Invincible Louisa facts for kids
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| Author | Cornelia Meigs |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Louisa May Alcott |
| Genre | Biography |
| Publisher | Little, Brown |
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Publication date
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1933 |
| Media type | Hardback |
| ISBN | 978-0-316-56594-3 |
| OCLC | 33669076 |
Invincible Louisa is a special book written by Cornelia Meigs. It's a biography, which means it tells the true story of someone's life. This book is all about Louisa May Alcott, the famous author who wrote Little Women. Invincible Louisa won the important Newbery Medal and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. It shares the exciting and sometimes challenging life of Louisa May Alcott.
Contents
What is Invincible Louisa About?
Invincible Louisa tells the life story of Louisa May Alcott. The book starts on a snowy November day when Louisa was born. This was in a place called Germantown, Pennsylvania. Her father, Bronson Alcott, ran a school for young children. It was in their own home. The book describes this time as happy and peaceful. However, this peace did not last forever.
Louisa's Early Life and Family
The book shows Louisa's father, Bronson, as a very smart person. But he was not very good at earning money. This meant he struggled to support his family. The Alcott family moved often. They lived in places like Boston and Concord. Bronson Alcott was looking for places that understood his unique ideas. He had special views on education and life.
Louisa was a very active child. She often got into playful trouble. This sometimes worried her mother, Abba. When Louisa was ten, her family moved again. They went to a community called Fruitlands. Bronson Alcott helped start this special place. By this time, there were four girls in the family.
Life at Fruitlands Community
The book explains that Bronson Alcott and his oldest daughter, Anna, truly believed in the ideas of Fruitlands. It was meant to be a simple, shared farm life. But Louisa and her mother understood the hard work needed. They knew a farm like this needed a lot of effort to succeed.
One time, Bronson and another adult left for a meeting. A storm was coming, and the barley crop needed harvesting. Louisa and her mother had to bring in the grain all by themselves. Fruitlands did not last long. In less than a year, the family had to move again.
Louisa's Journey to Becoming an Author
Invincible Louisa also talks about the Alcotts' friendship with Ralph Waldo Emerson. He was a famous writer and thinker. The book shares events that Louisa later used in her famous novel, Little Women. These include meetings of the Pickwick Club. It also tells about the sad death of one of Louisa's younger sisters, Elizabeth.
Later, Louisa left her family home. She wanted to earn her own money. She did this by writing and teaching. During the Civil War, she went to Washington, D.C. There, she worked as a nurse for soldiers.
The book ends with Louisa writing Little Women. After that, she wrote two more popular books. These were Little Men and Jo's Boys. The success of these books brought Louisa great happiness. According to the book, she finally achieved her main goal. She could now take care of her family.
