Work: A Story of Experience (annotated)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1517183510 ISBN 13: 9781517183516

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015

Work: A Story of Experience, first published in 1873, is a semi-autobiographical novel by Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women, set in the times before and after the American Civil War. It is one of "several nineteenth-century novels [which] uncovers the changes in women's work in the new industrial era, as well as the dilemmas, tensions, and the meaning of that work". The story depicts the struggles of a young woman trying to support herself. The main character, Christie Devon, works outside the home in a variety of different jobs, but the end of her story marks "the beginning of a new career as a voice and activist for other working women". The character David Sterling is loosely based on Alcott's friend, Henry David Thoreau.

About the Author:

Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) was an American writer. She is best known for her autobiographical novel Little Women (1868), set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts. Little Women was published in 1868. This novel is loosely based on her childhood experiences with her three sisters. Alcott based the heroine from Little Women, Jo, on herself, but whereas Jo marries at the end of the story, Alcott never married.