Let Genius Burn

Before Louisa May Alcott grew up to be a famous children's author, she belonged to her parents: Bronson Alcott and Abigail May Alcott. Bronson was an educator whose lofty ideas brought him to the forefront of the Transcendentalist philosophy movement. Abigail May Alcott was a social worker and ardent supporter of women's suffrage. Together, they created a family where their four daughters were encouraged to be active, cre...

Once upon a time, four sisters became immortal. When they were young, the four girls were still flesh and blood, ordinary girls who built towers out of their father’s books and put on plays in the barn for their neighbors and went hungry too many nights. One day, when they were all grown up, the second sister took out her magic pen and began to write down the stories of their adventures: the simple yet profound drama of growing up ...

Before she became an author and celebrity, Louisa May Alcott was a teacher, seamstress, governess, companion, servant, and nurse. Though they were difficult, her experiences gave her material to write for the rest of her life. This week, learn about Louisa May Alcott's relationship with work, which was both her salvation and the bane of her existence.

Learn more at letgeniusburn.com

Donate to Educational Oppo...

In this episode, we pull back the curtain to take a peek at Louisa at her writing desk. We will trace the development of her writing style, the desires that pushed her to write, and the arc of her professional career.

From crafting jolly tales to journaling her worries and struggles, Louisa spent her life meeting herself on the page. Writing, she said, “is my salvation when disappointment or weariness burden and darken my soul…” Thr...

Louisa devoted her life to the causes she believed in, primarily abolition and women's suffrage. Her political beliefs were handed down from her parents, who were constantly striving for a better world. The Alcotts made their home available to freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad, and Louisa eventually became a nurse during the Civil War, as she was otherwise not allowed to go and fight. She was also the first woman reg...

When Little Women became a sensation, Louisa May Alcott became the ultimate literary celebrity. Fans were waiting out on her lawn and knocking on her door, and her life was suddenly not her own. Although she had always yearned for fame, she was surprised to find it costly and unpleasant. Still, her celebrity opened new doors for her. It gave voice to her causes, and it may have even spurred her creativity. In this episode, we unpac...

In Louisa May Alcott's time, strict definitions and expectations of white womanhood permeated Louisa’s society and culture. Marriage and motherhood were the accepted roles for women; voting was inaccessible and illegal, education restricted, and earning a living through a career was limited. Louisa May Alcott defied gender expectations, sometimes through her acting as a way to embody a male character and through her dress, lan...

At the time of Louisa May Alcott's death, she was known to most as the "children's friend," an author of children's books and particularly books for girls. As time passed and scholars made the connection between Louisa May Alcott and the lurid thrillers she wrote under pen names, Louisa's legacy took on new dimensions. Today, we can appreciate Louisa May Alcott as the feminist and forward-thinking woma...

Jan Turnquist, Executive Director of Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House, has made her life about Louisa's legacy. Whether she is portraying Louisa May Alcott around the world, consulting on Little Women adaptations with A-list actors, or simply showing someone around the house museum, she brings the same level of commitment and enthusiasm for sharing Louisa May Alcott with others.

In this episode, Jan shares the s...

In this episode, we are talking with Leslie Schomp, who served as an artist-in-residence at Fruitlands in 2021. Leslie drew inspiration from Louisa’s diaries to create textile pieces that embodied and expressed Louisa May Alcott’s time there. Her samplers capture the dichotomy of this place: the distance between the restrictive ideals of the community and the vibrant, free spirit of young Louisa.

Leslie Schomp’s open heart...

Maud: Books, Babes, and Barbiturates is a podcast about the life of Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables. The co-creators, Stef Drummon and Jen MacLennan, tell Maud's story with empathy, intelligence, and depth. This week, they join us on Let Genius Burn to talk about our two favorite literary women.

Gender and sexuality, fame, and family influence and history- we talk about it all. We discuss the...

Meet Lauren Stern: a researcher interested in social and material history. She has been a staff member at Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House since 2006, where she has worked to bring New England history alive through summer camps, museum tours, and living history programs.

In this episode, Lauren discusses her experiences at Orchard House as well as her research on the life of May Alcott Nieriker. As an expert in hist...

Most Alcott scholars cannot imagine what it would be like to do research without the Selected Letters and Selected Journals of Louisa May Alcott, these two seminal works that make Alcott's work so accessible.

Dr. Daniel Shealy, however, knows exactly what it's like--because he was part of the team that edited these two publications, bringing together hundreds of letters from around the country and compiling them ...

If you’re anything like us, you’ve watched the Little Women film adaptations looking for the props and pieces that really bring the book to life–the vivid renderings of your own thoughtfully-imagined ephemera. 

Barbara Heller worked on movie set designs for feature films for many years, bringing all kinds of stories to life through location scouting and other roles. Then, she was rereading Pride and Prejudice when she had a sudden a...

John Matteson's biography, Eden's Outcasts: the Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father, has become a foundational work in Alcott scholarship. It brings together the best of Alcott studies to show us an empathetic portrait of the Alcotts who feel as real and alive as ever in its pages.

In our conversation with John Matteson, we cover Louisa's time in Washington as a nurse during the Civil War and why thos...

In our final full episode of Season 8, Jill and Jamie recap the highlights of season two and reflect on what the conversations with Alcott scholars have taught them. Then they both share what they've been reading and researching lately. Jamie, who has been teaching second grade this year, dives into the differences between teaching Little Women and teaching about the Alcotts' lives to young children. She explores picture ...

This episode features Jill's travelogue from her week in Concord, Massachusetts. Listen as we travel to see Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House for the first time and take a tour of Fruitlands with Trustees Engagement Manager Catherine Shortliffe. We also spend time with other Louisa May Alcott scholars and enthusiasts, sharing stories. In particular, we taste pickled limes, a treat from the 19th century, which is featured ...