6 March 1888: Louisa May Alcott dies

Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist and poet, best known for her novel Little Women and its sequels. She died on 6 March 1888, at the age of 55, from a stroke that she had suffered two days earlier.

Alcott wrote Little Women in 1868, and it was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. The novel was an immediate success and became Alcott’s most famous work. It tells the story of the March family and their struggles and joys as four sisters grow up in the mid-19th century. The book is semi-autobiographical, and Alcott based the characters on herself and her own sisters.

The Alcott family struggled with financial problems, and Louisa became the main breadwinner through her writing. She was also involved in social and political causes, such as women’s rights and the abolitionist movement, but she never married or had children.

After Little Women, Alcott continued to write popular novels, including sequels Little Men (1871) and Jo’s Boys (1886). However, her health began to decline in the 1870s, and she suffered from ongoing illnesses, including typhoid fever, pneumonia, and mercury poisoning. She also struggled with mental health issues, including depression and anxiety. Despite these health problems, she continued to write and publish books until her death.

Alcott died two days after her father’s death. She is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, near Emerson, Hawthorne, and Thoreau, on a hillside now known as “Authors’ Ridge“.