The Concord Free Public Library in December

Concord, Massachusetts in December is an attractive place and I was in the mood to visit on Saturday, particularly because the library was having a book sale. 

The lobby/great room is decorated for the holidays

A few hours in Concord . . . a glimpse of Little Women

On my vacation day, I wanted to visit the Concord Bookshop, one of my favorites, and you can't go to Concord without visiting Orchard House, where Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) wrote Little Women!   Although Orchard House is currently closed to the public, the parking lot was busy with literary pilgrims pulling up and strolling around the grounds (avoiding a distinctly non-19th century landscaping company removing a tree).

LMA wrote Little Women here in 1868 

Currently closed to the public

Cucumber plant decor at Main Streets
Market & Cafe, where we had
a yummy lunch!

Monday

I keep meaning to try Alan Furst's espionage novels, and am disappointed I missed seeing him in Boston earlier this month.

Despite a power failure yesterday (which prevented me from vacuuming my apartment for tonight's guests and forced me to my parents' to power my laptop and try to finish a memo due today - naturally when I emailed about 1 am to say I was nearly done I was told that it was no longer urgent and I should work on something else for tomorrow - do you hear the gnashing of teeth?), I managed to make quiche and blueberry torte (from Elegant but Easy). I even have a Beverly Gray wrapped up for my friend Marlene's birthday, which was yesterday. She will be very surprised as is not the type to be sentimental about children's books (more's the pity) - this is the one thing from her childhood she has ever mentioned reading.

Recently Marlene, her husband, and our college classmate Art went to dinner in Concord, and I insisted on our seeking out the house from The Diamond in the Window. Many years ago Jane Langton had drawn me a map of where the house is that inspired the story. Somehow I had managed to hold onto this fragment of paper all this time but must say that when we examined it all we could figure out was that the house was on Walden Street. We drove slowly and carefully, scanning both sides of the street, without success, and I was annoyed not to have written to Jane Langton before our visit, although I had checked her website. So can you believe this - the next day I found the actual address on Wikipedia! Concord is not far away but it is rare that I go there unless bringing tourists so a return visit will have to wait.

Jo March

Does Jo March live up to expectations, as was discussed on NPR recently? I have been thinking about LMA a lot recently, after reading Susan Cheever's American Bloomsbury, and then visiting Concord briefly last Sunday. The approach from Route 2A leads directly past Orchard House, which I have taken out of town guests to fairly often. I think Shawn Kennedy, formerly a book buyer for Brentano's, a very nice friend I have completely lost touch with, won a virtual prize for being the only male on a tour back in the early 90s.

I read every Alcott book repeatedly, even the short stories. I liked Little Women but was certainly in the camp of "how could Jo turn down Laurie for that awful Professor Baer," although my mother tried to explain how German intellectuals were considered very sexy during this era. I was not convinced!

Rose, the heroine of Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom, was my favorite Alcott heroine.