Examines the life of Louisa May Alcott, discussing her family, relationships, works, rejection of marriage, and other related topics.

Offers a portrait of Louisa May Alcott through a collection of personal letters and journal entries, giving insight into her life and her work.

Reproduction of the original: Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott

Although the publication of Little Women in 1868 earned Louisa May Alcott tremendous popularity, for a long time she was thought of as a writer of children's stories and considered—at best—a minor figure in the American literary canon. Now, at the end of the twentieth century, Alcott's vast body of work is being celebrated alongside the greatest American writers, and this collection shows why. The Portable Louisa May Alcott samples the entire spectrum of Alcott's work: her novels, novellas, children's stories, sensationalist fiction, gothic tales, essays, letters, and journals. Presenting her more daring works, such as Moods and Behind a Mask (both reprinted in their entirety), alongside the familiar heroines of Little Women, this singular collection offers readers a rich and wide-ranging portrait of this talented, prolific, and influential writer.

Excerpts from the author's diaries, written between the ages of eleven and thirteen, reveal her thoughts and feelings and her early poetic efforts.