“It really changes this story in a kind of revolutionary way.” “It’s Greta’s interpretation of literally lifting word-for-word what was there, but infusing it with the research and with the people we learned they were,” Dern said. Dern, who plays family matriarch Marmee, wove her research on the real Marmee, Abigail Alcott, into her performance. The movie’s heroine, Jo, portrayed by Saoirse Ronan, speaks lines from Alcott’s journals.

The result of Gerwig’s work - and the cast’s shared interest in learning about the real history of the Alcotts and Concord - is a film that’s part adaptation, part biopic. Her research extended to calling on the services of historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, for many years a Concord resident before her recent move to Boston. Gerwig, whose 2017 directorial project was “Lady Bird,” came to Massachusetts first to do extensive research on the Alcott family and the community that inspired the story. Lincoln understood the prevailing feelings both within his party and within the country, and he was able to adroitly position himself so that his policies would be met with the least amount of resistance while having the greatest possible positive effect.Related : ‘Little Women’ was filmed entirely in Mass.

Kearns Goodwin highlights how Lincoln’s skills as an orator, a politician, and a handler of men helped lead the United States through this tumultuous historical period. The second part, “Master Among Men,” describes Abraham Lincoln’s time as president, from his first act of forming a cabinet made up primarily of his rivals for the Republication nomination to his assassination following the Union victory in the Civil War and the establishment of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery. This issue played a crucial role in both Lincoln’s election and the South’s subsequent secession. Most notably, as the United States acquired new territory, it had to decide whether slavery would be legal in the new states. The first of the book, titled “The Rivals,” also outlines the forces shaping American politics in the 19th century. Chase, and Edward Bates were much more well-known and established in public life than Abraham Lincoln was in the mid-19th century, Kearns Goodwin illuminates the faults that kept each of them from gaining the nomination.

She introduces Abraham Lincoln as well as his contemporary rivals for the Republication nomination. Kearns Goodwin begins by setting the scene for Lincoln’s 1860 presidential campaign.

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin