Who was the Army Nurse who won fame by writing books for girls?

Her name was Louisa May Alcott. She was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, on November 29, 1832, the daughter of Amos Bronson Alcott, a struggling educationalist who could obviously have profited by a little education himself in a few financial matters.

Louisa became an army nurse during the American Civil War and in 1863 her book Hospital Sketches, a record of her army experiences, was published. It was this book that her some measure of success, although her first book Flower Fables had been published in 1855.

She wrote primarily to support her family and rather feckless father. In 1869, her book Little women appeared and Louisa May Alcott’s name was ranked with the famous writers.

There now followed more books in the same vein, An old Fashioned Girl, Little Men, Good Wives and Jo’s Boys.
She died March 6, 1888, but her books have never lost their appeal.