Lis Adams is Director of Education at Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, and a graduate of both Brandeis University and the museum studies program at Tufts University. She is a member and former co-chair of the Concord Historical Collaborative, and a member of the Museum Education Roundtable, the Greater Boston Museum Educators Roundtable, the Arlington Historical Society, and the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Lis has presented for the New England Museum Association and the New England Library Association, and has published articles on the Alcotts for the Concord Journal and the Journal of Museum Education.

Lis is also an actress and voiceover artist in the greater Boston area, an actor in residence for Playwrights’ Platform, and a consultant for the Distinguished Achievements and Special Honors program for the Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theaters.

Lis Adams, editor of
Little Women Letters to Laurie: The Alcott Family Correspondence with Alfred Whitman, 1858 - 1891

In-Person and Online Event

Saturday, October 19

4:00 PM

Barrow Bookstore
79 Main St
Concord, MA 01742

A fascinating and deeply compelling collection of 67 letters written to Alfred Whitman, a model for the character of Laurie in Louisa May Alcott's best-loved novel, Little Women. The letters are written by Louisa May Alcott and two of her sisters, Anna and Abby May, along with Anna's husband, John Pratt, who all met and befriended Whitman while living in Concord, Massachusetts. Housed at Harvard University, most of the letters have never before been published. They tell poignant stories of struggles with depression and loneliness, marriages, births, deaths, achievements, and losses, giving readers a personal glimpse into the writers' lives and characters. Woven throughout are many of the family's famous friends and neighbors, such as the Emersons, Thoreaus, and Hawthornes. This captivating book brings the five correspondents to vivid life as real people, not just characters in the pages of a novel.

In-person seating is limited: Reservations are strongly recommended. To reserve an in-person seat, please contact Barrow Bookstore at 978-369-6084 or via email at barrowbookstore@gmail.com.