Introduction to the Manuscript

My Owl, by the forgotten Alcott sister Abigail May Alcott Nieriker, is a powerful proto-feminist text, due to her unique viewpoint in the eclectic circle of independent female artists of 1870's Paris. May's manuscript unequivocally encapsulates her unique power of delineating the enchanting views and objects of her life alone in Europe, a 'power' that reveals great literary talent (Shealy, xvii). Her literature is fortified and complemented by her work as a successful artist in the Paris Salons of 1877 and 1879, which parallels the symbolic journey of the speaker in the manuscript. In the text, the owl could be principally interpreted as a muse for May's creativity, as it personifies the voice of a mentor until the speaker has the confidence to paint independently. This mirrors May's own progression from art student to inspirational mentor of female artists in her only publicised book-length text, Studying Art Abroad and How to Do It Cheaply (1879). At the pinnacle of her career, shortly after writing My Owl, May was successfully balancing married life and artistic innovation, until her tragic death in 1879. Her incredible art - along with her powerful literature - has long been overshadowed by the work of her famous sister Louisa May Alcott. The fame of Little Women contributed to May being overlooked, even after the discovery of the My Owl manuscript amongst another manuscript named An Artists Holiday, found in Louisa's papers. Nonetheless, Abigail May Alcott Nieriker is beginning to be recognised as just as talented, and even more revolutionary, than her sister.

My Owl begins in Paris, where May discovers a stuffed owl in a bric-a-brac store. The noble owl later becomes the subject of a still-life painting by May, and her artwork is subsequently accepted into the Paris Salon of 1877 (Ticknor, p.207). My Owl details May's journey and growth as an artist in Paris and London, encapsulating her artistic abilities and her love for travel. The exact intended chronology of My Owl is uncertain; the manuscript was grouped together with another one of May's unpublished works, An Artists Holiday, yet appears to take place four years later (Daly-Galeano "Disciplinary"). Through My Owl, May plays with the boundaries between the real and the fictitious, merging her real-life experience as an artist abroad with fictional elements. While she was accepted into the Paris Salon in 1877 in real life, it was for her still life painting of fruits and bottle, as opposed to her owl still life. My Owl captures May's sharp-witted disposition through her ability to adapt to European society at a time where female artists were presented with few opportunities to hone and display their craft, whilst also reflecting May's independence and her talent in the arts and literature outside of the shadow of her sister and her literary counterpart, Amy March (Blewett).

The semi-autobiographical nature of My Owl gives insight into May's unconventional life and relationship with the art world, establishing her as an intriguing individual worthy of recovery. The owl itself symbolises May's fighting artistic spirit. Her surprise and admiration in finding something so valuable amongst rubbish (Ticknor, 207) represents the struggle for women to obtain opportunities in a male dominated art culture. Like the owl, her ability to gain a formal art education as a woman, is decidedly rare (Hehmeyer, 319). Both the text and real-life version of May inhabit a complicated, transformative space in the art world. She brings the taxidermized owl to life through her painting, representing a transcendence of artistic gender convention. Female artists were often limited to still-life and copying (Hehmeyer); painting live animals increased the status of May's work in the artistic hierarchy. May was also a copyist for Turner, putting her own creative stamp on his work (Matteson). It was claimed in a newspaper clipping that Ruskin felt no one, but May, was worthy of this role (Flint 2018, 54), a ground-breaking achievement for a woman of the period. While May's transcendence of typical categorisation has made her difficult to place in the canon, it renders her a fascinating artist who is worthy of study.

However, it must be acknowledged that, without the fame of her sister Louisa, May's work probably would not have been recovered. Female artists in the nineteenth century struggled to access the money and connections needed to become well-known artists; Louisa's success provided May with these things. It was the money Louisa made from Little Women that funded May's first trip to Europe, which inspired and motivated May and her goals for the rest of her life. It was through her sister's publications that May's writing was shared: parts of An Artists Holiday were published under Louisa's name - presumably with May's consent (Flint 2022). And it is the collaborative nature of An Artists Holiday that is likely the reason the manuscript was preserved as microfilm; Louisa's handwriting on the manuscript would have convinced scholars of a value they wouldn't have seen otherwise (Daly-Galeano Interview). It is true that Louisa's work greatly overshadows May's, but we must remember all the female artists of the nineteenth century whose lives and works have been entirely forgotten. Whilst May deserves recognition for her own works, we cannot - and should not - ignore the hand Louisa has had in her recognition, both historically and in the present.

In summary, My Owl provides a semi-autobiographical insight into May Alcott Nieriker's forgotten life. The story blends the line between the fictitious and the real by intertwining May's real life, providing an element of realism which demonstrates the nuance and talent of May Alcott Nieriker. Throughout its relatively sparse wordcount, the work provides a unique perspective of an independent female artist in 1870s helping to establish My Owl, and May herself, as a proto-feminist text and proto-feminist writer respectively. As such it is a disappointment that May Alcott Nieriker was abandoned by the canon as her work transcends the works of her contemporaries, both male and female. This edition of My Owl also enables May Alcott Nieriker to be separated and individualised from her sister Louisa which helps to demystify the publication confusion surrounding both May Alcott and Louisa. It is undoubtable that Louisa helped to provide a platform for May Alcott Nieriker whilst also playing a crucial role within the shaping and creation of her sister's work. Overall, this edition of My Owl provides a perfect opportunity to revitalise and reinterpret May for the twenty-first century, whilst being able to appreciate the simplistic beauty of her tale. It also offers the ability to make up for the misdoings of our literary ancestors by providing May Alcott Nieriker the attention and respect she rightly deserves.

Leah Stockall (Editor), Charlie Abbott, Helen Constantinou, Amy Dixon, Imogen Lauer and Joe Tresise.

Bibliography

1. Blewett, Kelly, What Greta Gerwig Got Right: Rethinking Amy March in Light of May Alcott Nieriker (Los Angeles Review of Books, 31 March 2020) [accessed 13 May 2022].
2. Daly-Galeano, Marlowe. "Disciplinary Conversations: May Alcott Nieriker's ‘An Artist's Holiday’". The Forgotten Alcott, eds. Azelina Flint and Lauren Hehmeyer. Routledge, 2022, pp. 127-142.
3. ---. Interview. Conducted by Azelina Flint, 7 May. 2022. Retrieved from University of Lancaster Moodle - Panopto
4. Flint, Azelina. "Her lovely presence ever near me lives: A Brief Encounter from the Archives with May Alcott Nieriker". Brief Encounters, Vol 2, No 1, Jan 2018, pp.53-68.
5. ---. Lecture, 24 April. 2002. Retrieved from University of Lancaster Moodle - Panopto
6. Hehmeyer, Lauren. "Armed with a Brush: May Alcott Nieriker as Representative Woman Artist in Paris". The Forgotten Alcott, eds. Azelina Flint and Lauren Hehmeyer, Routledge, 2022, pp.79-91.
7. ---. "Let the World Know You Are Alive: May Alcott Nieriker and Louisa May Alcott Confront Nineteenth-Century Ideas about Women's Genius", American Studies Journal, No 66, 2019
8. Matteson, John. "'The Pure Hope of Giving ... Pleasure': May Alcott, John Ruskin and the Moral Aesthetic" The Forgotten Alcott, eds. Azelina Flint and Lauren Hehmeyer, Routledge, 2022, pp.191-207.
9. Nieriker, May Alcott. Studying Art Abroad, and How to Do It Cheaply. Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1879.
10. Shealy, Daniel. "Introduction." Little Women Abroad: The Alcott sisters' letters from Europe, 1870-1871. Louisa May Alcott and May Alcott University of Georgia Press. Athens & London, 2008, pp.xv-lxxiii
11. Ticknor, Caroline. May Alcott: A Memoir, 1928. Reprint, Applewood Books, n.d.