Learn more about the Alcotts and their world, and support Orchard House with your order. Every book includes an original Orchard House bookplate and bookmark.

Click here for an alphabetical list of all books available in the Museum Shop.

Books for Children about Louisa May Alcott

Invincible Louisa

By Cornelia Meigs

This Newbery Award-winning biography is excellent for young adults and adolescents.

Paperback. $7.99

ISBN 0-316-56594-6.

By Yona Zeldis McDonough. Illustrated by Bethanne Andersen.

From pillow fights and strawberry parties with her sisters, through nursing soldiers in the Civil War to her later writing successes, this picture-book biography for young readers captures the life of a compassionate and talented woman. Ages 8 - 12.

Hardcover. $17.99.

ISBN 978-0-8050-8192-3.

Books for Children about 19th-Century America

Perspectives on History Series

Collections of easily understandable primary source documents provide contemporary insights into various issues of the 19th century.

History Compass. Paperback. $7.95 each.

The Underground Railroad: Life on the Road to Freedom. Edited by Pat Perrin. $7.95.
ISBN 1-57960-051-4.

The New England Transcendentalists: Life of the Mind and of the Spirit. Edited by Ellen Hansen. $7.95
ISBN 1-878668-22-6.

Women in the Civil War: Warriors Patriots, Nurses, and Spies. Edited by Phyllis Raybin Emert. $7.95
ISBN 1-878668-45-5.

Forward into Light: The Struggle for Woman's Suffrage. Edited by Madeleine Meyers. $7.95.
ISBN 1-878668-25-0

Publications from Orchard House

The Concord School of Philosophy.
Booklet, $3.95
An overview of the eminent men and women involved in the Concord School of Philosophy.

The Poetry of Louisa May Alcott   
Booklet: $ 6.99
A collection of delightful poems, edited by our own Maria Powers and published by Orchard House. Many of these literary gems have never before been available.

Books for Adults by Louisa May Alcott

The Journals of Louisa May Alcott

Edited by Joel Myerson and Daniel Shealy. Associate Editor, Madeleine Stern. Introduction by Madeleine Stern.

"It's a credit to Louisa May Alcott's timeless storytelling abilities that her thoughts on women's suffrage, slavery, and even berry picking are nevertheless illuminating." - The New York Times Book Review

Selected entries from Louisa's extensive journals provide a fascinating in-depth look at the thoughts of a remarkable woman.

University of Georgia Press. Paperback. $29.95

ISBN 0-8203-1950-3

The Selected Letters of Louisa May Alcott

Edited by Joel Myerson, Daniel Shealy and Madeleine Stern.

Private and public correspondence of Louisa with in-depth annotations.

University of Georgia Press. Paperback. $26.95

ISBN 0-8203-1740-3

L.M. Alcott: Signature of Reform

Edited and with an introduction by Madeleine Stern.

Inspired by the Orchard House Summer Conversational Series of 2000 and 2001, this is a collection of reform-minded writing that influenced 19th century intellectuals, placed alongside Louisa's own writings on reform.

University Press of New England. Paperback. $18.95.

ISBN 1-55553-517.

Books for Adults about Louisa May Alcott and her Family

Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women

By Harriet Reisen.

“Brilliantly researched and brings to light significant new information on the author of Little Women. Beautifully and sympathetically written ... will occupy an essential place on any Alcott bookshelf.”
  - John Matteson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Eden’s Outcasts

Henry Holt. Hardcover. $26.00
ISBN 978-0-8050-8299-9.

See also the audiobook and DVD on our media page.

Louisa May Alcott: A Biography

By Madeleine Stern.

Recommended and well-read by Orchard House staff, this is a definitive biography of the author of Little Woman.

University Press of New England. Paperback. $35.00

ISBN 1555534171.

Eden’s Outcasts:
The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father

By John Matteson.

Winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for biography.

“John Matteson's engrossing biography of the Alcotts achieves a rare fusion of intellectual precision and emotional empathy. Eden's Outcasts combines the eye of a philosopher with the heart of a novelist. A deftly rendered and highly recommended portrait of an incomparable father and daughter.” -- Madeleine B. Stern

W.W. Norton & Company. Paperback. $17.95.
ISBN 978-0-393-33359-6.

Louisa May Alcott: Her Life, Letters, and Journals

Edited by Ednah Dow Cheney.

Originally published just a year after Louisa May Alcott’s death at the age of 55, this biography incorporates personal letters and journal entries from Alcott along with commentary from Cheney -- who was a close family friend -- to paint a picture of Alcott’s “true and frank nature,” exemplify the many ways she “faithfully and fully performed whatever duties circumstances laid upon her,” and reveal how she infused her timeless and much-loved classics with many of her own life experiences.

Applewood Books, paperback, 428 pages, illustrated. $19.95.
ISBN #978-1-4290-4460-8

Louisa May Alcott: Quilts of Her Life, Her Works, Her Heart

By Terry Clothier Thompson.

The heart of the book is the Louisa quilt. In this quilt there are nine cameo blocks that tell the story of Louisa and her family's life in New England. Also, as part of the quilt, there are six pieced blocks from the Civil War era that can be used to make soldiers quilts.

Along with the Louisa quilt, the book contains patterns for three authentic soliders quilts and another magnificent appliqued quilt called Concord, Mass.

Kansas City Star Books, paperback. $19.95
ISBN 978-1-933466-53-8

Little Women Abroad:
The Alcott Sisters’ Letters from Europe, 1870-1871

Edited by Prof. Daniel Shealy, UNC-Charlotte.

A trove of words and pictures offers new insights into a celebrated American family! In 1870, Louisa May Alcott and her youngest sister May began a 14-month tour of Europe. Louisa had already made her mark as a writer with Little Women, Good Wives, and Old-Fashioned Girl (and would write Little Men during this trip), while May was on the verge of a respected art career. Little Women Abroad ... gathers a generous selection of May's drawings along with all of the known letters written by the two Alcott sisters during their trip. Most of the drawings included were previously unpublished, and of the seventy-one letters, more than three-quarters appear in their entirety for the first time.

Prof. Shealy's supporting materials add detail and context to the people, places, and events referenced in the letters and illustrations. This work tells a vibrant story of two important American artists -- one literary, the other visual -- at the crossroads of American and European history and culture. A must-read for any fan of the Alcott family!

University of Georgia Press. Hardcover, with 79 illustrations. $34.95
ISBN 0-8203-3009-9.

Louisa May Alcott:
From Blood and Thunder to Hearth and Home

By Madeleine Stern.

Collected essays by a noted Alcott scholar tracing the evolution of Louisa May Alcott's literary career.

University Press of New England. Paperback. $22.95

ISBN 1-55553-3485.

Alcott: In Her Own Time

Edited by University of North Carolina Professor Daniel Shealy.

A neat compendium of Louisa May Alcott’s life as told through a series of recollections, interviews, and memoirs by family, friends, and associates.

Here are stories from the people who knew her, with several that focus on Louisa’s teen years, providing intimate glimpses into the life of the Alcotts that lead readers to one conclusion: the family was happy, fun, and entertaining -- very much like the fictional Marches.

University of Chicago Press. Paperback. $26.00
ISBN 0-8-7745-938X

Record of a School

By Elizabeth Palmer Peabody.

Introduction by Peabody biographer Megan Marshall.

Facsimile transcription of the detailed 1835 account of proceedings at Bronson Alcott’s Temple School in Boston. Includes actual dialogue between teacher and pupils, as well as illustrations of the unique classroom and daily schedule. This insight on teaching still holds relevance for any educator today.

Applewood Books. Paperback. $15.95
ISBN 1-55709-959-6

Salem Witch Judge:
The Life and Repentance of Samuel Sewall

By Eve LaPlante.

2008 Massachusetts Book Award for non-fiction.
2008 Winslow House Book Award "for the best book concerning the interaction of early New England with the wider Atlantic world."

Samuel Sewall was a direct ancestor of Louisa's mother, and of Eve LaPlante, author of this award-winning biography. Former Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis writes that this biography "profiles an early American politician whose example stands out for its courage and its wisdom."

Harper Publishing. Hardcover. $12.50 Out of print: Special price.
ISBN 978-0-06-078661-8

Books for Adults about Concord

Concord: Its Poets and Its Places

Photographs by Rodger and Mary Nordblum.

With selected writings by Emerson, Alcott, Hawthorne, and Thoreau.
The exceptional background and beauty of Concord is revealed through these photographs of historic sites and natural settings.

Publisher - Rodger Nordblum. Paperback. $19.95.
ISBN 09652175-0-7.

Revolutionary Boston, Lexington, and Concord

by Joseph L. Andrews, Jr., and Contributors.

A visitor's guide to sites of importance in the Revolutionary War period.

Commonwealth Editions. Paperback. $14.95

ISBN 889833-22-3.

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