Louisa May Alcott based her most famous character on herself. Like Jo March in Little Women, Louisa loved to write stories. She kept a journal from age eight. She enjoyed performing plays with her sisters. Louisa was also a tomboy, just like Jo.

Louisa May Alcott was born in 1832. Her father was a well-known scholar. The family was very poor. Louisa wanted to support them. She tried many odd jobs. Louisa based her first book, Hospital Sketches, on her job as a Civil War nurse. Sadly, that job left Alcott in poor health for the rest of her life.

Alcott wrote Little Women in 1868. She based the book on her childhood memories. It was an instant success. It is a now a classic. The book has been translated into more than fifty languages. Other popular books soon followed. All told, Alcott wrote more than thirty books for children and adults. In addition to her writing, she supported social causes and women’s rights. She died in 1888.