Louisa May Alcott: A Biography

Rating:
Summary: good
Review: "Moods" was a very good boo

Rating:
Summary: 19C Style Detracts from BIography by Leading Alcott Scholar
Review: Madeleine Stern was integral in uncovering the "lost" thrillers of Louisa May Alcott, which were published under her pen name A.M.Barnard. Because of her familiarity with Alcott's life and work, I expected a lot more out of the biography than I received. The author's 19C style detracts from the information presented and often leads to confusion on the part of the reader, assuming the reader has familiarity with the vocabulary, customs and diseases of the 19C. The author also mentions characters without bothering to mention their significance. For example "Miss Burnett" is mentioned several times in the biography. What is never mentioned is that "Miss Burnett" is Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of such childhood classics as "A Little Princess" and "The Secret Garden." I felt this book would have been more useful to me had it been written in a more straight forward style and been more educational in its approach not only to the Alcott in particular, but to the 19C in general.

Rating:
Summary: 19C Style Detracts from BIography by Leading Alcott Scholar
Review: Madeleine Stern was integral in uncovering the "lost" thrillers of Louisa May Alcott, which were published under her pen name A.M.Barnard. Because of her familiarity with Alcott's life and work, I expected a lot more out of the biography than I received. The author's 19C style detracts from the information presented and often leads to confusion on the part of the reader, assuming the reader has familiarity with the vocabulary, customs and diseases of the 19C. The author also mentions characters without bothering to mention their significance. For example "Miss Burnett" is mentioned several times in the biography. What is never mentioned is that "Miss Burnett" is Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of such childhood classics as "A Little Princess" and "The Secret Garden." I felt this book would have been more useful to me had it been written in a more straight forward style and been more educational in its approach not only to the Alcott in particular, but to the 19C in general.