as well as those keeping home fires burning.
Kathleen Krull’s biographical picture book Louisa May’s Battle: How the
Civil War Led to Little Women, illustrated by Carlyn Beccia,
recounts this intriguing literary history for young readers. Ages 6 up.
Related resources may be found at: TeachingBooks.net
Related resources may be found at: TeachingBooks.net
