Louisa May Alcott (November 29, 1832 - March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, short story writer and poet best known as the author of the novel Little Women (1868) and its sequels Little Men (1871) and Jo's Boys (1886). She began her writing career at an early age, with short stories for newspapers and magazines. What began as a series of stories in the 1860s became the classic American children's novel we know today as Little Women.