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.
Louisa May Alcott (November 29, 1832 – March 6, 1888) was an American writer. She was born at Germantown, Pennsylvania to Amos Bronson Alcott, a controversial educator.
In 1834, the Alcott family moved to Massachusetts, finally settling at Concord. Family friends in the area included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Nathaniel Hawthorne.