Cheever writes insightfully about Alcott's evolution as a writer and her struggles as a dutiful literary daughter.
—The Washington Post

Little Women was the idea of Alcott's publisher, who bullied her into writing it. Louisa may, Cheever speculates, have taken revenge on Bronson Alcott--a friend of the great Transcendentalists, but an irresponsible and browbeating father--by leaving him out of her semiautobiographical masterpiece. A revolutionary educator whose uncompromising high-mindedness made him a financial failure, Bronson was critical of and often punished the rebellious Louisa. But his close friendships with men like Emerson and Thoreau blessed Louisa with a unique circle of mentors, whom Cheever depicted in American Bloomsbury. Alcott gradually lost everyone dear to her: her beloved sister Lizzie died at 22, and her sister Anna's marriage felt like a betrayal. Struggling so hard for wealth and fame that when it came she was too ill and weary to enjoy it, Louisa never married and died two days after Bronson. Cheever laces this provocative biography with musings on the genesis of genius, and her identification with Jo March when she was a rebellious girl in the throes of puberty. While some may find Cheever's digressions and self-referencing grating, most will savor this work--surely a future book club staple--as keen, refreshing, and authoritative. 8 pages of b&w photos. (Nov.)

Lively and likable.”
—Elaine Showalter, The Washington Post

In this thorough personal biography, Cheever (American Bloomsbury) draws on primary sources along with existing Louisa May Alcott studies to put the American novelist's life into historical context, also sharing some striking revelations, hinting, e.g., that Alcott's father, Bronson, may have sexually abused his daughters. Actress/Audie Award nominee Tavia Gilbert's steady voice tells this tale of hard choices with complexity and feeling. While the work is complete and profound, its proliferation of details and digressions sometimes bogs it down. Further, Cheever devotes nearly half the book to Bronson, essentially casting her book's subject to the sidelines. Recommended for fans of existing Alcott bios as well as for those who liked Kelly O'Connor McNees's historical novel The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott. [The S. & S. hc was "highly recommended" as "an important addition to Alcott scholarship," LJ 9/1/10.—Ed.]—Terry Ann Lawler, Phoenix P.L.

This audiobook clearly has two minds: one is focused on a biography of the author of LITTLE WOMEN and other American classics, and the other connects Cheever’s feelings and reactions to Alcott’s writing. The effect is a distinctly personal book full of digressions and literary analysis. These might distract listeners who are looking for a straightforward biography but will gratify those who want a point of view to argue with. Narrator Tavia Gilbert has a bright, cheery voice that is full of expression and enthusiasm. She seems intent on keeping listener interest by varying her pitch, tone, and pacing, and the result is refreshing. Gilbert does not employ any character voices but successfully interprets Cheever’s theories and personal asides. R.I.G. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

Contextual study of Louisa May Alcott's life (1832–1888) and work, from her childhoodamong such writers as Emerson, Fuller and Hawthorne,to the astounding literary career that afforded her a feminist independence of spirit even as she remained a caregiver to her family.

In this new biography, Cheever (MFA Program/Bennington Coll; Desire: Where Sex Meets Addiction, 2008, etc.) presents an insightful narrative of Alcott's life and how her experiences informed, but didn't dictate, her fiction. Raised in the culturally rich and progressive community of Concord, Mass., Alcott was an inquisitive and rebellious child who adored her three sisters and idolized her famous literary neighbors, particularly Emerson, who frequently played the role of benefactor to the often destitute family. Alcott's father was a hopelessly impractical academic and a domineering patriarch; she had a contentious relationship with him for most of her life and famously wrote him out of her classic, Little Women (1868). Despite these hardships,Alcottdreamed ofbecoming a writer. Amid the outbreak of the Civil War and her youngest sister's tragic death, Alcott wrote copious journal entries, poems and stories; at age 19 she published her first poem. Twelve years later, she joined the Union Army as a nurse in Washington, and the grisly, poignantexperience catapulted her into adulthood and was integral to the development of her mature prose. She published a collection of letters she wrote while on duty to great acclaim and returned to Concord a rising literary star. Within five years she would writeLittle Womenand become one of the most celebrated authors of her time, providing young girls with a novel distinguished by relatable story lines and characters, one that armed generations of readers with a sense of what is possible for women. Alcott was able to exemplify her belief that an unmarried woman could be intelligent, successful and, perhaps more importantly, happy. Throughout the narrative, Cheeverallows Alcott's complex humanity to reveal itself slowly, drawing the reader into her iconic life.

Lively and astute.