ePub Marmee Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother by Eve LaPlante in History

Review

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful. A Victorian woman speaksBy YA LibrarianLouisa May Alcott's life is well known; and many historians have stated that it was her father; Bronson; that helped mold his daughter into the amazing woman she became. That theory never set well with me. I often wondered if historians were shutting out an important chapter in Louisa's life. Did Louisa's mother play a larger part in her daughter's life? Were historians not giving Abigail her due because; after all; she was just a Victorian woman subjected to the domestic sphere of life.Abigail has never been known to most people because her journals and letters were supposedly burned by her husband and famous daughter. The public image of Marmee; the tranquil; loving angel of the household had to be kept up no matter what. The family did not what future biographers writing about Abigail's headstrong ways and Bronson didn't like some of the things his wife wrote about him. Her image had to be upheld no matter what. And for the most part that was true. There is one biography about her life entitled Marmee: The Mother Of Little Women; but that gives very little insight into her thoughts.Ms. LaPlante stumbled onto Abigail's letters and journals. These papers allows us to peel away the layers of the iconic Marmee and see who she really was.The book is filled with many firsts and that makes it a treasure. It begins with the history of the Mays and explores Abigail's life as a girl and young woman. The reader is introduced to a headstrong woman who has a mind of her own; wants to explore education; embraces many radical ideas of the time(anti slavery and giving women the right to vote). She may become a spinster; and is comfortable with her role. However; she meets Bronson and is overtaken by love.The heart of the book; I believe; is when we see Abigail struggle with her marriage. No other book has portrayed this in such a powerful way. Everyone knows that Abigail had a difficult time being Mrs. Alcott. The book does not portray Bronson in a positive light. If anything he comes off as a bumbling fool; lazy; hopeless; unrealistic and an unlikeable person. And frankly I'm a fine with this interpretation. The man left his family for long periods of time and let them drown in poverty. Victorian women needed a man(in many cases) to survive and Bronson was too busy chasing his own dreams like a clueless child.The snippets of journal entries and letters to family members gives Abigail; a Victorian woman; a voice. Finally; after decades of silence she speaks and what the reader encounters is powerful and sad. We are exposed to her thoughts on a variety of subjects. Mrs. Alcott struggled to feed her children. The poor woman relies on charity from friends; asks family for money and takes in boarders to provide for her four daughters. Abigail endured countless moves; horrible utopian ideas(Fruitlands) and long; painful absences from her husband. Bronson threatens to leave his wife and during one period believes in staying out of the marriage bed. She suffered a miscarriage and a stillborn son. Despite her hardships she was a very progressive woman and Abigail passed on her views to her daughters.Through Lousia's and Abigail's journals we see that there is a strong bond between mother and daughter. The two women are very much alike in temperament; dreams and philosophy. It is Abigail who encourages Louisa to write. And I think Ms. LaPlante makes it clear that it was Mrs. Alcott who encouraged Louisa to pursue her dreams. I also agree with the author that it was Mrs. Alcott's marriage that exposed Louisa to the horrors of a Victorian marriage. The toil wore down her mother and made her weary and ill; would the same hold true for Louisa if she married? Was Louisa willing to take the risk? In the end the answer; as we all know; is no. There is little doubt that Louisa's choice to remain a spinster was made easier by watching her mother's suffering.Louisa's struggles and accomplishments are found later in the book. Ms. LaPlante writes about Louisa's rise to fame; the books she wrote and even some of the short stories. Abigail's journals and letters do not show up as often in later chapters; but that is no doubt due to illness and old age. She was feeble from a life of hard work and her eyes were not very good.Ms. LaPlante has succeeded in giving Mrs. Abigail May Alcott a voice. She; like so many other Victorian woman; toiled and worked hard to make her family as happy and comfortable as she could. The discovery of her letters and journals are amazing and sheds new light onto the life of Louisa and her mother.This book is a must read for anyone interested in Louisa May Alcott's life. In order to understand the headstrong; successful author one must know her mother because without Abigail I do not think Louisa would have graced us with her amazing talent.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. I was interested especially since I like nonfiction. I ordered the book immediately (hardcoverBy bekki speeksI heard a Jacksonville librarian raving about this book on the radio. I was interested especially since I like nonfiction. I ordered the book immediately (hardcover; full retail price) as a gift for my daughter. Fortunately I read it first. Considering the author had family archives and possibly might have inherited Louisa's writing genes; this book was an ordeal. Abigail was a popular name back then and the reader doesn't get clues as to which Abigail we are discussing. As another reviewer stated; the book is not much more than quotes and very little narrative. The book is an excellent reference book; but not an enjoyable read. I did plod all the way through to the end but never passed it on to my daughter. This was a disappointment. I'm giving it four stars because of the effort the author made; not because it was a good read.7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Juicy as a SequelBy Yours TrulyAnyone who read Little Women and other children's fiction by Louisa May Alcott and marveled at the family's forbearance in the face of genteel poverty should read this book. The fictional gentle minister father off to see the troops on the Civil War battlefield was really a long-winded narcissist; and Marmee struggled all her adult life with her rage at his willful failure to support his family. The real Jo (Louisa) may not have been as ruthless as Scarlett O'Hara; but she was determined never to be hungry again.Author Eve LaPlante; a descendant of the May family herself; recasts this saga through feminist eyes with Abigail May Alcott (Marmee) and not her husband; Bronson; as Louisa's guiding light. It was Marmee who gave Louisa the materials she needed to write (pencils; a pen; journals) and encouraged her from girlhood. Again and again as Bronson moved from trying and failing to establish progressive schools then wandered off to give public "conversations;" the family struggled with debt; moved from place to place; and often lacked adequate food. Although smart and curious as her Harvard-educated minister brother; Abigail was privately tutored but never studied for a degree and was discouraged by her sex from entering the public sphere. Once married (she proposed to Bronson rather than accede to her father's wishes to marry a first cousin); Abigail lost her property rights and would have stood to lose her children had she divorced. She earned a little money from sewing and boarding students that her husband abandoned. managing a spa and working among the poor; but mostly she relied on funds from her brother; Samuel Joseph May; and the kindness of friends and other relatives. If the story has a hero; it is the principled; generous abolitionist brother whose grandchildren Louisa would eventually send to college.LaPlante's account is full of interactions with various leading lights of the period--Margaret Fuller; Henry David Thoreau; Ralph Waldo Emerson; Theodore Parker; William Lloyd Garrison; Susan B. Anthony--but her focus is on Louisa's relationship with her mother and her sisters. Sadly; Louisa abandons her insights about the need for women's rights and freedom in the public sphere when she pursues the fiction that would make her rich and famous. The truths here are more interesting than the soothing fictions that Alcott wove; but LaPlante can't change the ending.