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Summary
Summary
Elise Hooper's debut novel conjures the fascinating, untold story of May Alcott--Louisa's youngest sister and an artist in her own right.
We all know the story of the March sisters, heroines of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. But while everyone cheers on Jo March, based on Louisa herself, Amy March is often the least favorite sister. Now, it's time to learn the truth about the real "Amy", Louisa's sister, May.
Stylish, outgoing, creative, May Alcott grows up longing to experience the wide world beyond Concord, Massachusetts. While her sister Louisa crafts stories, May herself is a talented and dedicated artist, taking lessons in Boston, turning down a marriage proposal from a well-off suitor, and facing scorn for entering what is very much a man's profession.
Life for the Alcott family has never been easy, so when Louisa's Little Women is published, its success eases the financial burdens they'd faced for so many years. Everyone agrees the novel is charming, but May is struck to the core by the portrayal of selfish, spoiled "Amy March." Is this what her beloved sister really thinks of her?
So May embarks on a quest to discover her own true identity, as an artist and a woman. From Boston to Rome, London, and Paris, this brave, talented, and determined woman forges an amazing life of her own, making her so much more than merely "The Other Alcott."
Reviews (4)
Kirkus Review
A mix of history and imagination, this debut novel focuses on May Alcott, the model for Amy in Little Women and youngest sister of the book's widely chronicled author, Louisa May Alcott.The story begins with the 1868 publication of Little Women, which fictionalized the lives of all four Alcott sisters. Louisa is on her way to literary superstardom; a driven, prolific writer, she will become the breadwinner for her impoverished New England family. May longs to be taken seriously as an artist. But the press has sharply criticized her illustrations for her sister's book. Louisa, meanwhile, sees May as a high-spirited dilettante, dedicated to having fun. Determined to prove Louisa wrong, May dodges a serious suitor and signs up for rigorous art classes, first in Boston, then in Europe, where she mingles with other artists (some real, like Mary Cassatt, others fictional or composites). Slowly, her skill and confidence grow. Louisa, despite her trepidations, has partly subsidized May's European studies, but she eventually demands May come home to help care for their ailing mother. May refuses. She continues painting and marries a much-younger man after a brief courtship. Reconciliation with her sister proves elusive. There are echoes of Little Women throughout and themes that will resonate with contemporary readers. May struggles fiercely with the competing demands of family and work (Louisa, for her part, never marries). There's also the push-pull of making money versus making art: Louisa believes Little Women and its profitable sequels are beneath her, and she publishes more provocative work under a pen name. May finds early success making copies of Turner paintings but must drive herself to develop her own style. Hooper is especially good at depicting the complicated blend of devotion and jealousy so common among siblings. Some clumsy exposition aside, this is a lively, entertaining read. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
The popularity of Little Women has finally brought the Alcott family a measure of financial security, but Louisa May Alcott's youngest sister, Abigail, known as May, is dismayed by her portrayal as frivolous Amy March and mortified by scathing reviews of the illustrations she contributed to the book. Determined to be a professional artist (if Louisa can do it, why can't she?), she sends an unsupportive suitor packing and takes up serious study, initially on Louisa's dime. Despite the obstacles presented by family obligations, Louisa's controlling nature, and the lack of opportunities for women, she carves out a career and an independent life. She becomes part of a circle of artists in Paris, making friends with painter Mary Cassatt and exhibiting in the prestigious Paris Salon. Her late marriage to a man 15 years her junior proves a woman can be both artist and wife. In her debut novel, Hooper fleshes out the outline of May's biography to create a sympathetic character, and does a convincing job of showing May's artistic development.--Quinn, Mary Ellen Copyright 2017 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
Jo March, the protagonist of Louisa May Alcott's 1868 novel "Little Women," inspired generations of literary women, from Simone de Beauvoir and Gertrude Stein to Joyce Carol Oates. Hooper takes her place among the acolytes with "The Other Alcott," pushing another little woman to the forefront: May Alcott, Louisa's younger sister. Readers will remember May by her fictional anagram in "Little Women," Amy, she of the fetching blond curls, maladroit malapropisms (she says "samphire" when she means "vampire") and inchoate artistic ambitions. The self-centered imp torches Jo's precious manuscript, which the would-be novelist has slaved over and intended to present to her war-veteran father. Amy March is the character "Little Women" lovers love to hate, perhaps because she is just too adorable. As presented in this novel, the life of May Alcott contains the familiar petty narcissism alongside intense creative ambition. After Louisa publishes "Little Women" to raves, May frets because her illustrations are roundly panned by critics. In "The Other Alcott," May more than realizes her artistic dreams, traveling to Boston, London and Paris to study painting. Her adventures illuminate the world of intrepid female artists in the late 1800s, a milieu too little appreciated today. "The Other Alcott" comes alive in its development of the relationship between Louisa and May, the manuscript drafter and the manuscript scorcher. Hooper's novel positively trounces Louisa, ridiculing her writerly aspirations, her vanity when fame knocks and her sanitization of the Alcotts in writing the fictional March family. "People see me as a figure of reckoning," Louisa brags after her literary star ascends. "I like it." But her manic writing spells serve to diminish her, leaving her with "dull eyes" which, "along with a smudge of ink on her cheekbone, made her look weary and battered." The rival sisters find themselves at war, with May hating her dependence on Louisa's income and Louisa using that support to control May. It's anything but the cozy, loving March household we see in "Little Women." The revamped story is refreshing, even if some fictive holograph pages had to burn to create this portrait.
Library Journal Review
[DEBUT] How do you know when you become an artist?, ponders May Alcott, younger sister of author Louisa May. May painted for years, furnishing illustrations for the first edition of Little Women (1868). Reviews that praise Louisa's novel while criticizing May's drawings, saying they "lack realistic proportion and look stiff," devastate the 28-year-old artist. Disappointment pushes her to seek artistic instruction, first in Boston, then in Europe. Other female artists offer support, with one telling her, "Don't wait for anyone else to call you an artist. If you wait around for other people to define you, you'll be saddled with their expectations." Newcomer Hooper (American history and literature, Bush Sch., Seattle) interlaces May's story with the struggle women of the time faced in becoming something other than merely wives and mothers. With the sesquicentennial of Little Women set to be celebrated in 2018, this title is not to be missed by the classic's many fans who will want to get an insider's look at the real people who inspired the March family. Verdict Like other novels that illuminate lesser-known relatives of famous people (e.g., Marie Benedict's The Other Einstein and Melanie Benjamin's The Aviator's Wife), this one focuses on the artist whom Little Women fans first knew as Amy March.-Wendy W. Paige, Shelby Cty. P.L., Morristown, IN © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
