by Elise Hooper
Louisa May Alcott's Little Women was one of my favorite novels growing up, particularly because Alcott used herself and her three sisters as inspiration for Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March. The "real" Amy was Alcott's youngest sister, Abigail May Alcott Nierriker, known as May, who really was an artist, and really went to Europe to study.
Elise Hooper has taken the facts about May and created a novel with them. Particularly interesting for me were little details about life in Victoria-era Boston and Concord, Massachusetts, as well as in London, Rome, and Paris. May knew artists like Mary Cassatt, and they too are part of the story. It's obvious that Hooper did a lot of research for this book.
There is, of course, tension between the talented sisters - Louisa is the family breadwinner, and Hooper paints her as somewhat bossy and domineering, but May is certainly not perfect either. That's what makes this historical fiction and not simply a biography, however. Definitely worth a read.
© Amanda Pape - 2017
[I received this advance reader edition through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. It will be passed on to someone else to enjoy.]
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