"At last, Louisa May Alcott has the biography that admirers of Little Women might have hoped for." —The Wall Street Journal's Best 10 Books of the Year

A fresh, modern take on the remarkable Louisa May Alcott, Harriet Reisen's vivid biography explores the author's life in the context of her works, many of which are to some extent autobiographical. Although Alcott secretly wrote pulp fiction, harbored radical abolitionist views, and served as a Civil War nurse, her novels went on to sell more copies than those of Herman Melville and Henry James.

Stories and details culled from Alcott's journals, together with revealing letters to family, friends, and publishers, plus recollections of her famous contemporaries, provide the basis for this lively account of the author's classic rags-to-riches tale.

"A beautifully written, significant, and fascinating work. Harriet Reisen does with this biography what Alcott did with her writing—gives us a memorable and inspiring gift full of humanity, heart, and soul." —Winona Ryder, producer and star of Little Women (1994)

"Fans will adore Harriet Reisen's sympathetic biography . . . With charming verve, she details Alcott's remarkable if difficult life." —USA Today

"Superb . . . punctuates the myths of the Alcott family, rendering Louisa May with nuance." —Chicago Tribune

"A biography as vibrant as its subject." —Vogue

"Brilliantly researched . . . Her biography will occupy an essential place on any Alcott bookshelf." —John Matteson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author