Editing Louisa May Alcott (section)

=== Birth and early childhood ===
[[File:Louisa May Alcott headshot.jpg|thumb|right|Louisa May Alcott at age 20]]
Louisa May Alcott was born on November 29, 1832, in [[Germantown, Philadelphia|Germantown]],{{sfn|Cullen-DuPont|2000|pp=8–9}} now part of [[Philadelphia]], Pennsylvania. Her parents were transcendentalist and educator [[Amos Bronson Alcott]] and social worker [[Abby May|Abigail May]].{{sfn|MacDonald|1983|p=1}} Louisa was the second of four daughters, with [[Anna Alcott Pratt|Anna]] as the eldest and [[Elizabeth Sewall Alcott|Elizabeth]] and [[May Alcott Nieriker|May]] as the youngest.{{sfn|Alcott|1988|pp=x–xi}} Louisa was named after her mother's sister, Louisa May Greele, who had died four years earlier.<ref>{{harvnb|Delamar|1990|p=6}}; {{harvnb|Matteson|2007|p=48}}</ref> After Louisa's birth, Bronson kept a record of her development, noting her strong will,<ref>{{harvnb|Reisen|2009|p=15}}; {{harvnb|Matteson|2007|pp=9, 49–50}}</ref>  which she may have inherited from her mother's May side of the family.<ref>{{harvnb|Delamar|1990|p=7}}; {{harvnb|Reisen|2009|pp=25–27}}; {{harvnb|MacDonald|1983|p=1}}; {{harvnb|Meigs|1968|pp=27–28}}</ref> He described her as "fit for the scuffle of things".{{sfn|Matteson|2007|p=49}}

The family moved to Boston in 1834,<ref>{{harvnb|''New York Times''|1888}}</ref> where Louisa's father established the experimental [[Temple School (Massachusetts)|Temple School]]{{sfn|National Park Service}} and met with other transcendentalists such as [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] and [[Henry David Thoreau]].{{sfn|Richardson|1995|pp=245–251}} Bronson participated in child-care but often failed to provide income, creating conflict in the family.{{sfn|Alcott|1988|p=xi}} At home and in school he taught morals and improvement, while Abigail emphasized imagination and supported Alcott's writing at home.<ref>{{harvnb|Alcott|1988|p=xiii}}; {{Harvnb|Elbert|1987|p=52}}; {{Harvnb|McFall|2018|pages=24–26}}</ref> With all the commotion going on at the time writing helped her handle her emotions.<ref>{{Harvnb|McFall|2018|p=24}}; {{Harvnb|Keyser|1993|pages=xvi–xvii}}</ref> Louisa was often tended by her father's friend [[Elizabeth Peabody]],{{Sfn|Saxton|1995|pp=82, 87}} and later she frequently visited Temple School during the day.{{Sfn|Elbert|1987|p=34}}

Louisa kept a journal from an early age. Bronson and Abigail often read it and left short messages for her on her pillow.<ref>{{harvnb|Delamar|1990|p=10}}</ref> She was a tomboy who preferred boys' games{{sfn|Freeman|2015}} and preferred to be friends with boys or other tomboys.{{Sfn|Delamar|1990|p=10}} She wanted to play sports with the boys at school but was not allowed to.{{sfn|Reisen|2009|p=37}}

Alcott was primarily educated by her father, who established a strict schedule and believed in "the sweetness of [[self-denial]]."<ref>{{harvnb|Alcott|1988|p=xii}}; {{harvnb|Britannica|2024}}</ref> When Louisa was still too young to attend school, Bronson taught her the alphabet by forming the letter shapes with his body and having her repeat their names.<ref>{{Harvnb|Delamar|1990|p=8}}; {{Harvnb|Reisen|2009|p=21}}; {{Harvnb|Meigs|1968|p=31}}</ref> For a time she was educated by [[Sophia Foord]],{{Sfn|Elbert|1987|p=80}} whom she would later eulogize.{{sfn|Parr|2009|p=73-4}} She was also instructed in biology and Native American history by Thoreau, who was a [[naturalist]],{{Sfn|Elbert|1987|p=89}} while Emerson mentored her in literature.{{Sfn|louisamayalcott.net|}} Louisa had a particular fondness for Thoreau and Emerson; as a young girl, they were both "sources of romantic fantasies for her."<ref>{{harvnb|''American Heritage''}}; {{harvnb|MacDonald|1983|p=2, 74}}; {{harvnb|Durst Johnson|1999|pp=104–105}}</ref> Her favorite authors included [[Harriet Beecher Stowe]], [[Walter Scott|Sir Walter Scott]], [[Fredrika Bremer|Fredericka Bremer]], [[Thomas Carlyle]], [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]], [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]], and [[John Milton]], [[Friedrich Schiller]], and [[Germaine de Staël|Germaine de Staele]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Golden|2003|p=7}}; {{Harvnb|Saxton|1995|p=183}}</ref>