Accomplishments
When Louisa May Alcott was alive, she accomplished many things. Those included:
· Starting to sell stories at the age of sixteen.
· Working as an army nurse during the Civil War.
· Writing her first successful book, Hospital Sketches, a collection of letters home.
· Publishing the book Little Women which brought fame and was based on her actual family.
· Being a supporter of the right of women to vote.
· Writing short stories called lurid (which to her meant lively and forbidden) which usually involved powerful women, murder, suicide, madness, passion, and drug experimentation.
To reach these goals, she:
· Would hide in her closet for as many as fourteen hours a day to write while taking breaks with running in the woods and having her parents bring her food.
After writing these books and nursing, she became famous and she:
· Paid for her sister’s trips and schooling in Europe to practice art.
· Lived under the name A.M. Barnard.
· Had a “secret” life.
· Paid for all of the Alcott’s debts.
Although she was famous, she:
· Didn’t like the attention and fame.
· Dressed plain and in black even though the characters in her books wore more bright and vibrant colors.