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Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House

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Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House

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Summer Conversational Series Adult & Teacher Education

"The Angel and the Demon" - Good and Evil in the Life and Literature of Louisa May Alcott

Sunday-Thursday July 16-20, 2023

  • In-person:  The Concord School of Philosophy on the grounds of Orchard House
  • Virtual option also available

But who wrote this story? Whose hand painted these marvelous pictures of the angel and the demon striving for the mastery in every human soul?


Review of A Modern Mephistopheles in The New Age, 1877

When A Modern Mephistopheles (1877) was first published by Roberts Brothers for the No Name Series, readers were stumped as to the identity of the author.   No one suspected that the person who penned this intriguing tale of good and evil, based on Goethe’s Faust, could possibly be Louisa May Alcott, who was best known for her children’s books, including, of course, the classic Little Women.


 Few of Alcott’s devoted readers knew the scope of her interest in the raging forces within a human soul that could bring someone to the brink of insanity or harbor the will to cause chaos and destruction.   She not only explored the dichotomy of good and evil in human nature through her “blood-and-thunder” tales — many written under a pseudonym — but touched upon that topic in aspects of her children’s literature as well. 

What motivated Alcott’s examination of the dark side of humanity, and how did her interest in good and evil play out in her own life? 

Growing up in a reform-minded family, Alcott learned early on that mastering the forces of evil within her own mind and soul and replacing those impulses with the innate goodness that her parents convinced her could be found and nurtured would prove to be a lifelong task for a headstrong young woman finding her way in a world that was not always kind or encouraging.

 The topic of good and evil remains prevalent in today’s arts and culture:  in childhood fairy tales, films and television shows, books, and the daily news.  This year’s Summer Series Presenters and participants will explore the contrasts of good and evil that appear in the life and works of Louisa May Alcott, her contemporaries, and modern-day writers.

registration
daily schedule of presentations

Distinguished Presenters & Special Guests

Click button below for brief biographies of our Presenters

Clare Comm

Gabrielle Donnelly

Cathlin Davis

University of Massachusetts - Lowell

Cathlin Davis

Gabrielle Donnelly

Cathlin Davis

University of California - Stanislaus

Gabrielle Donnelly

Gabrielle Donnelly

Gabrielle Donnelly

Journalist / Author

Lisa Elwood-Farber

Gabrielle Donnelly

Gabrielle Donnelly

Herkimer County (NY) Community College / Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Anne-Laure François

Anne-Laure François

Anne-Laure François

 Université Paris Nanterre (France)

Lauren Hehmeyer

Anne-Laure François

Anne-Laure François

Speaker / Writer / Scholar

Kristi Martin

Anne-Laure François

Kristi Martin

Scholar / Historical Interpreter

John Matteson

Anne-Laure François

Kristi Martin

Scholar / Pulitzer Prize Winner / John Jay College (NY)

Julie Morfee

Mark Hamilton Ostrander

Mark Hamilton Ostrander

  University of California - Berkeley

/ De Anza College (Cupertino, CA)

Mark Hamilton Ostrander

Mark Hamilton Ostrander

Mark Hamilton Ostrander

  Storyteller / Content Creator / Educator

Sandra Petrulionis

Mark Hamilton Ostrander

Sandra Petrulionis

Pennsylvania State University - Altoona

Kristina West

Mark Hamilton Ostrander

Sandra Petrulionis

Author / Academic

Click this button for brief biographies of our Distinguished Presenters:

Presenter biographies

"Allan's Neighbor"

George Housman Thomas

(1824 - 1868)

"Rejoice Not Against Me"

George Woolliscroft Rhead

(1854 - 1920)


registration

"The Door Suddenly Closed"

Oswaldo Tofani

(1849 - 1915)

Discover more about The Concord School of Philosophy

The School had an unusual genesis, a heralded initial run, and a long-awaited revival.  Treat yourself to an overview of its origin story, insights into the people who made it happen, and an understanding of the ideals that continue to inspire it, including contemporaneous accounts and an image gallery!

More about The school

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