Louisa May Alcott, 1832 - 1888
1857 portrait
Born: 29 November 1832, Germantown, Philadelphia
Died: 6 March 1888, Boston, Massachusetts
Alcott's father Bronson Alcott was a teacher and a member of the Transcendental Club, her mother Abba was an active proponent of women's rights and abolition. She grew up as a rebellious tomboy in the tension between her parents. She was largely educated by her father but was given lessons by family friends including the naturalist Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Due to the family's poverty she started writing, her first book was published in 1855. She served as a nurse in a Civil War hospital at Georgetown, D.C. where she came down with typhoid fever and was treated with calomel, a mercury compound which affected her health for some time afterwards. She had significant success with a pair of racy "potboilers" written under the name A. M. Barnard after the end of the war. A third Barnard title was not published until 1995, Little Women was a huge hit and "Barnard" retired. While caring for her ailing father, Alcott fell into a coma and died two days after he did. Her last words were, "Is it not meningitis?"
Biography from Wikipedia and Domestic Goddesses
Additional quotes from Wikiquote. Wikiquote entries are often "sourced" and may include items longer than those included here, particularly for poets, lyricists, and dramatists.
Louisa May Alcott quotes:
Quotes found : 42 — (15 per page, this is page 1 of 3) 1 2 3 Next
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- "Stay" is a charming word in a friend's vocabulary. permalink
Louisa May Alcott - A faithful friend is a strong defense; And he that hath found him hath found a treasure. permalink
Louisa May Alcott - A little kingdom I possess,
where thoughts and feelings dwell;
And very hard the task I find
of governing it well. permalink
Louisa May Alcott - All is fish that comes to the literary net. Goethe put his joys and sorrows into poems. I turn my adventures into bread and butter. permalink
Louisa May Alcott - Do the things you know, and you shall learn the truth you need to know. permalink
Louisa May Alcott - Fame is a pearl many dive for and only a few bring up. Even when they do, it is not perfect, and they sigh for more, and lose better things in struggling for them. permalink
Louisa May Alcott - Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead. permalink
Louisa May Alcott - Father asked us what was God's noblest work. Anna said men, but I said babies. Men are often bad, but babies never are. permalink
Louisa May Alcott - Girls are so queer you never know what they mean. They say No when they mean Yes, and drive a man out of his wits for the fun of it. permalink
Louisa May Alcott - Good books, like good friends, are few and chosen; the more select, the more enjoyable. permalink
Louisa May Alcott - Happy is the son whose faith in his mother remains unchallenged. permalink
Louisa May Alcott - Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life will become a beautiful success. permalink
Louisa May Alcott - He who believes is strong; he who doubts is weak. Strong convictions precede great actions. permalink
Louisa May Alcott - Help one another is part of the religion of our sisterhood. permalink
Louisa May Alcott - House-keeping ain't no joke. permalink
Louisa May Alcott
Quotes found : 42 — (15 per page, this is page 1 of 3) 1 2 3 Next
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