∎ PDF The Glory Cloak A Novel of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton Patricia O'Brien 9780743257503 Books

The Glory Cloak A Novel of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton Patricia O'Brien 9780743257503 Books

Download As PDF : The Glory Cloak A Novel of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton Patricia O'Brien 9780743257503 Books

The Glory Cloak A Novel of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton Patricia O'Brien 9780743257503 Books

I have read other reader reviews on Amazon.com, and have a bone to pick with the person who decried its lack of historical accuracy. Lincoln died the morning after he was shot--not several days later. One of the brief disappontments of the book was that this world-shaking event, the Lincoln assassination, was glossed over as if it were a minor occurrence. I was misled by the author into thinking I had solved the mystery of who John Sulie was, and boy was I wrong! I though that he would turn out to be John Wilkes Booth,as he seemed to be a Southern spy (wearing Rebel boots). If he had been Booth, that would have accounted for his unusual literacy (for a blacksmith), and his perfect Northern accent, since he was a well-educated actor. (Also, it seemed that Alcott had saved his right arm for his future role as Lincoln's murderer. I am glad that was not the case!)

I have read one of the Alcott biographies cited by the author, the "modern" one by Martha Saxton, and recognized some of the sources of Louisa's troubles. Her famous father, Bronson Alcott, was a dreamer who refused to support his family, so this unpleasant duty was left to his talented daughter. Just like Jo in "Little Women," Louisa felt she could never live up to the Victorian ideal of the submissive, perfect daughter, and doubted her serious writing ability. When her first mature work, "Moods" (partly about her love for Thoreau), was rejected by the public, she felt that her entire being was unworthy. She wrote lurid potboilers to make money to support her three sisters and her parents, and eventually found fame after fictionalizing her idealized family in "Little Women" and its sequels. It is hard for me to imagine any woman who has read this book as a girl to be unaffected by it. I,too, wanted to be a better person, although I admired Jo's unconventionality and independence. The fact that she so loved her naturalist teacher, Henry David Thoreau, made me admire Louisa all the more.

I was glad that O'Brien humanized Alcott by making her fall in love with John--yet Louisa had to kill him off in her own fiction so that he could remain safely in the past. She was a conflicted genius whose health was marred by the calomel she was forced to ingest while a nurse in Washington. Clara Barton fits into the story obliquely, as she is not the main protagonist. Both women, and the fictional Susan, are admirable role models for thoughtful women of today.


Tags : The Glory Cloak: A Novel of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton [Patricia O'Brien] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. From childhood, Susan Gray and her cousin Louisa May Alcott have shared a safe, insular world of outdoor adventures and grand amateur theater -- a world that begins to evaporate with the outbreak of the Civil War. Frustrated with sewing uniforms and wrapping bandages,Patricia O'Brien,The Glory Cloak: A Novel of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton,Atria Books,0743257502,General,Alcott, Louisa May,Biographical fiction,Nurses,United States - History - Civil War, 1861-1865 - Hospitals,United States - History - Civil War, 1861-1865 - Medical care,United States - History - Civil War, 1861-1865 - Women,United States;History;Civil War, 1861-1865;Hospitals;Fiction.,United States;History;Civil War, 1861-1865;Medical care;Fiction.,United States;History;Civil War, 1861-1865;Women;Fiction.,War stories,1832-1888,Alcott, Louisa May,,Civil War, 1861-1865,FICTION General,FICTION Historical General,FICTION Literary,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,Fiction Historical,Fiction-Coming of Age,Fiction-Historical,General Adult,Historical - General,History,Medical care,United States,FIC000000,FIC014000

The Glory Cloak A Novel of Louisa May Alcott and Clara Barton Patricia O'Brien 9780743257503 Books Reviews

I did enjoy this book to an extent, but it sure has its downfalls. The story that O'Brien has crafted is wonderful and she filled "The Glory Cloak" with a fulfilling literary sense of wonder. Catching the exact spirit of Louisa May Alcott through her golden times and then through her crumbling final years. The descriptions of the D.C. hospital during the Civil War was informative, and I so clung to all. The introduction of Clara Barton as a character was eye-opening, and I learned a lot about what that strong woman did for our country. The author did so well in weaving the pivotal events of the war into the timeline of the plot, and I really felt immersed into the time period.

What I didn't like? The stray remarks made here and there, gossip mostly. A couple other scenes to make the reader blush fiercely. The obsessive question of whether Louisa ever loved a man. Why did completely inappropriate material have to make it's way into an otherwise "glorious" novel? Because of these things, I cannot recommend the book to any of my friends, even as much as I enjoyed the rest of the story.
Wonderful account of civil war history and prominent people connected in history. Louisa and Clara were brought together by the war and introduced the woman of war with important history and detail. Slow reading to start, but, stay with the book. The account of Little Women is outstanding. Enjoy !
Great read. Learned a lot about Alcott and Barton I did not know. Loved their actions in history that I as not aware. Both were very brave and interesting women. They both took on roles that stepped outside the
"normal" dictates of society.
When you know and love a person from history, it is often difficult to read a fictional piece about them, as you are constantly "fact-checking" as you read. I had some difficulty in the beginning including the "invented" cousin to the Alcott girls in this adventure, but the story was well-written and plausible. Overall, it was a very pleasant read, and I would recommend it.
Patricia O'Brien caught my attention as I began to read her book and my mind heard echoes of Little Women in its prose. Her voice is her own, but often approximates Alcott's tone and approach, probably intentionally. It was easy to recall scenes from a book that ranks in my top five all time favorites as I read Glory Cloak. O'Brien neatly slips allusions to Alcott's most well-known work into her own story - and does it in a way that isn't intrusive and doesn't smack you over the head with reminders. She just let's you be gently aware that you and she share a love.
The history is good, slightly fictionalized, but that's ok - we all go into the story aware that it is NOT a text book. The characters are truly engaging and quite three dimentional. I felt as though I got to know the person inside Alcott and I liked doing it through Cousin Susan as a vehicle, even while I got to know Susan in her own right. The story flows smoothly, enriched by detail that gives a nice sense of place without becoming cloyng about transendentalists (the sense of seeing intimate glimpses of famous writers like Hawthorne, Thoreau and Emerson was fun. Like being a bit of a voyeaur).

Let me say this - I'm a voracious reader, but often guilty of skimming through slow parts or speed reading to get flavor and not waste my time with the drudge of some books. This one - well, I began it one afternoon, read for about an hour - reading each word, sometimes rereading passages I enjoyed - then got called away. Next day, I locked myself up and read until the very last page. Then I wished I could stay a while longer.[...]
I have read other reader reviews on , and have a bone to pick with the person who decried its lack of historical accuracy. Lincoln died the morning after he was shot--not several days later. One of the brief disappontments of the book was that this world-shaking event, the Lincoln assassination, was glossed over as if it were a minor occurrence. I was misled by the author into thinking I had solved the mystery of who John Sulie was, and boy was I wrong! I though that he would turn out to be John Wilkes Booth,as he seemed to be a Southern spy (wearing Rebel boots). If he had been Booth, that would have accounted for his unusual literacy (for a blacksmith), and his perfect Northern accent, since he was a well-educated actor. (Also, it seemed that Alcott had saved his right arm for his future role as Lincoln's murderer. I am glad that was not the case!)

I have read one of the Alcott biographies cited by the author, the "modern" one by Martha Saxton, and recognized some of the sources of Louisa's troubles. Her famous father, Bronson Alcott, was a dreamer who refused to support his family, so this unpleasant duty was left to his talented daughter. Just like Jo in "Little Women," Louisa felt she could never live up to the Victorian ideal of the submissive, perfect daughter, and doubted her serious writing ability. When her first mature work, "Moods" (partly about her love for Thoreau), was rejected by the public, she felt that her entire being was unworthy. She wrote lurid potboilers to make money to support her three sisters and her parents, and eventually found fame after fictionalizing her idealized family in "Little Women" and its sequels. It is hard for me to imagine any woman who has read this book as a girl to be unaffected by it. I,too, wanted to be a better person, although I admired Jo's unconventionality and independence. The fact that she so loved her naturalist teacher, Henry David Thoreau, made me admire Louisa all the more.

I was glad that O'Brien humanized Alcott by making her fall in love with John--yet Louisa had to kill him off in her own fiction so that he could remain safely in the past. She was a conflicted genius whose health was marred by the calomel she was forced to ingest while a nurse in Washington. Clara Barton fits into the story obliquely, as she is not the main protagonist. Both women, and the fictional Susan, are admirable role models for thoughtful women of today.