A short story by American author Louisa May Alcott was published on the front page of The Times in England and has sold over one million copies.
Alcott studied literature at Oxford University, where she met her future husband, Charles Egbert Craddock. She wrote under the pseudonym Lizzie Marchand to protect herself from her mother, a Parliament member. In 1855, she married Craddock, and they moved to Boston, where they spent their honeymoon. They made their home at Hawthorne House on Beacon Hill in Boston, where Louisa May Alcott died at 55 in 1888.
Here are her most inspiring quotes that will motivate you to never give up on your highest aspirations.
47 Most Inspiring Louisa May Alcott Quotes
“Nothing is impossible to a determined woman.”
“A faithful friend is a strong defense; And he that hath found him hath found a treasure.”
“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”
“People don’t have fortunes left them — nowadays; men have to work, and women to marry for money. It’s a dreadfully unjust world…. ”
“Life is my college. May I graduate well, and earn some honors!”
“Wild roses are fairest, and nature a better gardener than art.”
“The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.”
“I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.”
“Simple, genuine goodness is the best capital to found the business of this life upon. It lasts when fame and money fail, and is the only riches we can take out of this world with us.”
“Now and then, in this workaday world, things do happen in the delightful storybook fashion, and what a comfort that is.”
“When we make little sacrifices we like to have them appreciated, at least…”
“…because talent isn’t genius, and no amount of energy can make it so. I want to be great, or nothing.”
“A real gentleman is as polite to a little girl as to a woman.”
“I keep turning over new leaves, and spoiling them, as I used to spoil my copybooks; and I make so many beginnings there never will be an end. (Jo March)”
“A quick temper, sharp tongue, and restless spirit were always getting her into scrapes, and her life was a series of ups and downs, which were both comic and pathetic.”
“Poor dull Concord. Nothing colorful has come through here since the Redcoats.”
“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents.”
“I put in my list all the busy, useful independent spinsters I know, for liberty is a better husband than love to many of us.”
“Some stories are so familiar its like going home.”
“I like good strong words that mean something…”
“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”
“Keep good company, read good books, love good things and cultivate soul and body as faithfully as you can.”
“Nothing provokes speculation more than the sight of a woman enjoying herself.” -”
“Preserve your memories, keep them well, what you forget you can never retell.”
“Good, old-fashioned ways keep hearts sweet, heads sane, hands busy.”
“Watch and pray, dear, never get tired of trying, and never think it is impossible to conquer your fault.”
“Better lose your life than your soul…”
“It takes people a long time to learn the difference between talent and genius, especially ambitious young men and women.”
“Keep good company, read good books, love good things and cultivate soul and body as faithfully as you can”
“I ask not for any crown But that which all may win; Nor try to conquer any world Except the one within.”
“Help one another is part of the religion of our sisterhood.”
“Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.”
“The humblest tasks get beautified if loving hands do them.”
“Let my name stand among those who are willing to bear ridicule and reproach for the truth’s sake, and so earn some right to rejoice when the victory is won.”
“Painful as it may be, a significant emotional event can be the catalyst for choosing a direction that serves us – and those around us – more effectively. Look for the learning.”
“You don’t need scores of suitors. You need only one… if he’s the right one.”
“Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life will become a beautiful success.”
“We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving, and we all have the power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing.”
“Love is the only thing that we can carry with us when we go, and it makes the end so easy.”
“…for a girl with eyes like hers has a will and is not ruled by anyone but a lover.”
“Some people seemed to get all sunshine, and some all shadow…”
“You have grown abominably lazy, and you like gossip, and waste time on frivolous things, you are contented to be petted and admired by silly people, instead of being loved and respected by wise ones.”
“I never wanted to go away, and the hard part now is the leaving you all. I’m not afraid, but it seems as if I should be homesick for you even in heaven.”
“Human minds are more full of mysteries than any written book and more changeable than the cloud shapes in the air.”
“It’s amazing how lovely common things become, if one only knows how to look at them.”
“Life and love are very precious when both are in full bloom.”
“Woman work a great many miracles.”
