Handwritten manuscript by Louisa May Alcott for her short story "Jerseys, or, The Girls' Ghost," 53 pages, 5 x 8, no date but published in St. Nicholas (Vol. XI, No. 8) in July 1884; also collected in Spinning-Wheel Stories, published in the same year. The original handwritten typesetting copy of Alcott's story, with numerous corrections and interlineations by the author, with numerous printer's markings to the text. Titled at the head by Alcott, "Jerseys, or, The Girls' Ghost," with printer's notes in purple ink: "July St. Nic….Wanted soon, by May 4th, By Louisa M. Alcott."
The story begins: "'Well, what do you think of her? She has only been here a day, but it doesn't take us long to make up our minds,' said Nelly Blake, the leader of the school, as a party of girls stood chatting round the register one cold November morning. 'I like her, she looks so fresh and pleasant, and so strong. I just wanted to go and lean up against her, when my back ached yesterday,' answered Maud, a pale girl wrapped in a shawl."
Handsomely bound in full blue morocco with gilt-titled spine, with an "Ex Libris, Estelle Doheny" label to front pastedown. In very good to fine condition, with scattered toning and soiling, and some minor paper repaired loss not adversely affecting the text; page 31 is missing.
“Jerseys, or the Girl’s Ghost,” one of the most significant pieces in Louisa May Alcott’s Spinning Wheel Stories, blends light mystery with the author’s characteristic social purpose. Though framed as a ghost tale, the story is actually a vehicle for Alcott’s progressive ideas—especially the late-19th-century movements for healthier dress, improved diet, and more active lifestyles for young women.
