The Alcotts were always very poor until Louisa started making money from her writing. But they were an interesting family. They were good friends with Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Thoreau. (Emerson partly supported them.) They were educators and abolitionists, and Louisa served for a short time as a nurse during the Civil War.
This picture is Bronson Alcott's desk (Louisa's father). After I took the picture, I was accosted by the guide who angrily told me no pictures were allowed. I asked why, and mentioned that I hadn't used a flash, which she knew was true since she was standing there when I took the photo.
"We just don't allow photos, that's all," she said. "You know we don't because you heard me say so." So, sorry, I don't have more pictures.
I think they're missing a publicity opportunity. I'd planned to post the pics on Pinterest and urge people to visit. However, having visited myself, I have to say it was a disappointment. You must go on the tour with the guide and you are herded from room to room. Since the tour group is large, filling each room, you can't see much, except other 21st century people :). The tour ends up being more of a lecture than a museum visit. It's short.
I really like this photo, however, and it's precious to me now that I know it's forbidden. lol
After our tour was over we discovered that we'd been shuttled into a tour that had started earlier and we missed the pre-tour video. I guess that's when she talked about the no photography rule.
Here's the actual house. And P.S., unlike in Little Men, Louisa never married.
