Louisa May Alcott's father Amos Bronson Alcott predicted the sketches "likely to be popular, the subject and style of treatment alike commending it to the reader, and to the Army especially. I see nothing in the way of a good appreciation of Louisa's merits as a woman and a writer. Nothing could be more surprising to her or agreeable to us."[11] Her father was right; when it proved popular, Alcott was surprised by her own success. As she wrote: "I cannot see why people like a few extracts from topsey turvey letters written on inverted tea kettles, waiting for gruel to warm, or poultices to cool, [or] for boys to wake and be tormented."[6] Henry James, Sr. wrote her a letter to applaud "her charming pictures of hospital service."[12] The Boston Evening Transcript called the book "fluent and sparkling, with touches of quiet humor and lively wit".[6] Alcott herself wrote, "I find I've done a good thing without knowing it."[12]
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