American Bloomsbury: : Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau: Their Lives, Their Loves, Their Work by Susan Cheever

Before I read this absolutely mesmerizing account of literary heavyweights in nineteenth century Concord, my knowledge of the giants was piecemeal. Thoreau setting up home by Walden Pond. Louisa May Alcott’s blockbuster, Little Women. Emerson’s role in launching the Transcendentalists movement. Cheever adds putty to this framework, portraying the characters in their full humanity, foibles and all. The short chapters keep the narrative brisk and there’s enough gossip in here to rival People magazine. I especially appreciated the personalities being set against the history-laden town of Concord, and, eventually, against the larger context of the Civil War. A riveting read.