Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father
Encyclopedia
Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father is a 2007
biography by John Matteson
of Louisa May Alcott
, best known as the author of Little Women
, and her father, Bronson Alcott, an American Transcendentalist philosopher and the founder of the Fruitlands
utopian community. Eden's Outcasts won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Biography
.
Matteson, a professor of English at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
in New York City, was inspired to write the book by his relationship with his real-life daughter, who, according to the book's acknowledgments, did "more than anyone else" to help him understand the Alcotts. Eden's Outcasts is noteworthy for its sympathetic treatment of Bronson, a figure who has been frequently discounted and even ridiculed by scholars of the Transcendental era, and for its suggestion that both Bronson and Louisa suffered from some form of bipolar disorder
. Eden's Outcasts is only the second dual biography ever to have been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, the first having been Eleanor and Franklin by Joseph P. Lash
.
2007 in literature
The year 2007 in literature involves some significant new books.-Events:*November 19 - First Kindle e-book reader released.*December 11 - Terry Pratchett informs fans on-line that he has been diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's disease.-Literature:...
biography by John Matteson
John Matteson
John Matteson is a full professor of English and legal writing at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for his first book, Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father.Matteson is the son of Thomas D...
of Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women was set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, and published in 1868...
, best known as the author of Little Women
Little Women
Little Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott . The book was written and set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts. It was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869...
, and her father, Bronson Alcott, an American Transcendentalist philosopher and the founder of the Fruitlands
Fruitlands (transcendental center)
Fruitlands was a Utopian agrarian commune established in Harvard, Massachusetts by Amos Bronson Alcott and Charles Lane in the 1840s, based on Transcendentalist principles...
utopian community. Eden's Outcasts won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Biography
Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography
The Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography has been presented since 1917 for a distinguished biography or autobiography by an American author.-1910s:* 1917: Julia Ward Howe by Laura E...
.
Matteson, a professor of English at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
The John Jay College of Criminal Justice is a senior college of the City University of New York in Midtown Manhattan, New York City and is the only liberal arts college with a criminal justice and forensic focus in the United States. The college offers programs in Forensic Science and Forensic...
in New York City, was inspired to write the book by his relationship with his real-life daughter, who, according to the book's acknowledgments, did "more than anyone else" to help him understand the Alcotts. Eden's Outcasts is noteworthy for its sympathetic treatment of Bronson, a figure who has been frequently discounted and even ridiculed by scholars of the Transcendental era, and for its suggestion that both Bronson and Louisa suffered from some form of bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
. Eden's Outcasts is only the second dual biography ever to have been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, the first having been Eleanor and Franklin by Joseph P. Lash
Joseph P. Lash
Joseph P. Lash was an American radical political activist, journalist, and author. A close friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, Lash won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography and the National Book Award in 1972 for Eleanor and Franklin, the first of two volumes he wrote about the former First Lady.-Early...
.