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    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
    Matteson, John.
Eden's outcasts: the story of Louisa May Alcott and her father/
John Matteson.—1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN: 978-0-393-07757-5
1. Alcott, Louisa May,
1832–1888—Family. 2. Authors, American—Family relationships.
3. Fathers and daughters—United States—Biography. I. Title.
PS1018.M34 2007
818'.403—dc22
    2007013707
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FOR
    Rosemary, Michelle, and Rebecca
    FAMILY IS BUT THE NAME FOR A LARGER SYNTHESIS
OF SPIRITS.—A.B.A. , 1836

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    W RITING A BIOGRAPHY REQUIRES THE AUTHOR TO LIVE with his subjects. I am thankful to all the Alcotts and their friends for being such genial and buoyant company. A student of the Alcotts is also fortunate to be part of another family, consisting of those who have dedicated themselves to the study and preservation of the Alcott legacy. In the course of this project, I have been blessed by my associations with Madeleine B. Stern, Jan Turnquist, Sarah Elbert, Daniel Shealy, Joel Myerson, Katharine Houghton, and the late Leona Rostenberg. The staff of Orchard House, especially Jenny Gratz and Maria Powers, were always there with all the answers I needed. I would also like to thank everyone at Houghton Library for their impeccable assistance. Ann Shumard (my big sister) and Lizanne Garrett at the National Portrait Gallery moved with lightning speed to provide images and permissions. Mike Volmar at the Fruitlands Museum was always at the ready when needs arose. To all these extraordinary people, I am profoundly grateful.
    Throughout the writing of this book, I have had the pleasure and privilege of teaching in the English department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in the City University of New York. I have benefited in particular from the wise counsel and enthusiastic encouragement of three wonderful department chairs, Bob Crozier, Timothy Stevens, and Jon-Christian Suggs, who have always done everything possible to make my ix professional path a smooth and rewarding one. I would be less than what I am if it were not for the wise counsel and selfless support of Marc Dolan and Karen Kaplowitz. If kindness and humor help to make a job worth doing, then virtually every one of my colleagues deserves mention here, but to the following I am especially grateful: Ira Bloomgarden, Effie Cochran, Betsy Gitter, Richard Haw, Ann Huse, Livia Katz, Adam McKible, Marny Tabb, and Cristine Varholy. I also thank Jacob Marini for ably ferreting out grant money for this project during lean times. My thanks go as well to David Yaffe, whose friendship, humor, and encouragement are pearls beyond price.
    I would like to thank Bill McPhaul for teaching me to write with precision and Victor Brombert for teaching me how to write with love. I shall be forever grateful to Dan Rodgers, Sacvan Bercovitch, and George Gopen, who embody in my eyes the very best of the teaching profession. I have been enriched beyond measure by the friendship and guidance of my mentors in the Columbia Ph.D. program: Andrew Delbanco, Ann Douglas, Karl Kroeber, Jonathan Levin, John Rosenberg, Priscilla Wald, and, primus inter pares, Robert A. Ferguson.
    This book would not exist if it were not for the brilliant professionalism of my agent, Peter Steinberg. At W. W. Norton, I would have been lost without the superb, sensitive editing of Amy Cherry and the advice of Lydia Fitzpatrick. My copy editor, Elizabeth Pierson, was meticulous and supportive throughout the process.
    With deep appreciation, I acknowledge a research grant from PSCCUNY.
    My wife, Michelle, never threatened to throw me out, even in my worst