''March'' (2005) is a novel by Geraldine Brooks. It is a novel that retells Louisa May Alcott's novel '' Little Women'' from the point of view of Alcott's protagonists' absent father. Brooks has inserted the novel into the classic tale, revealing the events surrounding March's absence during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

in 1862. The novel won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Plot summary

In 1862, Mr. March, an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

and chaplain in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

, is driven by his conscience to leave his home and family in

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the confl ...

, to participate in the war. During this time, March writes letters to his family, but he withholds the true extent of the brutality and injustices he witnesses on and off the

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

fields. He suffers from a prolonged illness stemming from poor conditions on a cotton farm in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. While in hospital, he has an unexpected meeting with Grace, an intelligent and literate black nurse whom he first met as a young woman staying in a large house where she was enslaved. The recovering March, despite his guilt and grief over his survival when others have perished, returns home to his wife and Little Women, but he has been scarred by the events he has gone through. The novel accurately reflects

Bronson Alcott Amos Bronson Alcott (; November 29, 1799 – March 4, 1888) was an American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer. As an educator, Alcott pioneered new ways of interacting with young students, focusing on a conversational style, and a ...

's principles, notably his belief that boys and girls of all races had a right to education and his wish to follow a

vegetarian diet Vegetarian diet may refer to: *Vegetarianism *Vegetarian cuisine *Plant-based diet (i.e., not necessarily stemming from vegetarian beliefs) *Veganism Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet ...

. It presents the young Mrs March as a fiery character with strong verbal and physical expressions of anger.

Sources

The character of March is based in part on Alcott's father,

Amos Bronson Alcott Amos Bronson Alcott (; November 29, 1799 – March 4, 1888) was an American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer. As an educator, Alcott pioneered new ways of interacting with young students, focusing on a conversational style, and a ...

, who was a teacher and abolitionist. Brooks used as source materials Mr. Alcott's letters and journals, and the writings of Henry David Thoreau and

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...

, who were friends of the Alcott family. Thoreau and Emerson also appear in the novel as secondary characters and friends of the Marches.

Commentary

Teresa Nielsen Hayden has compared the novel to fan fiction, saying that the only difference is that Brooks, Alcott, and publisher Viking Press are "dreadfully respectable." Nielsen Hayden believes that creating fan fiction is "a basic impulse." In an NPR interview by Melissa Block, Brooks reveals that a more physical connection to the Civil War was her inspiration for the novel. "The author lives near the site of the battle where, on Oct. 21, 1861, on a steep bluff overlooking the Potomac River, Union forces were flanked and routed by Confederate troops. The discovery of a Union soldier's belt buckle in the Civil War-era courtyard of Brooks' home provided the germ of the novel."https://www.npr.org/2005/03/09/4527755/geraldine-brooks-civil-war-march

References

External links

Geraldine Brooks' Official Website

Photos of the first edition of March
{{DEFAULTSORT:March (Novel) Parallel literature Pulitzer Prize for Fiction-winning works Novels about American slavery 2005 American novels American historical novels Novels set during the American Civil War Novels set in Virginia Viking Press books Works based on Little Women