Typical of an older sister, she never failed to lord it over Louisa and point out her faults. She did everything she could to please him at the expense of her sisters. She did indeed exhibit Bronson’s ways, especially his penchant for being judgmental. I wish I could learn to keep my silence.” Big sis AnnaĪnna normally considered the “good girl,” the counterpart to Bronson, is cast in a somewhat unflattering light. I say what comes into my head and know at once it is a foolish answer. Anna tries hard to give the correct answers, but sometimes when the questions are difficult she pleads a headache and slips away. From Louisa’s secret diary: “Lizzie is good-natured and listens patiently to all the questions that Father puts to us. She fleshes out each child by comparing how they’d respond to a situation.

She is a masterful storyteller, revealing so much through the details, dialog and actions of the characters. Knowing that privacy was in short supply in the lives of the Alcotts, I had to work a bit to accept the premise but once I did I was swept into this book. In the second diary there will be Louisa, just as she is.” In the first entry of the secret diary Louisa writes, “In the first diary there will be Louy, who will try to be just what Mother and Father would wish. But, she not only restores it, she presents two diaries, one written for public consumption as was the custom in the family, and one kept secret.

Whelan through the power of storytelling restores it. Gloria Whelan maintains that Bronson destroyed much of it as he had also destroyed Anna’s kept during that time. They were miraculously found in the wall of the Fruitlands house years ago.

This was her first diary and sadly, only a few pages survive. The premise of the book is based on Louisa’s diary kept at Fruitlands. The book, geared for older children, is called Fruitlands Louisa May Alcott Made Perfect by Gloria Whelan. One of you (Julie) gifted me with a wonderful book and once I picked it up, I could not put it down.

See What I See by Gloria Whelan