Louisa May Alcott once wrote that she had taken her pen for a bridegroom. Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern, friends and business partners for fifty years, have in many ways taken up their pens and passion for literature in much the same way. The "Holmes &amp; Watson" of the rare book business, Rostenberg and Stern unlocked the hidden secret of Louisa May Alcott's life when they discovered her pseudonym, A.M. Barnard, along with her anonymously published "blood and thunder" stories on subjects like transvestitism, hashish smoking, and feminism. Old Books, Rare Friends describes their mutual passion for books and literary sleuthing as they take us on their earliest European book buying jaunts. Using what they call ""Finger-spitzengefuhl,"" the art of evaluating antiquarian books by handling, experience, and instinct, they treat us to some of their greatest discoveries amid the mildewed basements of London's booksellers after the Blitz. We experience the thrill of finding one of the earliest known books printed in America between 1617-1619 by the Pilgrim Press and learn about the influential role of publisher-printers from the 15th century. Like a precious gem, Old Books, Rare Friends is a book to treasure about the companionship of two rare friends and their shared passion for old books.

Old Books, Rare Friends: Two Literary Sleuths and Their Shared Passion

Biographies & Memoirs

Stern, Madeline B.

Rostenberg, Leona

Arts & Literature

DOUBLEDAY

First published in 1950, this biography by one of the world's leading authority on the subject remains the standard work on Louisa May Alcott. Stern shows how the breadth of Alcott's work serves as a reflection of a life dotted with poverty and riches alike, and shows the whole Alcott--a fascinating and complex woman who lived a full and surprisingly modern life. Photos.

Louisa May Alcott

Random House]

Gathered together for the first time in this volume, these influential articles by distinguished Alcott scholar Madeleine Stern illuminate Louisa May Alcott's development as an individual and a writer, revealign a surprisingly complex personality. The essays trace her growing professionalism, uncover her feminist and abolitionist convictions, and discuss the discoveries that unmasked her double literary life.

Louisa May Alcott: From Blood & Thunder to Hearth & Home

Community & Culture

Northeastern University Press

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Books by Stern, Madeline B.