New Roles for Women
Following her thirtieth birthday on November 29, 1862, Louisa May Alcott decided to volunteer as a Union army nurse in Washington, D.C. The letters she wrote to her family about her experiences formed the basis for Hospital Sketches, the first critical and popular success achieved by the future author of Little Women. The first popular wartime account of wartime hospital conditions, the book exposed the poor management of military hospitals and the callous attitude of many doctors and sparked a movement for reform. Paid forty dollars for the book, Alcott insisted that five cents from each copy sold be donated to the growing population of Union war orphans.
Following her thirtieth birthday on November 29, 1862, Louisa May Alcott decided to volunteer as a Union army nurse in Washington, D.C. The letters she wrote to her family about her experiences formed the basis for <em>Hospital Sketches</em>, the first critical and popular success achieved by the future author of <em>Little Women</em>. The first popular wartime account of wartime hospital conditions, the book exposed the poor management of military hospitals and the callous attitude of many doctors and sparked a movement for reform. Paid forty dollars for the book, Alcott insisted that five cents from each copy sold be donated to the growing population of Union war orphans.