A HOPEFUL HEART Louisa May Alcott Before Little Women

Cassandra Campbell narrates this biography of Alcott's formative years. Campbell's performance suggests the cultured speech of the educated elite in nineteenth-century Massachusetts. Most of Alcott's large family were prolific writers, and the audiobook includes quotes from letters and diaries. Bound only by her family's extreme but genteel poverty and their transcendentalist beliefs, Louisa was encouraged to express herself through plays and writing. Campbell reads joyfully from Louisa's accounts of outdoor activities and with dreamy-eyed emotion when she waxes idealistic. Tragic events, including Alcott's experience as a Civil War nurse, receive due gravity, but, generally, Campbell reflects Alcott's characteristic plucky fortitude. In one prophetic diary entry, Alcott asserts that her assets are merely eight cents but she has "a fortune in prospects." L.T. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2021]