(1832–88). U.S. author Louisa May Alcott is best known for her novel Little Women, which is based on her own experience growing up in a close-knit New England family. She also wrote other stories that are cherished by young readers as well as some lesser known stories for adults. Some of her writing was published under the pen name A.M. Barnard.

Early life

Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, on November 29, 1832. She grew up in Boston and Concord, Massachusetts. Her father, Bronson Alcott, was a teacher and philosopher whose friends included the writers Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Louisa received most of her schooling from her father at home. She began writing creative works at a young age. By the 1860s her poems and stories were being published in The Atlantic Monthly magazine.

During the American Civil War, Alcott traveled to Washington, D.C., to work as a nurse in a military hospital. When she became sick with typhoid fever, she returned home to Massachusetts. In 1863 the letters she had written to her family while she was away were published under the title Hospital Sketches. This volume brought Alcott her first success as a writer.

Writing career

Soon Alcott began writing Little Women. The novel was published in 1868. Based on memories of her youth, it tells of four sisters raised by parents of modest means. The book was instantly popular with younger readers, and it remains a favorite today. With her earnings from Little Women, Alcott was able to pay off her family's debts.

Except for a tour of Europe in 1870 and brief trips to New York, Alcott spent the last 20 years of her life in Boston and Concord. She spent her time writing and caring for her sick parents. Alcott's other books for young readers include Little Men (1871) and Jo's Boys (1886). Having never fully recovered from typhoid, Alcott died on March 6, 1888. Orchard House, the family home in Concord where Alcott wrote Little Women, was later opened to the public.