Reading Group Guide to
Marmee & Louisa
The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother
Author: Eve LaPlante
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Website: www.evelaplante.com
Available in: Hardcover, 384 pages. $26. (ISBN 1451620667)
Paperback, 384 pages. $15 (ISBN 1452640467)
Audiobook. $29.99 (ISBN 1452640467)
E-book. $11.89 (ASIN B0007EDYNFE)
About Marmee & Louisa
Hailed by NPR as one of the best books of the year, Marmee & Louisa paints an exquisitely moving and utterly convincing portrait of Louisa May Alcott and her mother, the real “Marmee.” In this dual biography award-winning author Eve LaPlante mines the Alcotts’ intimate diaries and other private papers, some recently discovered in a family attic and others thought to have been destroyed, to resuscitate this remarkable mother and daughter. Abigail May Alcott—long dismissed as a quiet, self-effacing background figure—comes to life in Marmee & Louisa as a gifted writer and thinker. An activist feminist firebrand, she fought for universal civil rights, an end to slavery, and female suffrage. This gorgeously written story of two extraordinary women transforms our view and deepens our understanding of one of America’s most beloved authors.
Topics to Consider
1. Having read Marmee & Louisa, do you believe that the March family created by Louisa in Little Women was in fact autobiographical? If so, in what ways? Who was the model for Mr. March, a character unlike Louisa’s actual father? Is “Marmee,” the mother in the novel, an accurate portrayal of Abigail?
2. Why was the adult Louisa, despite her extraordinary success as an entrepreneur and writer, never really able to separate from her first family?
3. The real-life Marmee, unlike the homely retiring housewife we tend to envision, was a strong and complex person with dreams familiar to women today. From girlhood Abigail desired things she could not have: an education, public power, and a voice in the world. How did she succeed realizing her goals, both in her own life and also vicariously, through her daughters?
4. Abigail was Louisa’s mentor, muse, and inspiration. Not only did she encourage Louisa to write from an early age, but also she provided material for Louisa’s fiction. She encouraged her daughter to read her private journals, which contained detailed descriptions of Abigail’s marital troubles, dreams, and frustrations. Discuss the ways in which aspects of Abigail’s inner life reappear in Louisa’s adult novel, sensational stories, and juvenile fiction.
5. The Alcott family biographer Madelon Bedell claimed that Abigail was “in some ways…a better writer than her more famous daughter.” Do you agree?
6. Considering both Marmee & Louisa and its companion volume, My Heart Is Boundless: Writing of Abigail May Alcott, Louisa’s Mother, compare the writing styles of Abigail and Louisa.
7. Based on their writings, what sort of women were Abigail and Louisa? Consider their differences and similarities.
8. It seems incredible that Abigail has so long been ignored. Her husband’s and daughter’s journals and letters have been in print for generations, but Abigail’s papers are only now being published and discussed, even though hundreds of pages of them existed in university archives. How do you explain this long neglect of Abigail?
9. How do the stories of these nineteenth-century women, Abigail and Louisa, resonate for you as a modern reader? In what ways can you identify with one or both of them? In what ways do you face the same challenges the Alcott women faced?
About the Author
Eve LaPlante is the author of Marmee & Louisa (2012), Salem Witch Judge (2007), American Jezebel (2004), and Seized (1993), and the editor of My Heart is Boundless, a collection of Abigail May Alcott’s private papers. A great niece and first cousin of Abigail and Louisa May Alcott, LaPlante lives with her family in New England. Visit her online at www.evelaplante.com.
Critical Praise
“Marvelous … A Top Ten Book of the Year … Marmee & Louisa charts Abigail’s relatively unacknowledged influence as a progressive thinker on her famous daughter.”
— NPR
“The best nonfiction book of the year.”
— Improper Bostonian
“In this meticulously researched look at Louisa May Alcott and her mother, LaPlante shatters myths about the supposedly passive Marmee, replacing them with a portrait of a woman who fought for a woman's right to education, professional and maternal satisfaction, and power.”
— People Magazine
“This revealing biography…will forever change how we view the characters and their relationships in Louisa [May Alcott]’s novels.”
— USA Today
“It’s hard to imagine that anything new could be said about the life of Louisa May Alcott … Yet…LaPlante isn’t just any biographer … [A]n intimate portrait of mother and daughter, showing how their lives were profoundly intertwined … Fascinating.”
— Boston Globe
“Engrossing … LaPlante, a descendant of the Alcotts, pursued this untold story after discovering forgotten journals and letters in an attic trunk. In her skilled hands these documents yield Abigail unabridged: a thinker, writer, activist, wife and mother who held fast to her convictions in the face of terrible suffering … In bringing to life the woman who made Louisa May Alcott’s work possible, LaPlante shows…there’s even more to admire in the real Abigail than in the fictional Marmee … [T]his is a biography of Louisa, too.”
— Washington Post
“Abigail May Alcott…[or] ‘Marmee,’ as her daughters called her, was a fine writer, an indefatigable reformer, a devoted teacher — and, above all, Louisa’s literary lodestar … [After] the wildly popular Little Women…[Bronson Alcott] was, he crowed, ‘the Father of Miss Alcott.’ At last, people came to hear him lecture. To his credit, though,…he mentioned in passing that Louisa’s mother hadn’t yet received ‘her full share.’ To her credit, LaPlante evens the score.”
— The New York Times Book Review
“[An] involving mother-daughter portrait … Although bitter ironies mark each woman’s story, vividly set within the social upheavals of the Civil War era, their profound love, intellect, and courage shine.”
— Booklist, starred review
“Revelatory … Convincing … Abigail’s daughters were her dreams made manifest.”
— Seattle Times
“The eye-opener of Eve LaPlante’s marvelous new dual biography…is that Abigail was every inch the social philosopher that Bronson was when it came to…abolition and women’s rights … A romance.”
— Maureen Corrigan, National Public Radio
“This revealing biography…will forever change how we view the characters and their relationships in Louisa’s novels … Louisa drew heavily from Abigail’s life experiences in her own writings … [R]evel in LaPlante’s biography…and then turn to a bonus…companion volume, My Heart Is Boundless, writings of Abigail May Alcott.”
— USA Today
“The single most memorable character from a 2012 book…[is] Louisa May Alcott’s mother,…one of the subjects of Eve LaPlante’s Marmee & Louisa,…whose activist life and tart, intelligent writing just blew me away.”
— Salon
“Superbly crafted … [A]n impeccably documented and verified biographical masterpiece … [A] genuine story of women who were heroines of their time … [An] intensely moving story whose truth is all the more powerful for being fleshed out in such an engaging and heartfelt style.”
— Bookreporter
“Nineteenth-century New England literature buffs and Alcott aficionados will appreciate this well-wrought study.”
— Library Journal
“LaPlante has turned up more material on Abigail May Alcott than most scholars thought possible…”
— Washington Independent Review of Books
“Compelling…”
— Publishers Weekly
“An important book … Writing engagingly and with precision, Eve LaPlante sheds new light on the Alcott story, a story that is in some ways the story of America.”
— Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Thomas Jefferson
“‘Let the world know you are alive!’ Abigail Alcott counseled her daughter, who amply did, having inherited her mother’s spirit and frustrations, diaries, and work ethic … LaPlante beautifully resurrects her here. A most original love story, taut and tender.”
— Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Cleopatra
“[A] heartwarming and thoroughly researched story of family interdependence very much in the style of Louisa’s own unforgettable Little Women. No other biographer has examined so thoughtfully and with such compassion the mother-daughter relationship that supported both women through decades of adversity and brought a great American novel into being.”
— Megan Marshall, author of Margaret Fuller
“Louisa May Alcott’s mother…juggled work and family in ways that will be strikingly familiar to many contemporary readers … [T]he engrossing story of a vibrant, talented woman whose life and influence on her famous daughter has, until now, been erased.”
— Anne-Marie Slaughter, Princeton University
Marmee & Louisa
The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother
Author: Eve LaPlante
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Website: www.evelaplante.com
Available in: Hardcover, 384 pages. $26. (ISBN 1451620667)
Paperback, 384 pages. $15 (ISBN 1452640467)
Audiobook. $29.99 (ISBN 1452640467)
E-book. $11.89 (ASIN B0007EDYNFE)
About Marmee & Louisa
Hailed by NPR as one of the best books of the year, Marmee & Louisa paints an exquisitely moving and utterly convincing portrait of Louisa May Alcott and her mother, the real “Marmee.” In this dual biography award-winning author Eve LaPlante mines the Alcotts’ intimate diaries and other private papers, some recently discovered in a family attic and others thought to have been destroyed, to resuscitate this remarkable mother and daughter. Abigail May Alcott—long dismissed as a quiet, self-effacing background figure—comes to life in Marmee & Louisa as a gifted writer and thinker. An activist feminist firebrand, she fought for universal civil rights, an end to slavery, and female suffrage. This gorgeously written story of two extraordinary women transforms our view and deepens our understanding of one of America’s most beloved authors.
Topics to Consider
1. Having read Marmee & Louisa, do you believe that the March family created by Louisa in Little Women was in fact autobiographical? If so, in what ways? Who was the model for Mr. March, a character unlike Louisa’s actual father? Is “Marmee,” the mother in the novel, an accurate portrayal of Abigail?
2. Why was the adult Louisa, despite her extraordinary success as an entrepreneur and writer, never really able to separate from her first family?
3. The real-life Marmee, unlike the homely retiring housewife we tend to envision, was a strong and complex person with dreams familiar to women today. From girlhood Abigail desired things she could not have: an education, public power, and a voice in the world. How did she succeed realizing her goals, both in her own life and also vicariously, through her daughters?
4. Abigail was Louisa’s mentor, muse, and inspiration. Not only did she encourage Louisa to write from an early age, but also she provided material for Louisa’s fiction. She encouraged her daughter to read her private journals, which contained detailed descriptions of Abigail’s marital troubles, dreams, and frustrations. Discuss the ways in which aspects of Abigail’s inner life reappear in Louisa’s adult novel, sensational stories, and juvenile fiction.
5. The Alcott family biographer Madelon Bedell claimed that Abigail was “in some ways…a better writer than her more famous daughter.” Do you agree?
6. Considering both Marmee & Louisa and its companion volume, My Heart Is Boundless: Writing of Abigail May Alcott, Louisa’s Mother, compare the writing styles of Abigail and Louisa.
7. Based on their writings, what sort of women were Abigail and Louisa? Consider their differences and similarities.
8. It seems incredible that Abigail has so long been ignored. Her husband’s and daughter’s journals and letters have been in print for generations, but Abigail’s papers are only now being published and discussed, even though hundreds of pages of them existed in university archives. How do you explain this long neglect of Abigail?
9. How do the stories of these nineteenth-century women, Abigail and Louisa, resonate for you as a modern reader? In what ways can you identify with one or both of them? In what ways do you face the same challenges the Alcott women faced?
About the Author
Eve LaPlante is the author of Marmee & Louisa (2012), Salem Witch Judge (2007), American Jezebel (2004), and Seized (1993), and the editor of My Heart is Boundless, a collection of Abigail May Alcott’s private papers. A great niece and first cousin of Abigail and Louisa May Alcott, LaPlante lives with her family in New England. Visit her online at www.evelaplante.com.
Critical Praise
“Marvelous … A Top Ten Book of the Year … Marmee & Louisa charts Abigail’s relatively unacknowledged influence as a progressive thinker on her famous daughter.”
— NPR
“The best nonfiction book of the year.”
— Improper Bostonian
“In this meticulously researched look at Louisa May Alcott and her mother, LaPlante shatters myths about the supposedly passive Marmee, replacing them with a portrait of a woman who fought for a woman's right to education, professional and maternal satisfaction, and power.”
— People Magazine
“This revealing biography…will forever change how we view the characters and their relationships in Louisa [May Alcott]’s novels.”
— USA Today
“It’s hard to imagine that anything new could be said about the life of Louisa May Alcott … Yet…LaPlante isn’t just any biographer … [A]n intimate portrait of mother and daughter, showing how their lives were profoundly intertwined … Fascinating.”
— Boston Globe
“Engrossing … LaPlante, a descendant of the Alcotts, pursued this untold story after discovering forgotten journals and letters in an attic trunk. In her skilled hands these documents yield Abigail unabridged: a thinker, writer, activist, wife and mother who held fast to her convictions in the face of terrible suffering … In bringing to life the woman who made Louisa May Alcott’s work possible, LaPlante shows…there’s even more to admire in the real Abigail than in the fictional Marmee … [T]his is a biography of Louisa, too.”
— Washington Post
“Abigail May Alcott…[or] ‘Marmee,’ as her daughters called her, was a fine writer, an indefatigable reformer, a devoted teacher — and, above all, Louisa’s literary lodestar … [After] the wildly popular Little Women…[Bronson Alcott] was, he crowed, ‘the Father of Miss Alcott.’ At last, people came to hear him lecture. To his credit, though,…he mentioned in passing that Louisa’s mother hadn’t yet received ‘her full share.’ To her credit, LaPlante evens the score.”
— The New York Times Book Review
“[An] involving mother-daughter portrait … Although bitter ironies mark each woman’s story, vividly set within the social upheavals of the Civil War era, their profound love, intellect, and courage shine.”
— Booklist, starred review
“Revelatory … Convincing … Abigail’s daughters were her dreams made manifest.”
— Seattle Times
“The eye-opener of Eve LaPlante’s marvelous new dual biography…is that Abigail was every inch the social philosopher that Bronson was when it came to…abolition and women’s rights … A romance.”
— Maureen Corrigan, National Public Radio
“This revealing biography…will forever change how we view the characters and their relationships in Louisa’s novels … Louisa drew heavily from Abigail’s life experiences in her own writings … [R]evel in LaPlante’s biography…and then turn to a bonus…companion volume, My Heart Is Boundless, writings of Abigail May Alcott.”
— USA Today
“The single most memorable character from a 2012 book…[is] Louisa May Alcott’s mother,…one of the subjects of Eve LaPlante’s Marmee & Louisa,…whose activist life and tart, intelligent writing just blew me away.”
— Salon
“Superbly crafted … [A]n impeccably documented and verified biographical masterpiece … [A] genuine story of women who were heroines of their time … [An] intensely moving story whose truth is all the more powerful for being fleshed out in such an engaging and heartfelt style.”
— Bookreporter
“Nineteenth-century New England literature buffs and Alcott aficionados will appreciate this well-wrought study.”
— Library Journal
“LaPlante has turned up more material on Abigail May Alcott than most scholars thought possible…”
— Washington Independent Review of Books
“Compelling…”
— Publishers Weekly
“An important book … Writing engagingly and with precision, Eve LaPlante sheds new light on the Alcott story, a story that is in some ways the story of America.”
— Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Thomas Jefferson
“‘Let the world know you are alive!’ Abigail Alcott counseled her daughter, who amply did, having inherited her mother’s spirit and frustrations, diaries, and work ethic … LaPlante beautifully resurrects her here. A most original love story, taut and tender.”
— Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Cleopatra
“[A] heartwarming and thoroughly researched story of family interdependence very much in the style of Louisa’s own unforgettable Little Women. No other biographer has examined so thoughtfully and with such compassion the mother-daughter relationship that supported both women through decades of adversity and brought a great American novel into being.”
— Megan Marshall, author of Margaret Fuller
“Louisa May Alcott’s mother…juggled work and family in ways that will be strikingly familiar to many contemporary readers … [T]he engrossing story of a vibrant, talented woman whose life and influence on her famous daughter has, until now, been erased.”
— Anne-Marie Slaughter, Princeton University