Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House...

...located in Concord, MA, is where Louisa May Alcott penned "Little Women," and what a magical place to visit! Her bedroom is on the second floor, right, front side of the house. In between the two front windows is a small, half-moon shaped desk that her father built for her, and that is where history was made. Shivers run down my spine every time I've taken the tour, standing right next to the desk where this classic was written.

(click any photos to enlarge)

In June of 1857, a then 24-year old Louisa May wrote in her journal:

"Read Charlotte Bronte's life. A very interesting, but sad one. So full of talent; and after working long, just as success, love, and happiness come, she dies. Wonder if I shall ever be famous enough for people to care to read my story and struggles. I can't be a C.B., but I may do a little something yet."

A little something? Oh my goodness! She did so much, but she is probably best known for the beloved, "Little Women," first published in 1869 (twelve years after that journal entry). As you can see, I have a small collection of Little Women books..


... as well as some other books about Louisa May Alcott's life. So let me show you a bit of Orchard House (dubbed Apple Slump by Louisa May Alcott).


Unfortunately, photos are not allowed to be taken inside the house, but I'll provide a link below where you can take a virtual tour through the house on-line. And I highly recommend taking the tour in person if you are ever in the Concord area! Don't you just love the door knocker on the front of Orchard House? (It reminds me of the door knocker that morphs into Marley's ghost in "A Christms Carol"!)

Now here is a photo that I took just a couple of weeks ago....

...and here is an 1874 photograph of the house from the exact same angle, with Mr. & Mrs. Alcott in the front yard...

A plaque by the back door of the house that now leads into the gift shop.

Flowers growing outside the study window...

This is Bronson Alcott's School of Philosophy, constructed in 1879, just behind Orchard House. (Bronson is Louisa May's father.)

You may remember that a couple of weeks ago I posted about Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, where all of the Alcotts are buried... (Here's Amanda at Louisa May Alcott's grave)..

Back in 1879, Louisa May wrote the following journal entry:

"October 8th Dear Marmee's birthday. Never forgotten. Lovely day....

(Alcott family plot)

...Go to Sleepy Hollow with flowers. Her grave is green, black berry vines with red leaves trail over it. A little white stone with her initials is at the head, & among the tall grass over her breast a little bird had made a nest....

Bird's nest on LMA's grave a couple of weeks ago

... Empty now, but a pretty symbol of the refuge that tender bosom always was for all feeble & sweet things. Her favorite asters bloomed all about, & the pines sang overhead. So she & dear Beth lie quietly asleep in God's Acre, & we remember them more tenderly with each year that brings us nearer them & home."

It was quite profound reading that journal entry after having just been at their graves a couple of weeks ago...

Right next door to Orchard House is The Wayside (you can read a bit more about it below). It was called Hillside when Louisa May Alcott lived there in her younger years, and she drew upon the many adventures she and her sisters had while living there when writing Little Women. She wrote of this house:

"I have at last got the little room I have wanted so long, and am very happy about it. It does me good to be alone, and Mother has made it very pretty and neat for me. My work-basket and desk are by the window and my closet is full of dired herbs that smell very nice."

(written by Louisa May Alcott, age 13,

in her journal, May, 1846)

Information regarding Hillside/The Wayside:

Click here to take a virtual tour of Orchard House

Click here for the official Orchard House/Louisa May Alcott website

I hope you enjoyed your visit to Orchard House!!!!

Donna

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery...

...in historic Concord, Massachusetts. A perfect place to visit on a crisp October afternoon.

(click any photos to enlarge)

(Am I the only one who sees irony in the "One Way" stone marker above?)


Come along as we head up to Authors Ridge ....


Here we are at the top of Authors Ridge, facing the Alcott family plot...


...where Amanda stopped at Louisa May Alcott's grave.


The monument marking the Alcott family plot is intricately carved...


...but the individual markers are very simple.

"Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead."

(Louisa May Alcott)

Here is the Thoreau family plot...


...where Henry David Thoreau's simple headstone is adorned with gifts left by visitors...

"An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day."

Henry David Thoreau

The Emerson family plot....


Ralph Waldo Emerson spoke at the dedication ceremony for Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in 1855.

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Hawthorne family plot...

...where, again, visitors have left gifts for Nathaniel Hawthorne.

"Our Creator would never have made such lovely days, and have given us the deep hearts to enjoy them, above and beyond all thought, unless we were meant to be immortal."

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Miles family plot...

And a beautiful marker for Lucy R. Davis...

SLEEPY HOLLOW by William Ellery Channing

(which he read at the Sleepy Hollow dedication ceremony in 1855)

No abbey's gloom, nor dark cathedral stoops,

No winding torches paint the midnight air;

Here the green pines delight, the aspen droops

Along the modest pathways, and those fair

Pale asters of the season spread their plumes

Around this field, fit garden for our tombs.

And shalt thou pause to hear some funeral bell

Slow stealing o'er thy heart in this calm place,

Not with a throb of pain, a feverish knell,

But in its kind and supplicating grace,

It says, Go, pilgrim, on thy march, be more

Friend to the friendless than thou wast before;

Learn from the loved one's rest serenity;

To-morrow that soft bell for thee shall sound,

And thou repose beneath the whispering tree,

One tribute more to this submissive ground;—

Prison thy soul from malice, bar out pride,

Nor these pale flowers nor this still field deride:

Rather to those ascents of being turn,

Where a ne'er-setting sun illumes the year

Eternal, and the incessant watchfires burn

Of unspent holiness and goodness clear,—

Forget man's littleness, deserve the best,

God's mercy in thy thought and life confest.

I highly recommend a visit to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery if you find yourself in the Concord area. In my next post I'll share some other photos from our little day trip to Concord, including The Colonial Inn (haunted?) and Orchard House, where Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women...




Donna

I've been Book Tagged!

I’ve been tagged by Pat at Mille Fiori Favoriti to share “Seven Weird or Random Book Facts” about myself… I am so pokey - I'm sorry it took so long for me to get this post up, Pat! Okay, here goes...

1) Children's Books

THE READING MOTHER
by Strickland Gillilan

You may have tangible wealth untold
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be.
I had a Mother who read to me

These two books bring back wonderful memories of my mother reading to me and my sister. I'm certain it's where my love for beautifully illustrated children's books started.

I just loved the little stories of Uncle Wiggily and all his friends (the stories and references seem so dated now, but I love them still!)... And my mother was never able to get through The Little Match Girl without tearing up a bit. So strong are the memories of these two books that I bought them for my girls when they were little. (And like my mother, I cannot make it through to the end of The Little Match Girl without my throat catching before I'm able to continue on to finish the book)… I wish I had the actual books that my mom used to read from, but I’m afraid they may have been ruined years ago when my parent’s basement flooded, claiming many cardboard boxes of stored childhood memories...

2) Not all was lost!

I was so excited to find these books just last year in my dad’s basement. We thought all our childhood items had been lost in the flood, but three of my childhood books survived! There’s The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk (c 1941), Daniel Boone (c 1945), and Freddy and the Ignormus (c 1941). They now have places of honor in my home!

3) This is how I learned to read!

And speaking of childhood memories, I purchased this old (copyright 1951) Dick and Jane Basic Reader book on eBay many years ago. It’s just like the Dick & Jane books I learned to read from…

Just looking at these old illustrations brings me right back to my old classroom, sitting at my little wooden desk…

4) James Kavanaugh Poetry Books

I treasure my small collection of 4 James Kavanaugh books. My sister introduced me to his poetry when she gave me “Will You Be My Friend?” in the 70’s and I loved so many of his poems that I've picked up several more of his books over the years, all ranging from copyright 1970 to 1982.

5) Mary Higgins Clark


I love a good mystery and Mary Higgins Clark is my absolute favorite! I own every one of her books in hardcover (this is just a small sampling here in the bookcase)… I look forward to her new book every year. (Her next one, Just Take My Heart, is being released April 7, 2009!)

6) Little Women

Okay, this is really embarrassing. I own several beautiful old hardcover copies of Little Women (copyrights 1926, 1935, and 1980). I've seen the movie a gazillion times (one of my favorites), but I've yet to read the book!!! I think that will be my next book after I finish Elsie Dinsmore [which is the actual copy that belonged to my mom when she was a girl - her name is even written on the inside cover in her penmanship - so special!!]...

I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Orchard House in Concord, MA, where Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women, many times. If you ever get the chance, go! When the tour gets to her bedroom, and I’m standing right next to the actual table/desk where she wrote Little Women, I swear I get chills up and down my spine… (They duplicated Orchard House perfectly in the Winona Ryder/Susan Sarandon movie version of Little Women.) Okay, back to books!

7) Saving the best for last...

These two books are always close by in my office, and close to my heart...

My girls gave them to me for Christmas, 11 years ago, knowing how much I love quotations and poems. Courtney gave me Teddy Bear Quotations and Amanda gave me "for MOTHER... a gift of love." I am truly blessed...

Okay, I know this is a busy, busy month, so rather than naming specific people, I’m going to open this up to anyone who would like to share 7 Weird or Random Book facts about themselves! If you do, let me know so I can read yours!

Donna