Who was Louisa May Alcott? Little Women author celebrated with Google Doodle
SHE'S considered one of the best-known female authors of all time and her iconic children's book has inspired millions.
Louisa May Alcott based her characters in Little Woman on her own family and Google is commemorating her 184th birthday with a Doodle displaying the main cast.
Who was Louisa May Alcott?
Born on November 29, 1832, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Louisa May Alcott was the second-eldest of four girls.
Her father - who was part of the Transcendentalist movement - and her mother, a social worker, moved the family to Boston, Massachusetts, when she was just two.
She was educated mainly by her father and grew up in the company of luminaries like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau, who fostered in her a strong sense of civic duty.
Her family's home was a station on the Underground Railroad, where they served as station masters.
Due to financial struggles, Alcott had to go to work as an early age, taking jobs as a teacher, seamstress, governess, domestic helper and writer.
She also volunteered as a nurse during the American Civil War but contracted typhoid and fell gravely ill after just six weeks.
Writing became her creative and emotional outlet from the stresses of day to day life, which could see her working 14 hour days.
In addition to being a writer, Alcott was a suffragist, abolitionist, and feminist.
She was active in the women's suffrage movement and became the first woman to register to vote in Concord, Massachusetts.
Unlike the characters in her book, Alcott never married and died at just 55 from a stroke.
Why was Little Women such a success?
Little Women was an immediate hit for Alcott after it was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869.
The book is based on her account life growing up with three sisters and follows the girls lives through to adulthood, with each having their own personalities and struggles.
It's a classic 'coming of age' drama and is still popular with children today.
One of the most notable quotes from the novel comes from the coltish Jo, who was Alcott's own vision of herself, who said: "I like good strong words that mean something."
Jo was known for strewing manuscript pages in her wake, charging ahead with the courage of her convictions, and cherishing her family above all.
Her book was adapted into several film versions, including two silent movies and four with sound, and a BBC TV series.
It was also performed on Broadway in 2005, an opera version was produced in 1998, as well as a full-length play, staged in London and Essex in 2011.
Alcott also wrote sequels to Little Women, including, Little men (1871) and Jo's Boys (1886).
The Google Doodle was illustrated by Sophie Diao and portrays Little Women's Beth, Jo, Amy, and Meg March, as well as Jo's best friend Laurie, their neighbour.
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