Louisa May Alcott is probably best known for Little Women, her semi-autobiographical novel. Jo March, the heroine of the story, has captured generations of hearts and minds with her feisty, strong personality.
Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on November 29, 1832. She and her three sisters, Anna, Elizabeth and May spent their childhood in Boston and in Concord, Massachusetts.
Like Jo March, young Louisa was a tomboy. She also loved reading, writing and putting on plays with her sisters.
The family were poor, and Louisa took a series of different jobs to help out. She continued writing, though, and when she was just 22, her first book Flower Fables was published.
As well as the extremely popular Little Women, with its follow-ups, Good Wives, Good Men and Jo's Boys, Louisa wrote racy 'pot-boilers' under the pseudonym A. M. Barnard. I had no idea!
I also didn't realise that Louisa published over 30 books and collections of stories in her lifetime. Louisa died from mercury-poisoning (she had been exposed during her nursing service in the American Civil War) aged 55.
Did you know? Alcott was an abolitionist and a feminist. She supported women's suffrage and was the first woman to register to vote in Concord, Massachusetts.
The Alcott's family home, Orchard House, is open for guided tours. Or you can take a virtual look around.
