Onder Moeders Vleugels by Louisa May Alcott

(5 User reviews)   1230
Alcott, Louisa May, 1832-1888 Alcott, Louisa May, 1832-1888
Dutch
Hey, have you ever read that Louisa May Alcott book about the mother who basically runs a secret society from her parlor? No, not that one! I just finished 'Onder Moeders Vleugels' (Under Mother's Wings), and it’s a fascinating, lesser-known side of Alcott. Forget the cozy March family for a minute. This story follows a fiercely protective widow, Mrs. Warburton, who uses her intelligence and social position to quietly—and sometimes not so quietly—maneuver against a corrupt local official threatening her town. It’s part domestic drama, part quiet thriller, all about the power a determined woman can wield without ever leaving her drawing room. If you like strong female characters and stories about fighting injustice from the inside, you need to pick this up.
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wars, and is the subject of current papers and a critical edition by I. F. Clarke in Britain. Robida is forgotten (or was never known) in America, but in France he is remembered. His sketches and caricatures, particularly of humorous and satirical visions of what lay in the future, were decades ahead of their time. Disney adopted some of his drawings as backgrounds for their views of the future at a pavilion at Epcot, and web sites attempt today to bring some of his best work back into circulation. If Robida is mostly forgotten, Uzanne can be truly said to have vanished from the cultural consciousness of the world. Yet he was well known as a writer and critic of his day, and some of his works command high prices from rare-book dealers. One presumes that much of his work was more bound to the circumstances of the current day than were the drawings of Robida, whose art has a certain timelessness to it (even where it graphically predicts a future that demonstrably did not happen). What follows is one of the pieces from _Contes_. Writing and drawing in 1894, Uzanne and Robida give us predictions of a post-literate society. Music and speech are everywhere! Newspapers are forgotten, and news presenters are valued for their emotional tone instead of the accuracy of their reporting. Recordings combined with cinema present costumed drama and humor in the home. (This is 1894, remember; Edison had truly just begun to produce his films.) Printed books are over and done with! They are no longer needed. As some companies _Hidden Knowledge_, for example) begin to create electronic books that will never be published in printed form, we need to remember... it was all predicted more than a hundred years ago. [Illustration] Notes on the re-creation of "The End of Books" The original drawings in the collection _Contes pour les Bibliophiles_ were scanned as black-and-white drawings at 600 dpi, and cleaned up in Photoshop. The drawings were extracted and processed individually to reduce their file size and improve their visual presentation on computer screens. The text was run through Textbridge 9, which did a surprisingly good job at OCR. The HTML layout merges the recovered text and the processed images back together again, and is designed to approximate that of the original. It is impossible to imitate it exactly, for all browser configurations, in HTML. You can do it in PDF; we looked at conversion to PDF but decided to keep things simple. One hopes also that future XML layout tools will provide this capability. The original is in French, and providing a proper translation is outside the scope of this project. I wrote a summary in English for those us of who do not have the French language. Or see the "Scribner's Magazine" references below. I have no idea what was originally written as the last word in the caption of the drawing of Public Domain Archive and the devil. It appears to have been scratched off the printing plate. _Contes pour les Bibliophiles_ was noted in "The Century Magazine" (May, 1895, page 354 ff.) in a review section on "Books in Paper Covers." I say noted; but actually, only the cover was reviewed. The cover was reproduced in a photoengraving in "Century" and its artistic values were denigrated; the contents apparently remained unread. Perhaps they were unhappy because Uzanne ocasionally appeared in English in "Scribner's Magazine", which competed fiercely with "Century". The story itself appeared in a clumsy English translation in "Scribner's", Vol. 16 (1894), pp 221-231, with illustrations by Robida — some the...

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Louisa May Alcott is famous for 'Little Women,' but she wrote a whole world beyond the March sisters. 'Onder Moeders Vleugels' (often published in English as 'Under the Lilacs' or similar) is one of those hidden gems that shows a different side of her storytelling.

The Story

The heart of the book is Mrs. Warburton, a sharp and respected widow. When a dishonest man gains power in her community and starts causing real harm, she decides to act. But she doesn't pick up a sword or make public speeches. Instead, she turns her home into a command center. From her parlor, she gathers information, offers sanctuary to those hurt by the corruption, and cleverly orchestrates a campaign to expose the truth and rally the decent people in town. It's a battle of wits and influence, fought with tea cups and quiet conversations instead of guns.

Why You Should Read It

I loved this because it flips the script. In an era when women had limited official power, Alcott shows one using every tool she does have: her reputation, her social network, her intelligence, and her home. Mrs. Warburton is a protector, a strategist, and a force of nature. The story makes you think about all the ways change can happen outside of official channels, driven by courage and community. It's surprisingly tense and satisfying to watch her plan come together.

Final Verdict

This is perfect for anyone who loves character-driven stories about resilience and quiet rebellion. If you enjoyed the family warmth of 'Little Women' but want to see Alcott explore a grittier, more suspenseful plot with a powerhouse female lead at its center, you'll find a lot to love here. It's a thoughtful, engaging read that proves a mother's 'wings' can shelter more than just her own children.



🏛️ Public Domain Notice

This digital edition is based on a public domain text. Preserving history for future generations.

Elizabeth Miller
2 weeks ago

From a casual reader’s perspective, the author clearly understands the subject matter in depth. It exceeded all my expectations.

Anthony Adams
4 months ago

After spending time with this material, the examples used throughout the text are practical and relevant. I have no regrets downloading this.

Jessica Rivera
3 months ago

I went into this with no expectations and the examples add real-world context to abstract ideas. It exceeded all my expectations.

Michelle Williams
2 months ago

From a casual reader’s perspective, it challenges the reader's perspective in the most intellectual way. This turned out to be a great decision.

Mary Nelson
3 months ago

After hearing about this multiple times, it creates a vivid world that you simply do not want to leave. I finished this feeling genuinely satisfied.

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5 out of 5 (5 User reviews )

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