Description
Book SynopsisMay 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.
Trade Review“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 Scott 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 “Devotees of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women will be intrigued by this fictionalized biography of the women behind the characters.” —Library Journal “Thoughtful readers will appreciate the depictions of the sisters’ passion for their art and the challenges that 19th-century American women faced when they worked for a living.” —The Historical Novels Review “Atkins delivers a marvelous reimagining of the very human story behind one of America’s most beloved novels. Little Woman in Blue is the Little Woman I have always wanted.” —Erika Robuck, author of The House of Hawthorne and Hemingway's Girl “Atkins has brought to life the person, places, and time of May Alcott, but in doing so, she has drawn attention to the fact that May Alcott might well be “Everywoman,” no matter in which era she lives,where she chooses to live, or what craft she strives to perfect.” —Story Circle Book Reviews “Little Woman in Blue is a fast-paced, compelling story of two sisters, and their unquenchable drive for success.” —Foreword Review
