Aladdine Joroff is the owner of Concord’s Barrow Bookstore and the president of the Boston branch of the Dickens Fellowship. She is a former interpreter at the Louisa May Alcott Orchard House and worked at the Dickens Museum in London where she created a joint exhibition on the influence of Dickens on Louisa May Alcott.

A Tale of Two Authors: Charles Dickens’ Influence on Louisa May Alcott

June 30, 2026

Aladdine Joroff

No Comments

Imagine admiring an author while you are growing up and then ending up in the same stratosphere of success as them. That is what happened to Louisa May Alcott, who was described by contemporaries as an ardent and enthusiastic admirer of Charles Dickens—a writer two decades her senior. Both Dickens and Alcott wrote novels, short stories, and essays; both loved the stage and pursued amateur acting; both integrated social issues into their writings; both went from using pen names to real names; and both became household names. By 1893, only Dickens’ novels were more circulated than Alcott’s in United States public libraries.

The Summer Issue is Here!

As our nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this issue explores the people, ideas, and stories that continue to shape its legacy. Inside, Professor Robert A. Gross offers fresh perspective in “A Referendum on Independence,” while a special foldout guide, “Following in Thoreau’s Footsteps,” invites you to explore the landscapes that inspired him. Discover an unexpected connection in “A Tale of Two Authors,” revisit the moving story of “A Hawthorne Homecoming,” and enjoy summer events, arts, and ways to experience Concord firsthand.

A Referendum on Independence

The road to American independence took time to complete, and Massachusetts, despite its reputation as a vanguard state, was not always in the lead. In 1775, even after the battles of Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill, most Patriot leaders were still seeking restoration of colonial rights within the British empire. Thomas Paine broke the logjam with the publication of Common Sense early the next year. The instant best-seller argued the case for separation by appealing to economic and political self-interest, emotional resentment of a brutal and oppressive king, and a utopian vision of America as “an asylum for mankind.”

A Hawthorne Homecoming

Two white horses pulled the hearse into Concord’s Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, a top-hatted driver at the reins. A band of mourners followed on foot as they made their way toward Authors’ Ridge.Except for the bright sunshine, this scene wouldn’t seem out of place in a story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. But it happened a mere twenty years ago, on June 26, 2006. That was the day Hawthorne and his wife and daughter were reunited after his death separated them 142 years earlier.

Aladdine Joroff

ARTICLES

A Tale of Two Authors: Charles Dickens’ Influence on Louisa May Alcott