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Twisted classic in form of "what if?"

In the bestselling tradition of Loving Frank and March comes a novel for anyone who loves Little Women.

Berkley
May 2011
On Sale: May 3, 2011
Featuring: Louisa May Alcott; Joseph Singer
368 pages
ISBN: 0425240835
EAN: 9780425240830
Paperback
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THE LOST SUMMER OF LOUISA MAY ALCOTT

Kelly O'Connor McNees

Kelly O'Connor McNees
Author Book List

Millions of readers have fallen in love with Little Women.
But how could Louisa May Alcott-who never had a
romance-write so convincingly of love and heart-break
without experiencing it herself?

In her debut novel, The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott,
Kelly O’Connor McNees deftly mixes fact and fiction as she
imagines a summer lost to history, carefully purged from
Louisa’s letters and journals, a summer that would change
the course of Louisa’s writing career—and inspire the story
of love and heartbreak between Jo and Teddy “Laurie”
Laurence, Jo’s devoted neighbor and kindred spirit.

In the summer of 1855, Walt Whitman’s controversial Leaves
of Grass has just been released, and the notion of making a
living as a writer is still a far-off dream for Louisa. She
is twenty-two years old, vivacious, and bursting with a
desire to be free of her family and societal constraints so
she can do what she loves the most—write. The Alcott family,
destitute, as usual, moves to a generous uncle’s empty house
in Walpole, New Hampshire, for the summer. Here, a striking
but pensive Louisa meets the fictional Joseph Singer. Louisa
is initially unimpressed by Joseph’s charms. But just as
Louisa begins to open her heart, she learns that Joseph may
not be free to give his away. Their newfound love carries a
steep price, and Louisa fears she may pay with the
independence she has fought so hard to protect.