Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist and poet best known as the author of the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jos Boys . Raised by her transcendentalist parents, Abigail May and Amos Bronson Alcott in New England, she grew up among many of the wellknown intellectuals of the day such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau.

Louisa May Alcott was born on November 29, 1832, in Germantown, which is now part of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on her fathers 33rd birthday. She was the daughter of transcendentalist and educator Amos Bronson Alcott and social worker Abby May and the second of four daughters Anna Bronson Alcott was the eldest Elizabeth Sewall Alcott and Abigail May Alcott were the two youngest. The family moved to Boston in 1834, where Alcotts father established an experimental school and joined the Transcendental Club with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Bronson Alcotts opinions on education and tough views on childrearing shaped young Alcotts mind with a desire to achieve perfection, a goal of the transcendentalists. His attitudes towards Alcotts wild and independent behavior, and his inability to provide for his family, created conflict between Bronson Alcott and his wife and daughters.

Source: Wikipedia