In this probing look at the woman behind “Little Women,” Reisen explores Alcott's life in the context of her works, all of which are to some extent autobiographical.

In a fresh, modern take on the remarkable Louisa May Alcott, Harriet Reisen's vivid biography explores the author's life in the context of her works, many of which are to some extent autobiographical. Although Alcott secretly wrote pulp fiction, harbored radical abolitionist views, and served as a Civil War nurse, her novels went on to sell more copies than those of Herman Melville and Henry James. Stories and details culled from Alcott's journals, together with revealing letters to family, friends, and publishers, plus recollections of her famous contemporaries provide the basis for this lively account of the author's classic rags-to-riches tale. In “Louisa May Alcott,” the extraordinary woman behind the beloved American classic “Little Women” is revealed as never before.

Review

“At last, Louisa May Alcott has the biography that admirers of ”Little Women“ might have hoped for.” —“The Wall Street Journal”'s""Best 10 Books of the Year

“A magnificent new biography . . . a classic.” —“The Washington Times”“Fans will adore Harriet Reisen's sympathetic biography. . . .With charming verve, she details Alcott's remarkable if difficult life.” —“USA Today” “Superb . . . punctuates the myths of the Alcott family, rendering Louisa May with nuance.” —“Chicago Tribune” “A biography as vibrant as its subject.” —“Vogue”

“Reisen's lifelong fascination with ”Little Women" and the woman who wrote it has produced an absorbing narrative, in many ways the best ever, of Alcott's own life. . . . The utterly compelling force of Alcott's personality has never been better described. I found the book compulsively readable; I couldn't put it down." —Robert Richardson, author of “Emerson: The Mind on Fire” and “Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind”

"Brilliantly researched. . .