Louisa May Alcott's
Work: A Story of Experiencewas published in 1872 but was begun a decade earlier under the initial title
Success. To friends and publishers Alcott consistently described the work as autobiographical. Edna Cheney, Alcott's friend and the first editor of her letters and journals, recalled that Louisa once said, “Christie's adventures are many of them my own; Mr Power is Mr. Parker”(265). Alcott made a similar statement to Louise Chandler Mouldon. A few years before the author's death, Mouldon wrote her asking for material to complete Alcott's biographical sketch in
Our Famous Women. In January 1883 Alcott responded: “I have very little material to offer for my journals were all burnt long ago in terror of gossip when I depart and on unwise use of my very frank…
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Citation: Maragou, Helena. "Work: A Story of Experience". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 January 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=14958, accessed 25 November 2024.]
