Louisa May Alcott: Her Life, Letters, and Journals.: (Illustrated)

Pretty much a false book – just cut and paste work, not even properly typeset. Do not buy!

While the content is vital to understanding its subject, it's not a properly designed book and is surprisingly difficult to read. It appears to have been reproduced mechanically without a human editor. Whoever wrote the narrative is uncredited and there's no date of original publication. There are no gaps/spaces or changes in font to indicate when LMA is being quoted (first-person); so when the narrative suddenly switches to third-person, the reader is momentarily baffled. Many poems have been mysteriously justified to both right and left edges so that the words are widely spaced, making the poem impossible to read. But its worst sin is that the word ANNOTATED is a significant part of this book's title--but despite there being 400 footnote reference numbers (randomly inserted willy-nilly into the text), THERE ARE NO ANNOTATIONS ANYWHERE. That means that LMA's numerous abbreviations in her journals and letters (referring to names, places, etc. with a single initial) go infuriatingly unexplicated. VERY DISAPPOINTING, buyers beware.

This book has been a source of consternation for many readers. Although it is said to be annotated, neither the author's name, nor the notes that were meant to accompany the excerpts from Alcott's letters and journals, are included. There is no title page, no table of of contents, and no information about its publication. The passages that introduce Alcott's writing are composed in an archaic voice and are not visually separated from the excerpts, making the text difficult to sort out. But based on a reference in the introduction to a reprint of Alcott's 1873 "Transcendental Wild Oats" (Carlisle, MA: Applewood Books, 1975, 1981), this book is very likely a reprint of the first attempt at a biography of the beloved author: "Louisa May Alcott (Annotated) Her Life, letters, and Journals," by Ednah D. Cheney (Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1889). It is unfortunate that the person who undertook the publication of the reprint did not identify their source or hire a professional editor who could have formatted it into a more readable volume. The excerpts from Alcott's personal papers are illuminating and well worth the effort required to sort them out from Cheney's musings, but be prepared to be frustrated by this amateur effort to save an important original publication.

I have seen the movie Little Women at least twice, but had never read the book. I was amazed to read these stories by LMA, and the story of her life. Her writing is stunning and her stories keep you spellbound. She was so perceptive and an amazing person, very much ahead of her time. I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys reading.

Using primary sources, Ednah Cheney lets Ms. Alcott describe her own life and that of her family. Carefully crafted and highly readable.