Little Women (Illustrated Junior Library) (1947) Hardcover

by Louisa May Alcott

Children's book

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1900

About the author

Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known for writing the novel Little Women (1868) and its sequels Good Wives (1869), Little Men (1871) and Jo's Boys (1886). Raised in New England by her transcendentalist parents, Abigail May Alcott and Amos Bronson Alcott, she grew up among many well-known intellectuals of the day, including Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Alcott's family suffered from financial difficulties, and while she worked to help support the family from an early age, she also sought an outlet in writing. She began to receive critical success for her writing in the 1860s. Early in her career, she sometimes used pen names such as A.M. Barnard, under which she wrote lurid short stories and sensation novels for adults that focused on passion and revenge.
Published in 1868, Little Women is set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts, and is loosely based on Alcott's childhood experiences with her three sisters, Abigail May Alcott Nieriker, Elizabeth Sewall Alcott, and Anna Bronson Alcott Pratt. The novel was well-received at the time and is still popular today among both children and adults. It has been adapted for stage plays, films, and television many times.
Alcott was an abolitionist and a feminist and remained unmarried throughout her life. She also spent her life active in reform movements such as temperance and women's suffrage. She died from a stroke in Boston on March 6, 1888, just two days after her father's death.

Reviews

[maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a TREK fr truly read for a full month. i love these girls but i do not love this narrator & overall propaganda. sorry WHY did the professor have to be so old ?? why did the school have to be for boys ?? but whatever i like the depth added to the overall story which the movie lacks

[Parnyan Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me over 4 months to finish this book due to lack of time but everytime I picked up the book I was entranced. It felt like everytime I picked up the book it's like saying hello and having a conversation with an old friend. As I grew in the 4 months so did the "little women" in this book. This book centers around 4 sisters, Meg, Jo (Josephine), Beth, and Amy.

They all go through a series of mishaps that shape their character overtime. This book highlights femininity and romance through the 4 girls and each have a distinct personality that shapes their character. Meg, the oldest, and most mature out of all the girls and often stopped Jo's and Amy's squabbles. Jo the second eldest was a tomboy and did things deemed "unladylike" and loved to write, she's a very spontaneous character. Beth, a shy girl who mostly keeps to herself and immersed herself in music as much as she can. She later dies in the series due to scarlet fever (made me so sad it was so unexpected 3) . And Amy the youngest, was the most spoiled of the bunch, feeling it practical to marry a rich man to live a good life.

Overall this story is a very nice read and I'd read it again.

[Miranda Summerset · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 STARS! Wow, this was a gorgeous book & I loved the illustrations. I can see why this is one of the most discussed classics in the world. A true love story between mother/daughter, sisters, & learning to live the life you want. A testament to femininity, womanhood has never felt more real than in Little Women. If you want to finally read this, I say this is the version to pick up!