PREFACE.
Reading edition
No explanation can be necessary for offering to the children of America a memorial of Louisa May Alcott, to whom a whole generation looks up with honor and affection as their benefactor and friend.
This slight sketch of her life is not intended to take the place of the full biography, which, it is hoped, will be prepared under the auspices of her own family. The aim has been to show how truly her writings represented herself, and came out of her own varied and fruitful life.
A word more should be said in regard to the poems. The “Song of the Suds” is introduced to express her sense of the poetry of labor. The lines “To a Robin” are interesting as her childish expression. The poems to her father and mother show the deep, filial reverence and tenderness which were among her strongest traits. The two poems by her father are added to indicate the love with which the orphan child, who became so large a part of her life, was welcomed by her family, and her father’s recognition of the motives which prompted her to exertion, which were, not love of money or fame, but sacred duty to those whom God had given her to cherish and bless.
This book is affectionately dedicated to the children of America.
EDNAH D. CHENEY.