“Overnight sensations”—authors whose first books are smash successes—are a rarity, if they exist at all; for even a stellar first effort is most often preceded by years of false starts, sweat, and toil that become invisible once the book is perched on the bestseller list. What’s more common resembles Louisa May Alcott’s experience—years or decades of steady effort until success seems to “suddenly” arrive.

That’s how it happened for Alcott with Little Women. As we’ve come to find out, she cranked out thrillers, gothic novels, plays, sketches, and more than eighty articles before penning her autobiographical (if highly idealized) novel. Read More→