L. M. Alcott: Signature of Reform - Softcover

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9781555535124: L. M. Alcott: Signature of Reform

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1555535127 ISBN 13: 9781555535124

Publisher: Northeastern University Press, 2002

Beloved juvenile fiction writer and author of sensational thrillers, Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) was also an ardent champion of reform movements in nineteenth-century America. Inspired by her parents' zeal for the reforms of their day and influenced by a network of other New Englanders determined to remedy the many ills in American society, the spinster Scheherazade from Concord, Massachusetts, was a firm and convincing advocate in advancing measures extending from domestic reform and alternative medicine, to education and communal society, to antislavery and egalitarianism, to feminism and suffrage.

This innovative compilation sheds new light on Alcott's commitment to ameliorating oppressive conditions of all kinds. Madeleine B. Stern pairs selections from the writings of reform leaders with excerpts from Alcott's letters, fiction, and nonfiction works to demonstrate that Alcott was aware of and often moved by the words of other reformers. Stern illuminates the connections between Alcott and the printed sources that filtered into her life and work, and shows how she wove reformist themes throughout her writings, prodding her readers to right the wrongs at home and in the nation.

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About the Author:

Madeleine B. Stern is partner in the firm of Rostenberg and Stern Rare Books. She is the editor of several collections of Alcott's works, including The Feminist Alcott: Stories of a Woman's Power and Louisa May Alcott Unmasked: Collected Thrillers, both published by Northeastern University Press. She is the author of Louisa May Alcott: From Blood & Thunder to Hearth & Home and Louisa May Alcott: A Biography, also published by Northeastern. She lives in New York City.

From Library Journal:

Best known for Little Women and other juvenile works, Alcott also wrote frequently in support of the progressive movements of her day. Raised during the frenzy of reform that pervaded New England in the early 19th century, she promoted such efforts throughout her life. In this unique volume, Stern, the author of the standard Alcott biography and editor of several anthologies of her works, uses the author's own words to shed light on her less appreciated side. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific movement, from health reform to women's rights, and pairs Alcott's published and private writings with those by other activists of her day. An introductory essay provides biographical information and highlights the significance of these reform movements to Alcott's development. This unique work offers much to readers interested in Alcott's thought, principles, and reform activity and is recommended for larger academic libraries or those with a special interest in Alcott or 19th-century reform. Those interested in complete biographic information on Alcott should choose more strictly biographical works such as Stern's Louisa May Alcott: A Biography. Theresa R. McDevitt, Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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