The Other Alcott: A Novel

There are no words. I devoured The Other Alcott in two days flat, and I’m still thinking about the whirlwind of the novel and how it made me feel. As a huge fan of Little Women, I’ve always favored Amy the most for her precociousness and artistic ability. I feel like Amy got a lot of crap for being selfish and wanting to be perfect and rich all the time, but she had her downfalls about life just like the other March sisters. In The Other Alcott, we are introduced to May Alcott, the youngest of the Alcott sisters. They are the inspirations for the March sisters. It starts out right as the first half of Little Women is published, and May’s illustrations in the book are severely criticized. This gets her thinking about traveling to Europe and studying art with the best, but she has to rely on her novelist sister, Louisa May, to do so.During the whole first half of the novel, I felt like I was reading about the March sisters again. Hooper managed to create the same ambiance that Louisa May had originally done with Little Women. I absolutely loved learning about the Alcott family and their similarities to the March family. There was also the added bonus of getting into Louisa’s state of mind during her newfound fame. May dislikes her counterpart, Amy March, and with fairly good reason. She is portrayed as snobbish and spoiled, and these are not qualities that May feels she has. Louisa quite possibly overexaggerated to give Jo March a sort of archnemesis in the storyline. The second half of the novel felt a little less like Little Women because we follow May to Europe while she studies and sells some art.  It has a different feel than the first half, so we really get to see her spread her wings and support herself while becoming an artist.May Alcott visited Europe in real life during a tumultuous time in the Paris art world. Impressionism is being born, fighting the status quo of the art community for its rigid and impossible standards. The Impressionists wanted to bring something new to the art table, and most of Paris just wasn’t having it. Impressionism eventually leads to so many abstract art forms, so getting an inside scoop into that world through May’s eyes is amazing.I’m an artist, so when it comes to reading about May sketching or painting, I completely visualized what Hooper was trying to convey. All that talk about broad strokes and shapes I did as an art student as well. This is probably why The Other Alcott left such an impression on me. I loved watching May blossom from an insecure woman into a self-reliant female artist living and working in Europe.I adored The Other Alcott, and I’m sad that I have to return it to the library! Never fear - I already ordered this Kindle version and a paperback version, which will sit on my shelf next to my worn copy of Little Women. This novel was so full of wonderful information, and gave me a sense that I got to continue Little Women as we learned more about May as an artist and an individual. I would definitely read this book again, and would recommend it to anyone who reads historical fiction!

Having been raised on "Little Women," Louisa May Alcott was a familiar figure to me, her (real-life) sisters appearing only in Louisa's biographies. But this novel takes a look at their relationships from her youngest sister's point of view, revealing emotional and financial pressures as well as familial expectations that bore on each of the sisters differently. Although some artistic license was taken in the telling, there was a lot of factual information regarding the family and the girls' upbringing as well as reasons for their strained relationships. This fictional account was told from May's point of view. I felt it was a well written, and presented a fair revelation of both the reasons behind Louisa's expectations and May's responses. The author also certainly has a grasp of the art that was so important in May's life, and takes her readers into the artistic and social culture of the time to glimpse the challenges and changes that were taking place on both sides of the Atlantic.

Really nice historical fiction about the Alcott family, particularly Louisa and her sister, May. Quite interesting read and well researched.

This is such a good read. It has been well researched and the author has a wonderful flow in her writing style. Because of that and because I am so interested in anything Alcott, I find myself reading into the wee hours when I should be sleeping to get up early for work the next day. (That is the ONLY reason I wold want this book to end!!) I like the fact that the structure of the story is based on true facts about the Alcotts' lives and that another member of the family has been brought into the spotlight where we can "see" her more clearly and gain understanding about her character. Overall, I really enjoy this author's writing and look forward to reading more by her.

It was nice to read May's story and get another perspective of the Alcott's lives and Louisa. I have read most of Louisa's books, and books about her and her family, and this fits in very well with their life story. Thank you for writing such a good story to remember May's accomplishments, and her help to women artists who came after her to achieve success. It was also very interesting to read about the start of the Impressionists movement in Paris, as I am a huge fan of all the artists.

I’d known Little Women was based on Louisa’s family experience, so how fun that there is now a book about the sister that inspired Amy March–possibly the most interesting character besides Jo. I’ve always thought it interesting (and slightly confusing) that there was a May Alcott, when Louisa’s middle name is also May!She had such a busy, fascinating life. After some bad reviews on her drawings, she devoted her life to art education–constantly working to make herself better. Thanks much to Louisa’s book funds, she was able to travel to London and throughout Europe to study, and finally became a successful artist.The writing style reminds me quite a bit of The Other Einstein, only a little slower paced. I liked the story, but it didn’t draw me in quite as much as I hoped it would. However, I’ve been a little sick and slumpy this week, so it might not be the book’s fault. I liked how Hooper brought in other famous artists of the era, to create a sense of what the creative environment would have been like at the time. As with any historical fiction, she embellished a little from letters and journal entries to build on drama and story, but it makes for a wonderful novel about a sister we don’t hear much about.

I really enjoyed The Other Alcott and reading about May's life. It's always difficult to write about a hugely popular author or their books, but I believe Elise Hooper has created a credible, highly enjoyable, grown-up book for anyone who enjoyed – or even adored, like I did – Little Women. This novel manages to evoke the atmosphere of the original books by Louisa M Alcott while taking a modern look at the challenges women faced in the late 19th century.

Loved this book and read with a day was so transfixed with the storyline. Lovely learning more about the Alcott family

My Rating: 4.5*"I shouldn't have to give up anything." (quote from the book)As a young teenager, I loved 'Little Women' by Louisa May Alcott. I even remember loving the book so much, I found a biography on her. Now to find a novel based on the youngest sister, May Alcott, the artist, was certainly a thrill.Right from the beginning the author grabbed my attention, and I knew I was in for a poignant and at times heartbreaking story. I enjoyed the family dynamics, especially between the sisters. Each of them so different from the other. When Louisa's book receives such glowing acclaim and May's illustrations are panned, it spurs her on to study art in Boston and from there Europe. It is a bumpy ride with many disappointments but in the process May learns more about herself and eventually gains the confidence to truly excel.Much research has gone into this book. I loved the art history woven into this story, and throughout, the writing had a painterly prose. Congratulations Ms. Hooper on your debut novel and thank you for bringing May Alcott Nieriker out from under the shadow of her sister, Louisa.

A historical novel based on facts of the Alcott family.In this book, May is the main character. The rivalry, love, jealousy and close ties between Louisa and May are detailed.Very informative regarding the difficulty in becoming a woman artist in that period.

Any one who loves little Women & grew up with the books, would love this story. It made the Alcott family come alive. Now I am looking to read more about their lives. Could not put it down.