Though I do not enjoy writing “moral tales” for the young, I do it because it pays well

Louisa May Alcott offers some advice to a young writer

Louisa May Alcott. Photo: Getty.

One September evening in 1867, 34-year-old Louisa May Alcott opened her journal and wrote, “Niles, partner of Roberts [Bros. publishers], asked me to write a girls’ book. Said I’d try.” A year later, in September of 1868, the fruits of that attempt were unveiled to the public in a book that would almost instantly become a…