The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott (Hardcover)

~ Kelly O'Connor McNees (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I have read Little Women at least a dozen times, but Kelly O'Connor McNees has given me a gift I will not soon forget. Louisa May Alcott is no longer simply an icon to me but a real woman in all her complexity, one who lived life in spite of exploitation and the expectations of her day, never giving up on her dream. Her story is as relevant today as when Alcott bravely made her way. I can't wait to give copies of this novel to all of my friends."
-Cassandra King, author of The Sunday Wife and The Same Sweet Girls

"Mixing fact drawn from Little Women author Louisa May Alcott's letters and journals with a longing to understand how Alcott-who is thought never to have been in love-could have written so movingly about it, Kelly O'Connor McNees delivers a wonderfully imagined, lively novel of first love herself. Louisa emerges as a spunky, honest heroine torn between her own personal love affair and the need to create more enduring stories that might console readers and lovers for generations to come."
-Meg Waite Clayton, author of The Wednesday Sisters

"A superb, thoughtful, and deliciously paced book that will hook lovers of history and Alcott alike. I enjoyed it tremendously."
-Terry Gamble, author of The Water Dancers and Good Family

"Richly imagined and gracefully told, McNees' captivating story will delight anyone who loved Alcott's feisty heroine Jo March."
-Judith Ryan Hendricks, best-selling author of Bread Alone

Product Description

In the bestselling tradition of Loving Frank and March comes a novel for anyone who loves Little Women.

Millions of readers have fallen in love with Little Women. But how could Louisa May Alcott-who never had a romance-write so convincingly of love and heart-break without experiencing it herself?

Deftly mixing fact and fiction, Kelly O'Connor McNees imagines a love affair that would threaten Louisa's writing career-and inspire the story of Jo and Laurie in Little Women. Stuck in small-town New Hampshire in 1855, Louisa finds herself torn between a love that takes her by surprise and her dream of independence as a writer in Boston. The choice she must make comes with a steep price that she will pay for the rest of her life.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam (April 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399156526
• ISBN-13: 978-0399156526
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #729,689 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and Entertaining, March 13, 2010

By	Grace Chen (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

(What's this?)

I have ambivalent feelings toward this novel, a pretty liberal imagining of Louisa May Alcott's life the summer before and a little bit after she leaves for independent living in Boston. I think this was an engaging, interesting novel, with a good, bittersweet conclusion, but more time could have been spent developing relationships between certain characters so that they would be more convincing and relatable.

I understand, since this is about the "lost" summer of LMA, and anything could have happened, the author was trying to explore how LMA was able to write such a convincing portrait of love and loss in the relationship between Jo and Laurie, considering that LMA never married. However, while the story moved quickly and filled with interesting characters, their characterizations didn't run very deep, and I found myself wishing that McNees would delve more into the relationships between the sisters and their circle of friends. While the March sisters were so close and real, there's really not enough time spent in this book developing the sisters' relationships to convince me of that kind of closeness.

And here's where I come to the imagined relationship of Louisa and the fictional Joseph Singer. Just as I wished there was a better development of the sisters' relationships, this one I wished even more. The "love" part came out of nowhere, it seemed to me. They didn't really have much of a chance to get to know each other before a relationship developed. Louisa herself seemed bitter and haughty most of the time, and while I understood her desire for independence and freedom, I don't know if her reasoning is completely correct. She almost came off a little selfish to me, from time to time. While these are characteristics that are found in every person, they seem to be portrayed as something to be admired in this novel.

As I said before, the ending is a satisfying and solid conclusion, without any loose ends. It was a quick read, and definitely an enjoyable one, for the most part. However, I couldn't relate too much to Louisa, or invest myself completely in the different relationships the way I would've liked to.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, March 16, 2010

By	JujubeMBA (USA) - See all my reviews

(What's this?)

I read Little Women for an assigned book report in 4th grade and it's remained my favorite book ever since. Many years later, I also read Jo's Boys, which I also enjoyed. This book offers some fiction mixed with truths--it weaves facts about LMA's real life with some narrative to make a story that is worth reading. I enjoyed comparing the Alcott girls with the March girls: Anna to Meg, Louisa to Jo, Lizzie to Beth, and May to Amy. The similarities among the counterparts are very strong. The parents are different. The real Abba was not what Alcott dreamed up for the March family's Marmee, and I can see why she chose to absent the father from the family for Little Women.

The story dragged in places, but sometimes the prose was very lovely. And the scene of the picnic seemed to me as though LMA herself could have written it. Bottom line, if you enjoyed Little Women, I think you'll enjoy this.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Charming old-fashioned novel, March 14, 2010

By	Penmouse - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

(What's this?)

Author Kelly McNees takes the reader back to a time when novels were written in a simpler and wholesome way. Adults may find the book a bit boring as adult books these days may contain more mature fare.

Overall, I liked this book as it was written much like older novels. I wish some of the characters were fleshed out a bit more but other than that the book was good.