She was raised in poverty. Her mother made her clothes. The family moved around a lot. They often depended on the kindness of friends and relatives to survive. Her father, an impossible dreamer, was frequently away from home and her mother was the practical parent, the one who often took menial jobs to feed the family. She and her sisters were put to work as soon as they were of age to help support the family.
Yet she was brought up with the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Nathaniel Hawthorne as neighbors, teachers, role models and close family friends.
She is Louisa May Alcott and this unit explores her life and her works –specifically Little Women (published in 1868).
