"Trites examines in depth, as no scholar has done before her, the intricate parallels between the lives, works, attitudes, and social contexts of Samuel Clemens and Louisa May Alcott. This is an important contribution by a first-rate scholar who makes her case with verve and energy."--J.D. Stahl, professor of English at Virgina Tech, author, Mark Twain, Culture, and Gender, co-editor, Crosscurrents of Children's Literature