American Masters

Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind 'Little Women'

Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind ‘Little Women’ is the first film biography about the celebrated author and reveals a remarkable woman, ahead of her time, who was much more than a writer of children’s books.

Outtakes, Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind 'Little Women'

13m 58s

Louisa May Alcott's reputation as a morally upstanding spinster, reflecting the conventional propriety of late 19th Century Concord, is firmly established. However, raised among reformers, the intellectual protege of Emerson and Hawthorne and Thoreau, Alcott was actually a free thinker, with democratic ideals and progressive values about women.

Previews + Extras

WETA Passport

Stream tens of thousands of hours of your PBS and local favorites with WETA Passport whenever and wherever you want. Catch up on a single episode or binge-watch full seasons before they air on TV.