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Flower Fables (Hardcover)
Louisa Alcott; Introduction by Jan Turnquist
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R405
R343
Discovery Miles 3 430
Save R62 (15%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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"Fairyland" was familiar territory to young Louisa May Alcott and
her sisters, for they had often romped there and explored its
secrets under the guidance of family friend, Henry David Thoreau.
Fifteen years her elder, Thoreau led the Alcott girls and their
friends on berry-picking expeditions in the wooded land around
Walden Pond, which he fancifully called "fairyland." It was on a
piece of this land, owned by neighbor Ralph Waldo Emerson, that the
girls' father, Amos Bronson Alcott, helped Thoreau build the
now-famous cabin where he lived "deliberately" and wrote Walden. I
went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front
only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what
it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had
not lived. The remarkable convergence of 19th century writers in
Concord, Massachusetts may be glimpsed in this collection of
stories inspired during visits to Walden Woods. The Alcott family
often visited Thoreau to swim in the cove near his cabin or explore
the changing seasons in this tranquil spot. I had three chairs in
my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.
When visitors came in larger and unexpected numbers there was but
the third chair for them all, but they generally economized the
room by standing up. It is surprising how many great men and women
a small house will contain. I have had twenty-five or thirty souls,
with their bodies, at once under my roof, and yet we often parted
without being aware that we had come very near to one another. With
Thoreau as a guide, Louisa and the other children learned much
about nature, but Louisa in particular delighted in another aspect
ofThoreau's point of view. The very fact that he called the woods
"Fairyland" opened up a new way of thinking in the young writer's
mind. Whether he pointed out a new animal track, made a perfect
bird call or discovered a bit of a cobweb and called it a fairy's
handkerchief, it was all magic to Louisa and fodder for her lively
imagination. On many of her walks around Walden, Louisa shared
original fairy stories with her sisters, Thoreau, and friends. One
of these young friends was Ellen, the daughter of Ralph Waldo
Emerson. Six years her junior, Ellen looked up to Louisa the way
Louisa looked up to Thoreau. Ellen was so captivated by the fairy
stories that Louisa eventually wrote them down as a present for
her. The entire Emerson family noticed and delighted in their young
neighbor's generous gift, and shared their pleasure with Louisa's
father. Mr. Alcott was equally impressed with his daughter's
stories. He was a complex and unusual man -- a genius, according to
Emerson. He was a remarkable father, if an uncertain provider. He
believed in encouraging children - even girls -- to follow their
dreams. The norm of the day was not to allow young ladies to tax
themselves with such "brain work" as writing. The rest of Boston
society might have considered writing an improper occupation for a
lady, but Mr. Alcott was proud and excited by his daughter's
talent. He carried her fairy stories to George W. Briggs, a new
publisher on Washington Street in Boston. Briggs decided to take a
chance and agreed to publish Louisa's fairy stories under the title
Flower Fables. Advance copies came out in time for Louisa to give
them as gifts for the Christmas of 1854. How thrilled Ellen Emerson
must have beento read the dedication in her friend's first
published book: To Ellen Emerson, for whom they were fancied, these
flower fables are inscribed, by her friend, The Author Boston, Dec.
9, 1854. Louisa also provided Ellen with her own copy and this
Christmas note: Dear Ellen, Hoping that age has not lessened your
love for the Fairy folk I have ventured to place your name in my
little book, for your interest in their sayings and doings, first
called forth these "Flower Fables," most of which were fancied long
ago in Concord woods and fields. The pictures are not what I hoped
they would be and it is very evident that the designer is not as
well acquainted with fairy forms and faces as you and I are, so we
must each imagine to suit ourselves and I hope if the fairies tell
me any more stories, they will let an Elfin artist illustrate them.
So dear Ellen will you accept the accompanying book, with many
wishes for a merry "Christmas, and a happy New Year," from your
friend, Louisa M. Alcott. Louisa took special pride in giving her
mother a copy of the book. Mrs. Alcott was called "Marmee" by her
daughters as was Mrs. March in the highly autobiographical Little
Women. She read the following inscription in her copy of Flower
Fables: 20 Pinckney Street, Boston, Dec. 25, 1854. Dear Mother, --
Into your Christmas stocking I have put my "first born," knowing
that you will accept it with all its faults (for grandmothers are
always kind), and look upon it merely as an earnest of what I may
yet do, for, with so much to cheer me on, I hope to pass in time
from fairies and fables to men and realities. Whatever beauty or
poetry is to be found in my little book is owing to your interest
in and encouragement ofall my efforts from the first to the last,
and if ever I do anything to be proud of, my greatest happiness
will be that I can thank you for that, as I may do for all the good
there is in me; and I shall be content to write if it gives you
pleasure. Jo is fussing about, My lamp is going out. To dear
mother, with many kind wishes for a happy New Year and merry
Christmas. I am your ever loving daughter Louy. Long before Louisa
wrote Little Women or her now public "blood and thunder" tales, the
publication of these fairy stories confirmed the hopes of this
fledgling author that she might, indeed, succeed. The woodland
sprites and struggling human children who encounter them evoke
those idyllic walks with Thoreau and the tom-boyish prototype of Jo
March, "Louy Alcott," who struggled with her conscience every bit
as much as her character "Annie" in "Little Annie's Dream: or The
Fairy Flower." ." . . now, dear Annie," said the Fairy, bending
nearer, "tell me why I found no sunshine on your face. . ." "Ah,
you will not love me any more if I should tell you all," said
Annie, while the tears began to fall again; "I am not happy, for I
am not good; how shall I learn to be a patient, gentle child? Good
little Fairy, will you teach me how?" These stories provide a fresh
look at a complex author. Due to the success of Little Women and
subsequent children's books, Louisa was well known as "The
Children's Friend." She was less known as "Nurse Tribulation
Periwinkle" in Hospital Sketches, written after she served as a
nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War. She was completely
unknown in her own life time as "A. M. Barnard," a prolific author
of provocative thrillers. Today, many readers delight in those
thrillers, but know nothing of her first published book, Flower
Fables. Orchard House is proud to offer this commemorative edition
of Flower Fables on the 150th anniversary of its publication. All
proceeds from the sale of this edition will benefit the home where
Louisa wrote and set Little Women, Orchard House in Concord
Massachusetts. Known as "Apple Slump" to Louisa and her mother,
this 1690's farmhouse has come to require a great deal of tender --
and costly -- care in order to save it from collapse. Thanks to
initial funding from "Save America's Treasures," the first phase of
its preservation is complete and includes a foundation where none
existed before. There is much more to do in order to stabilize
interior walls and preserve such artifacts as the drawings that the
youngest Alcott sister placed on the walls. Many dedicated
individuals are committed to continuing preservation work on the
home until the "Little Women House," as it is often known, is
secure for future generations of readers. Please log onto
www.louisamayalcott.org, if you would like to support this effort..
Many visitors comment that they enjoy Orchard House because they
feel as if they are "walking through the book." Their enjoyment
increases when they discover the complexity, talent, bravery,
integrity and love of the real family that inspired Little Women.
We at Orchard House hope that Flower Fables will be part of that
discovery for you. Happy reading! Jan Turnquist Executive Director,
Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House Concord, Massachusetts Christmas
2004
Pearson English Active Readers present stories carefully written
and graded across five levels for teachers of English who want to
activate their students' language through reading, . From original
stories, classic and contemporary fiction, to film adaptations and
nonfiction titles, an integrated skills approach consolidates
vocabulary and develops language skills while learners experience
the joy of reading. Find out more at english.com/readers
A story about a nineteenth-century woman’s search for a meaningful life through work outside the family sphere, Work is at once Alcott’s exploration of her personal challenges and a social critique of America.
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