LouisaMayAlcott,bornin1832,wasthesecondchildofBronsonAlcottofConcord,Massachusetts,aself-taughtphilosopher,schoolreformer,andutopianwhowasmuchtooimmersedintheworldofideastoeversucceedinsupportinghisfamily.ThattaskfelltohiswifeandlatertohisenterprisingdaughterLouisaMay.Whileherfatherlectured,wrote,andconversedwithsuchfamousfriendsasEmerson,Hawthorne,andThoreau,Louisataughtschool,workedasaseamstressandnurse,tookinlaundry,andevenhiredherselfoutasadomesticservantatagenineteen.Thesmallsumssheearnedoftenkeptthefamilyfromcompletedestitution,butitwasthroughherwritingthatshefinallybroughtthemfinancialindependence."Iwillmakeabattering-ramofmyhead,"shewroteinherjournal,"andmakeawaythroughthisrough-and-tumbleworld."
Anenthusiasticparticipantinamateurtheatricalssinceageten,shewroteherfirstmelodramaatagefifteenandbeganpublishingpoemsandsketchesattwenty-one.HerbriefserviceasaCivilWarnurseresultedinHospitalSketches(1863),butsheearnedmorefromtheluridthrillersshebeganwritingin1861underthepseudonymofA.M.Barnard.Thesetales,withtitleslike"Pauline'sPassionandPunishment,"featuredstrong-willedandflamboyantheroinesbutwerenotidentifiedasAlcott'sworkuntilthe1940s.
Fameandsuccesscameunexpectedlyin1868.Whenapublishersuggestedshewritea"girl'sbook,"shedrewonhermemoriesofherchildhoodandwroteLittleWomen,depictingherselfasJoMarch,whilehersistersAnna,AbbyMay,andElizabethbecameMeg,Amy,andBeth.Shere-createdthehighspiritsoftheAlcottgirlsandtookmanyincidentsfromlifebutmadetheMarchfamilyfinanciallycomfortableastheAlcottsneverhadbeen.LittleWomen,toitsauthor'ssurprise,struckacordanAmerica'slargelyfemalereadingpublicandbecameahugesuccess.Louisawasprevailedupontocontinuethestory,whichshedidinLittleMen(1871)andJo'sBoys(1886.)In1873shepublishedWork:AStoryofExperience,anautobiographyinfictionaldisguisewithanalltooappropriatetitle.
Nowafamouswriter,shecontinuedtoturnoutnovelsandstoriesandtoworkforthewomen'ssuffrageandtemperancemovements,asherfatherhadworkedfortheabolitionists.BronsonAlcottandLouisaMayAlcottbothdiedinBostoninthesamemonth,Marchof1888.