Little Woman in Blue by Jeannine Atkins – Spotlight

Today I’ve got a spotlight on Little Woman in Blue by Jeannine Atkins for you. This novel is actually based on May Alcott’s letters and diaries, as well as memoirs written by her neighbors which makes it even more of a ‘must read’ for me. I’ve always loved Little Women and between the book and the movie I know the story by heart! Read on to learn more about the book…

About the Book

May Alcott spends her days sewing blue shirts for Union soldiers, but she dreams of painting a masterpiece—which many say is impossible for a woman—and of finding love, too. When she reads her sister’s wildly popular novel, Little Women, she is stung by Louisa’s portrayal of her as “Amy,” the youngest of four sisters who trades her desire to succeed as an artist for the joys of hearth and home. Determined to prove her talent, May makes plans to move far from Massachusetts and make a life for herself with room for both watercolors and a wedding dress. Can she succeed? And if she does, what price will she have to pay? Based on May Alcott’s letters and diaries, as well as memoirs written by her neighbors, LITTLE WOMAN IN BLUE puts May at the center of the story she might have told about sisterhood and rivalry in an extraordinary family.

Add to your Goodreads List
The Inspiration for Little Woman in Blue
Read What People are Saying about the book
Read a Conversation with Jeannine talking about writing Little Woman in Blue
Download the Reading Group Guide
Learn more about the Alcotts through this Reading List and Places to Visit
Buy: Amazon, B&N, IndieBound

Praise for Little Woman in Blue

“Little Woman in Blue is an inspiring and engaging fictional portrait of the artist May Alcott, written with knowledge, sensitivity, and beauty. It is wonderful to see May Alcott gain the center of her own story, and inhabit it with such generosity and grace.”–Harriet Chessman, author of Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper

“At last, a book about the other artistic Alcott sister. May Alcott, dismissed in Little Women as the pampered youngest March sister Amy, explodes onto the pages of this wonderful novel as a real and hugely likeable woman, passionate about life, art, and adventure, and struggling to make sense of her relationship with an older sister who will never appreciate her for who she really is. Thank you, Jeannine, for giving Amy March a voice of her own!”–Gabrielle Donnelly, author of The Little Women Letters

“I don’t know which I admired more: the author’s masterful and affectionate resurrection of 19th-century Concord or her imaginative and insightful portrait of the sisterly relationship at the heart of this delightful novel.”–George Howe Colt, author of The Big House, a National Book Award finalist

About the Author

Jeannine Atkins is the author of books for young readers featuring women in history, including Borrowed Names: Poems about Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C. J. Walker, Marie Curie and their Daughters. She is an adjunct professor at Simmons College and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. She welcomes readers to visit her online at www.jeannineatkins.com.