1862, English, Unpublished edition: Louisa M. Alcott Papers Alcott, Louisa May, 1832-1888

User activity

Send to:
Louisa M. Alcott Papers
 
Bookmark: http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/435210
Physical Description
  • 1 box (0.5 linear feet)
  • American poetry--19th century, Drafts (Documents), Letters
Published
  • L. Tom Perry Special Collections
  • 1862-1888
Language
  • English

Edition details

Title
  • Louisa M. Alcott Papers
Creator
  • Alcott, Louisa May, 1832-1888
Published
  • L. Tom Perry Special Collections
  • 1862-1888
Physical Description
  • 1 box (0.5 linear feet)
  • American poetry--19th century, Drafts (Documents), Letters
Subjects
Notes
  • American poet, novelist, and short story writer best known for her classic "Little Women."; Handwritten and signed correspondence of Louisa May Alcott and her sister, May Alcott Nieriker and various other family members and writers. The letters are of both a private and professional mature, and discuss social engagements, familial affairs, writing schedules, and upcoming publications. Also included are two portraits, a sound recording with transcript of a radio adaptation of "Little Women," the poem recording with transcript of a radio adaption of "Little Women," the poem "Lines to a Robin," and the short story "A Free Bed." Also included are various other writings by Alcott. Louisa May Alcott, author of the Little Womenseries, was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, on 29 November 1832 to Bronson and Abigail (Abba) May Alcott. Little "Louy" had a difficult childhood, intensified by her strong desire to please her two strong-willed and conflicting parents. Bronson Alcott, an idealistic and impractical man, had unusual educational theories and experimented with his methods on his own children. In 1834, Bronson founded his ultra-modern but unsuccessful Temple School, located in Boston, at which students were encouraged to look into themselves to realize their individual intellects. His program stressed a conversational method of instruction, beautiful school surroundings, the honor system, and the study of recreation, including gymnastics and organized play. Although the school closed in 1839 due to many parents thinking his techniques dangerous and improper, Bronson's unconventional teaching methods had made a lasting impression on six-year-old Louy who wanted to be her father's perfect pupil.Abba Alcott was a wise, long-suffering, and practical woman. She often had poor health and experienced extreme poverty as a result of her husband's idealism in his educational ventures, but Abba dealt with the family's situation with patience and strength. Louisa admired her mother greatly and was constantly attempting to please her; however, she also thought herself to be a bad child and a constant worry to her parents.In 1840 the Alcotts moved to Concord, Massachusetts where their neighbors included Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, who introduced young Louisa to the beauties of nature and fanciful ideas. During the short time the Alcotts lived in Concord, Louy also began to write dramas for her sisters to enact in the barn. The memories of these barnyard melodramas and other childhood experiences would later find their way into Louisa's books, especially Little Women.After a trip to Europe in 1842 to visit an experimental school named for him, Bronson Alcott returned with Charles Lane and Henry Wright. With them, Bronson bought a farm in Harvard, Massachusetts, called "Fruitlands," and there developed a utopian society for his family. Mr. Alcott's experiments with cold baths, linen tunics, and vegetarian diets were not compatible with the harsh New England winter, and the Alcott family suffered greatly from poor health and poverty until Bronson finally gave up on his "New Eden" scheme. The Alcotts then began a series of moves to and from Boston and Concord as Mr. Alcott searched for new means to support his family.In September 1851, Louisa's first poem, entitled "Sunlight," was published in Peterson's Magazineunder the pseudonym of "Flora Fairfield." This was followed by several other "Flora Fairfield" compositions, including "The Rival Painters. A Tale of Rome," (1852); "The Rival Prima Donnas," (1854); and Flower Fables(1854), a book of fairy stories written for Emerson's daughter, Ellen.Louisa's first novel, Moods, was begun in 1860-1861. Her progress was impeded, however, by a desire to nurse soldiers wounded in the Civil War. Accepted as a nurse by the Union Hotel Hospital in December 1862, "Lu" worked too hard and was struck by a serious illness in January 1863. As a result of her exhaustion and poor health, she was left incapable of leaving her room and was unable to write until March. In August 1863, Louisa's letters to her family describing her experiences as a nurse were published in Hospital Sketches, under the pseudonym "Tribulation Periwinkle." Moodswas finally published in December 1864.During the mid to late 1860s, Louisa attempted another type of writing style which she called her "blood and thunder stories." These gothic romances, written under the pen name "A. M. Barnard," include "Pauline's Passion and Punishment"; "V.V.: or, Plots and Counterplots"; "A Marble Woman: or, The Mysterious Model"; and "Behind a Mask: or, A Woman's Power." Louisa also began her career as a children's author in 1867 as the editor of the juvenile magazine, Merry's Museum.In September of 1867, Thomas Niles of Roberts Brothers Publishing asked Louisa if she would write a children's book for him and, in May 1868, Little Womenbegan to take shape. In this children's novel about the March family, Louisa encapsulated the Alcott home, presenting a cheerful account of her own early life in New England. The book gained instant recognition upon its publication in 1869, and Louisa's fame and fortune as an author was ensured. During the 1870s, Louisa published prolifically, completing at least one book per year. Little Womenwas rapidly followed by: An Old-Fashioned Girl, (1870); Little Men, (1871); Aunt-Jo's Scrap Bag(6 vols., 1872-82); Work: A Study of Experience, (1873), a feminist and autobiographical novel; Eight Cousins, (1875); Silver Pitchers and Independenceand Rose in Bloom, (1876); A Modern Mephistopheles, (1877); Under the Lilacs, (1878); and Jack and Jill, (1880); Proverb Stories, (1882); Spinning-Wheel Stories, (1884); and Lulu's Library(3 vols., 1886-89).The mad pace Louisa had set for her writing, however, could not last forever. After she had worked to exhaustion on Jo's Boys, her doctor forbade her to write for at least six months. From this point until her death, she constantly suffered from poor health and most of her energy was instead concentrated on rearing her niece, Louisa May ("Lulu") Nieriker, the daughter of her favorite sister May and Ernest Nieriker. May had died in 1879 shortly after Lulu's birth.In June of 1887, Louisa began her last novel, A Garland for Girls, which was published in November. In July of 1887, she wrote and signed her will. On 1 March 1888 Louisa visited her ill father whom she feared she would never see alive again. Shortly afterwards she complained of a violent headache and immediately sank into unconsciousness. On 4 March Bronson Alcott died, and two days later Louisa followed him. She was fifty-six years old.The information for this biography was drawn from The Selected Letters of Louisa May Alcott, ed. by Joel Myerson, Daniel Shealy, and Madeleine B. Stern, "Introduction" by Madeleine B. Stern, (Boston: Little, Brown, &​ Co., 1987); Louisa May Alcott at 150: A Writer's Progress, by Madeleine B. Stern, (Provo, Utah: Friends of the Brigham Young University Library, 1984); The Cambridge Handbook of America Literature, ed. by Jack Salzman, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), p. 6; The Oxford Companion to American Literature, by James D. Hart, (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1983), p. 17; and Webster's American Biographies, ed. by Charles Van Doren, (Springfield, Mass.: G. &​ C. Merriam Co., 1979), p. 19. See also the working file for this register in the departmental files. For a more complete bibliography of the works of Louisa May Alcott, see the appendix to this register.For related information in the Department of Special Collections and Manuscripts, see John Sewall Pratt Alcott, "last will and testament," (Mss SC 102) and Katherine Houghton, "To Heaven In a Swing," a monodrama based on the life, letters, and journals of Louisa May Alcott, (Mss SC 2366 and UTBV93A350); the Madeleine B. Stern Manuscript Collection, including some materials generated by Dr. Leona Rostenberg, Stern's long-time partner (Mss 1486 with unprocessed additions; and the Louisa May Alcott Book Collection. The book collection is discussed in detail in Madeleine B. Stern's, "Louisa May Alcott at BYU," Alice Louise Reynolds Lecture (Provo, Utah: Friends of the Brigham Young University Library, 1991.); The Louisa May Alcott manuscript collection at Brigham Young University, although small in comparison with similar collections preserved at Harvard University's Houghton Library and the University of Virginia's Barrett Library (among others), provides significant insight into the life of this prominent 19th century author. As Madeleine Stern has written, "autograph materials play a vital role in the reconstruction of a life . . . and a lifework."1 BYU's manuscripts, along with others, help "to determine more precisely how much truth lies in Alcott's fiction, and to trace the manner in which she transmuted fact into fancy."2 Such determinations are of greater concern today than ever before. By 1982, the 150th anniversary of her birth, "her books . . .[were] no longer regarded simply as primers for childhood but as works that display the New England family in compassionate versions of the domestic novel. Little Womenhas been compared with Pride and Prejudice, and Alcott's educational concepts, her attitudes toward feminism, her relations with her father, her novels as commentary on the American family are all being analyzed. As she moves from the nursery to the study, Louisa Alcott is at last attaining a niche in American literary history long owed to her, . . . [for] she is indeed entitled to a high place in the hierarchy of American writers . . . "Louisa's activities, writing habits and styles, thoughts on the contemporary scene, and relationships with her family, friends, and publishers from 1863 to 1888 are documented here in letters, literary manuscripts, a radio adaptation, a photograph, a lithograph of a portrait, and a canceled check. The original individuals, viz. Louisa May Alcott and her sister, May Alcott Nieriker, but her father, Bronson Alcott and her mother Abigail contribute one item each. The collection is arranged in five series to facilitate description, cataloging use, and further additions to the collection. The series are: 1) Louisa May Alcott; 2) May Alcott Nieriker; 3) Abigail May Alcott; 4) Bronson Alcott; and, 5) Related Research Materials. The contents of the first four series reflect provenance and the creative process that generated the original manuscripts. The fifth series was added by the archival staff for convenience of preservation and access. A full description of the scope, content, and arrangement of the five series follows.Series 1. Louisa May Alcott.In Series 1, Louisa May Alcott's manuscripts are divided into four categories: Correspondence, Writings, Financial Records, and Portraits. The items withing each category are arranged chronologically with the exception that the writings category is arranged first by type, i.e. poetry, novels etc., and then chronologically withing each type. Although many of Louisa May Alcott's letters are not dated, approximate dates can be derived from the content of each letter. Those which are undated and do not contain any textual clues as to their date of composition are listed alphabetically according to addressee at the end of the list of correspondence. Included in the folder with the original manuscript of each letter is a photocopy thereof or a photocopy of the printed version from Selected Lettersfor those letters that have been published. Where appropriate, a typescript of the original letter is also included.Correspondence. When 271 of Alcott's letter were published in 1987, a total of 649 letters were extant in either manuscript or printed form. Of those totals the BYU collection comprises twentynine letters. Most have been published but several were discovered after the publication of the main body of her letters. For a list of BYU's Alcott letters excerpted from Joel Myerson, Daniel Shealy, and Madeleine B. Stern, "A Calendar of the Letters of Louisa May Alcott," Studies in the American Renaissance, Joel Yerson, ed. (Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia, 1988), 361-399, including an indication of which letters were published in Selected Letters, see the appendix.Writings. The collections includes the complete manuscript of Alcott's story, "A Free Bed," two leaves of holograph manuscript from Jack &​ Jill, a manuscript fragment from Eight Cousinswith a note from Mrs. Abigail Alcott to an autograph seeker, and, on a single leaf, her first childhood poem, "Lines to a Robin," and a poem, "The Bitterest Drop," dated in 1883.The short story, "A Free Bed," is undated but experts in Alcott's writing style and techniques feel that it is representative of her final work and was probably written in early 1888. It was unpublished when acquired by BYU but was published by the Friends of the Library in 1978.The radio adaptation of Little Women, Parts 1-4, was produced as a part of the American Novels (NBC Radio Theatre) series in September and October 1947. The two audio cassettes (one a duplicate) are listed and described under the "novels" section. The original recordings, two seveninch reels of tape, are part of the Scanfax Sound Archives (tapes SSC 109 and SSC 110), located in the North American Radio Archives, Los Angeles, CA.Series 2. May Alcott Nieriker. The second series of the collection consists of four letters written by Louisa's youngest sister, May Alcott Nieriker (1840-1879). These letters, also listed chronologically, describe her activities with Louisa and the Alcott family from 1867 to 1872. Autograph letters from Louisa's artist sister are not common.Series 3. Abigail May Alcott. A single holograph note written on one side of a leaf from the novel, Eight Cousins.Series 4. Bronson Alcott. A single holograph poem written to his daughter Louisa on her birthdaySeries 5. Related Research Materials. Consists of materials added to the collection by the archival staff, including photocopies of secondary sources used in preparing this register, and exhibit caption cards.A photocopy of each manuscript is included with each original. Where noted in the following container list a typescript of the manuscript has been provided.Please note that each manuscript is assigned a folder number which is listed on the right side of the container list as a location device. Each newly acquired manuscript is added to the rear of the collection while a description of it is added to the container list where it naturally and logically fits.
  • Vault MSS 503
Terms of Use
  • Collection is available to public use. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.The copyright of this collection rests with the Estate of Theresa W. Pratt and the Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University (see The Selected Letters of Louisa May Alcott, ed. by Joel Myerson, Daniel Shealy, and Madeleine B. Stern, p. xi). Permission to publish material from Louisa M. Alcott Papers must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/​or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.
Language
  • English
Contributed by
OAIster

Get this edition

  • Set up My libraries

    How do I set up "My libraries"?

    In order to set up a list of libraries that you have access to, you must first login or sign up. Then set up a personal list of libraries from your profile page by clicking on your user name at the top right of any screen.

  • All (1)
  • Unknown (1)
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.

User activity


e.g. test cricket, Perth (WA), "Parkes, Henry"

Separate different tags with a comma. To include a comma in your tag, surround the tag with double quotes.

Be the first to add a tag for this edition

Be the first to add this to a list

Comments and reviews

What are comments? Add a comment

No user comments or reviews for this version

Add a comment