There was a real-life Friedrich Bhaer. In fact, Louisa May Alcott wanted to marry him and even start a school with him. This man appears in literal disguises in all of her novels. He is Friedrich in Little Women, Mac in Rose in Bloom and David in Work and many more. Henry and Louisa shared a deep friendship, was it more than friendship? In Little Women Jo's and Friedrich's age gap is 16 years. It is the same age difference as between Henry and Louisa.