Anna Bronson Alcott Pratt (March 16, 1831 – July 17, 1893) was the elder sister of American novelist Louisa May Alcott. She was the basis for the character Margaret "Meg" of Little Women (1868), her sister's classic, semi-autobiographical novel.[1]
Anna Bronson Alcott was born in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia on March 16, 1831.[2] She was the first of four daughters born to Amos Bronson Alcott and Abby May.[2] She was named after both her paternal grandmother (Anna) and her father (Bronson).[3]Amos Bronson Alcott was a schoolteacher and from the time Anna was born, he took detailed notes on his daughter's development.[4]
Anna was primarily educated at home although she attended her father's Temple School in the late 1830s.[5]
From an early age, Anna was "stage-struck" and secretly longed "to shine before the world as a great actress or prima donna."[2] In her youth, she and her sister Louisa created romantic melodramas which they performed for friends.[2] While Louisa was known among friends for her comedic acting, Anna "could cause handkerchiefs to come out and much swallowing of lumps in the throat."[2]
Between 1847 and 1849, Anna and Louisa coauthored a tragedy entitled Norna; or, The Witch's Curse.[6] It was published after Louisa's death in Comic Tragedies (1893) which featured an introduction by Anna titled "A forward from Meg."[6]
In 1858, the year they moved to Orchard House in Concord, Louisa and Anna helped form the Concord Dramatic Union. Another member of the group was John Bridge Pratt. He and Anna fell in love while playing opposite each other in a play called "The Loan of a Lover."[2]
Anna and John had two sons: Frederick Alcott Pratt (1863-1910) and John Sewall Pratt (1865-1923).[5] John Sewall Pratt later changed his name to John Alcott "in deference to Louisa [May] Alcott's will."[1] Both worked in book publishing.[1]
After her husband's death Anna purchased the Thoreau-Alcott House on Main Street in Concord in 1877 with help from her sister Louisa.[2] Anna had $2,500 in savings and the asking price for the house was $5,000.[10] Louisa offered $4,500 which was accepted.[10]
Anna's last years were spent caring for those she loved, including her own sons, her sister Louisa, and "Lulu", the daughter of her late sister May Alcott Nieriker.[2]
