Orchard House: A Must-See for Fans of Writer Louisa May Alcott

In Louis May Alcott’s 1868 classic Little Women, we meet Jo March, one of four daughters of a Massachusetts family living during the Civil War. In this coming-of-age novel, we take a journey with these four sisters as they navigate the complexities of not only growing up in a war-torn country, but also finding romance, purpose and harmony in an uncertain time. We follow Jo as she blossoms into a professional writer at the same time as she discovers love. 

Today we can take a look back in time at the lives of the Alcott’s at their home in Concord, Massachusetts. Very little in the house has changed since the Alcotts departed in 1877 so we are able to really see the very setting that inspired Louisa May Alcott to write her beloved novel.

As the daughter of a Transcendentalist father, Amos Bronson Alcott, and social worker mother Abigail May, she was reared in a household that valued hard work and self-reliance, key characteristics of the heroine Jo March. As a young woman she worked to help her family during their financial difficulties while her career as a writer was starting to bring her some success. Her father’s connections with other transcendentalists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau also had an influence on her writing, which we can see in her connection with nature and belief in the inherent goodness of people.

In 1857, Alcott’s father bought a manor house on 12 acres in Concord that included an orchard with 40 apple trees. The house was thus named Orchard House, which was particularly appropriate as he thought apples were the perfect fruit. Here it was that the writer lived and wrote some of her most memorable works, particularly Little Women.

Fans of the author and her novel may be disappointed to not see her famous attic set up at her writing retreat that has been depicted in several film versions of the book. I admit to thinking the same thing when I booked my tour of the house with my sister and mother, both of whom are great readers who also have a soft spot for this author. While growing up, the Alcott family moved at least 20 times, and Alcott did in fact often write in the attics of these homes, but unfortunately visitors are not granted the chance to see the attic at Orchard House, whether she really ever wrote up there or not.

Beginning in the 19th century, it was becoming easier for some women to have access to higher education. Certainly, Louisa May Alcott had access to some of the most forward thinking men of the time thanks to her father, but she was often in and out of school as a result of her need to work to provide income for the family in difficult times. 

However, what she was able to write was a new type of novel altogether, one that showed her leading female character with great courage, strength and an ability to stand on her own, while still showing great loyalty to her family. Little Women will always be a favorite story of mine and I am grateful to have been able to see part of her history in person.

For more on Alcott and Orchard House: https://louisamayalcott.org/