The daughter of Amos Bronson Alcott, a well-known New England reformer and Transcendentalist, much of her life was spent in Boston and Concord, surrounded by friends such as Hawthorne, Thoreau and Emerson. She began her writing career with Flower Fables in 1854, a collection of fairy tales for children. During the Civil War, Alcott was a volunteer nurse and contracted Typhoid, which was to leave her unwell for much of the remainder of her life. Her Hospital Sketches (1863), which consisted of her letters during this period, was very well-received and she began to publish stories in Atlantic Monthly. She published Little Women in 1868, which was an instant success and has remained one of the most popular "girl's" books ever published.

The majority of Alcott's work was aimed at an audience of children. She did produce some serious work as well, however, these were never as successful.

To all of which remarks Nan gave her assent; though the hop-pole took the likeness of a tall figure she had seen in the porch, the sage-bed, curiously enough, suggested a strawberry ditto, the lettuce vividly reminded her of certain vegetable productions a basket had brought, and the bob-o-link only sung in his cheeriest voice, "Go home, go home! he is there.