Fruitlands

On Saturday I went to visit Fruitlands in...oh, I don't know. Somewhere in Massachusetts. Why should I care, you ask? Well, if you remember one of my entries back in September 2002 or 2003 (hey, I've narrowed it down for you)I have a little thing about Little Men, which means I have a little thing about Louisa May Alcott, its author. One thing does not necessarily lead to another, but in this case it does.

Anyway, Fruitlands is the name of a farm where Louisa's father took the family when she was around 8 (according to the lady who gave us the little talk), hoping to start a commune with this other guy and his son. They may have managed to get as many as eight guests, besides themselves, to sign up for the communal experience but essentially the whole thing went bust in short order.

Believe it or not, I learned about this back in college when I did a paper on Alcott for my History of American Women course.

Years ago I also visited Orchard House, the Alcott's main home. This is the setting for Little Women.