Louisa on the Front Lines: Louisa May Alcott in the Civil War

by Samantha Seiple Narrated by Chloe Cannon

Overview

An eye-opening look at Little Women author Louisa May Alcott's time as a Civil War nurse, and the far-reaching implications her service had on her writing and her activism

Louisa on the Frontlines is the first narrative nonfiction book focusing on the least-known aspect of Louisa May Alcott's career - her time spent as a nurse during the Civil War. Though her service was brief, the dramatic experience was one that she considered pivotal in helping her write the beloved classic Little Women. It also deeply affected her tenuous relationship with her father, and inspired her commitment to abolitionism. Through it all, she kept a journal and wrote letters to her family and friends. These letters were published in the newspaper, and her subsequent book, Hospital Sketches spotlighted the dire conditions of the military hospitals and the suffering endured by the wounded soldiers she cared for. To this day, her work is considered a pioneering account of military nursing.

Alcott's time as an Army nurse in the Civil War helped her find her authentic voice--and cemented her foundational belief system. Louisa on the Frontlines reveals the emergence of this prominent feminist and abolitionist--a woman whose life and work has inspired millions and continues to do so today,

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Louisa on the Front Lines is a lively account of a critical moment in Alcott's life, her time working as a nurse in the Civil War — a moment that reverberates, sometimes in surprising ways, in her most beloved work."—Louisa Thomas, Author of Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams

"Bravo to Samantha Seiple for her sensitive portrayal of the difficulties and the successes of Civil War nurses, as seen through the clear eyes of Louisa May Alcott."—Dr. Patricia Brady, Historian and Biographer

"Louisa on the Front Lines tells the story of a powerful period in Louisa May Alcott's life—her brief occupation as a Civil War nurse. Samantha Seiple, with her lively, well-researched narrative, captures Alcott at a pivotal time in the history of our country and in her own career as a young writer. Readers will discover the story both engaging and informative. Alcott herself would have marveled at how Seiple's biographical and historical account reads like a novel!"—Daniel Shealy, UNC Professor of English and editor of The Journals of Louisa May Alcott

"There's a beautiful humanness in Seiple's descriptions of Alcott...Readers will discover in these pages an author as vibrant as her writings, and find themselves returning to her work with fresh eyes. Alcott scholars will encounter a liveliness if not substantive new information."—Library Journal

Kirkus Reviews

2018-11-20

A tightly focused biography on a brief period in the life of Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888): her time as a nurse during the Civil War.

Alcott's life seems like something out of our imagination. She was raised in Concord, Massachusetts, with a transcendentalist father and social worker mother, and she became closely acquainted with John Brown, Harriet Tubman, and Frederick Douglass, with whom she shared abolitionist sympathies. Though she experienced a wealth of intellectual stimulus, she and her family also struggled financially, causing her and her sisters to seek work where they could find it. As young adult nonfiction author Seiple (Death on the River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Amazon Adventure, 2017, etc.) shows, that was a most difficult task in 1860s America, where options for women were severely limited. Thankfully, Alcott realized her writing talent early, and by her late 20s, she had published a book as well as articles in the Atlantic Monthly. In 1858, tragedy struck with the death of her younger sister, despite Louisa's devoted nursing. By 1862, she discovered the popularity of sensational thrillers published in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper and provided a steady stream of stories under a male name, thus providing a small income. Even with her literary success, she felt the need to affect the ongoing war, so she volunteered and traveled to Washington, D.C., to serve at the Union Hotel Hospital. There she met a badly wounded man who opened her heart and wakened her authentic voice, transforming her characters and stories forever. During her time at the hospital, Alcott nearly died of pneumonia and returned to Concord. There she wrote Hospital Sketches, Thoreau's Flute, and Pauline's Passion and Punishment, which earned enough to save her family. Then she published Little Women, in which "she expertly weaved her progressive beliefs and empathetic insights…creating original and unforgettable characters." Throughout, Seiple's fluid style of writing displays few fireworks but makes the story read like a novel.

A useful addition to the Alcott archives that would also appeal to younger readers.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173838162
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	02/26/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged

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