Let Genius Burn
Louisa May Alcott may be best known for the beloved book Little Women, but her story doesn’t begin or end with her famous novel. On Let Genius Burn, we separate the layers of Louisa’s life to learn more about who she really was--and all the ways her legacy continues to resonate today. We’ll explore the traumatic year of her childhood spent in an experimental utopian community, her service as a Civil War nurse, her final years of wealth and celebrity as a children’s author--and more intimate details and little-known stories of Louisa’s life. Instead of a retelling of Louisa May Alcott’s biography, each episode in the 8-part series examines Louisa's life through a different lens--Louisa as a celebrity, writer, activist, daughter, and more-- highlighting her complexity as a person, woman, and historical figure. Ahead of her time, Louisa railed against the limitations of her gender and fought for women’s suffrage. She craved literary greatness, but was weighed down by the financial needs of her family. Through writing scandalous Gothic thrillers, she found a way to voice her own inner turmoil. In the end, she achieved extraordinary financial success, but creative fulfillment remained elusive.We’ll examine all of this and more on Let Genius Burn. Find more on Instagram and Facebook @letgeniusburn or at letgeniusburn.com.
Let Genius Burn
Louisa as Inspiration: Conversation with Biographer John Matteson
John Matteson's biography, Eden's Outcasts: the Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father, has become a foundational work in Alcott scholarship. It brings together the best of Alcott studies to show us an empathetic portrait of the Alcotts who feel as real and alive as ever in its pages.
In our conversation with John Matteson, we cover Louisa's time in Washington as a nurse during the Civil War and why those three weeks were so influential in the rest of her life. We also discuss John's writing process and how he chose the five figures featured in his newest book, A Worse Place Than Hell. We compare and contrast Louisa May Alcott and Margaret Fuller, as well as hearing about John's most interesting research discoveries.
Beyond these concrete topics, John offers us a vision of the Alcotts that is connected to our present-day world and where our future is headed. His conversation focuses on why we study history and why we write. It will resonate with anyone who looks for meaning in life, who sees connections and wonders where they come from.
John Matteson is Distinguished Professor of English at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in the City University of New York. He was awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for his biography Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father. He is also the author of The Lives of Margaret Fuller and the editor of The Annotated Little Women. His most recent book, A Worse Place Than Hell, was chosen by Civil War Monitor as one of the outstanding Civil War books of 2021.