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Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
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| 33607003606251 | Middle Fiction | ALCOTT | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
A shy orphan blossoms among her spirited relatives in this captivating novel by the author of "Little Women." Readers of all ages treasure its tales of friendship, kindness, and courage.
Author Notes
Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1832. Two years later, she moved with her family to Boston and in 1840 to Concord, which was to remain her family home for the rest of her life. Her father, Bronson Alcott, was a transcendentalist and friend of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Alcott early realized that her father could not be counted on as sole support of his family, and so she sacrificed much of her own pleasure to earn money by sewing, teaching, and churning out potboilers. Her reputation was established with Hospital Sketches (1863), which was an account of her work as a volunteer nurse in Washington, D.C.
Alcott's first works were written for children, including her best-known Little Women (1868--69) and Little Men: Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys (1871). Moods (1864), a "passionate conflict," was written for adults. Alcott's writing eventually became the family's main source of income.
Throughout her life, Alcott continued to produce highly popular and idealistic literature for children. An Old-Fashioned Girl (1870), Eight Cousins (1875), Rose in Bloom (1876), Under the Lilacs (1878), and Jack and Jill (1881) enjoyed wide popularity. At the same time, her adult fiction, such as the autobiographical novel Work: A Story of Experience (1873) and A Modern Mephistopheles (1877), a story based on the Faust legend, shows her deeper concern with such social issues as education, prison reform, and women's suffrage. She realistically depicts the problems of adolescents and working women, the difficulties of relationships between men and women, and the values of the single woman's life.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (1)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6 Up-At the age of 13, Rose finds herself orphaned and living with two elderly aunts on "Aunt Hill" where she is treated as delicately as the flower for which she is named. But Rose soon finds her quiet world turned upside down with the arrival of her seven boisterous boy cousins followed by her Uncle Alec, a doctor and a world traveler. Upon meeting Rose, Uncle Alec quickly prescribes fresh air and much activity to help with the girl's poor constitution. Uncle Alec's diagnosis turns out to be an accurate one and Rose, with the help of her cousins, finds herself in the middle of much hijinx and merriment. Veteran stage actress Barbara Caruso brilliantly breaths life into each and every one of Louisa May Alcott's delightful characters. With just the slightest change of inflection she is able to capture the essence of each character from the oldest to the very youngest. This audiobook would be an asset to any collection.-Veronica Schwartz, Des Plaines Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
From the pen of Louisa May Alcott comes a tale of one girl's transformation in nineteenth-century Boston. Rose Campbell may be an orphan, but she has no shortage of family. There are six aunts, seven cousins, and an uncle -- Uncle Alex, who has strange notions about the proper way to raise children. After years of boarding school and being ladylike, Rose finds that playing with rowdy boys, getting fresh air, and eating good food have a surprising effect. Eight Cousins provides an enjoyable story as well as an intriguing glimpse at Alcott's views on women, which were radical for her time. Excerpted from Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.