Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father
by John Matteson
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Book Summary Information
Author: John MattesonEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-08-20
ISBN: 0393059642
Number of pages: 528
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Book Reviews of Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father
Book Review: A Unique Biography of a Unique Family
Summary: 5 Stars
Thank you to Jim Matteson for reading every scrap the Alcotts left behind and digesting it into this wonderful dual biography.
I was a young reader of Little Women (maybe 10 times) and the rest of the series. Later as an adult, I never quite put together the pieces the family. Now I know how the Alcotts fit in with Emerson and Thoreau, the role of Fruitlands in the life of the Alcotts and how it was the Amy came to marry Laurie.
The above paragraph could sound flip without the understanding of how Louisa's fiction was a byproduct of both her father's idealism and his inability to support his family. Louisa would be his standard bearer, but she would at all costs, support the family.
Bronson's philosophy of education was ahead of his time. While it can be debated whether his career ending publications served the cause, it is clear, it did not serve the family well. Followed by a second public humiliation in the touted but failed Fruitlands experiment, you can imagine the grief of a former idealist with a young family to feed.
How many father's careers have been rescued by their children... and in the 19th century... any by their daughters? In the case of the Alcotts, it is more than a career redeemed, it is also values and virtues.
Matteson gives a wonderfully readable dual biography. He sticks with his thesis. It's good that he resisted the temptation to delve into the other interesting personalities of the time. Just like when I first read Little Women, I didn't want this book to end.
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