Marmee: A Novel of Little Women; Library Edition

by Sarah Miller

From the author of Caroline, a revealing retelling of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved Little Women, from the perspective of Margaret “Marmee” March, about the larger real-world challenges behind the cozy domestic concerns cherished by generations of readers.

In 1861, war is raging in the South, but in Concord, Massachusetts, Margaret March has her own battles to fight. With her husband serving as an army chaplain, the comfort and security of Margaret’s four daughters— Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—now rest on her shoulders alone. Money is tight and every month, her husband sends less and less of his salary with no explanation. Worst of all, Margaret harbors the secret that these financial hardships are largely her fault, thanks to a disastrous mistake made over a decade ago which wiped out her family’s fortune and snatched away her daughters’ chances for the education they deserve. 

Yet even with all that weighs upon her, Margaret longs to do more—for the war effort, for the poor, for the cause of abolition, and most of all, for her daughters. Living by her watchwords, “Hope and keep busy,” she fills her days with humdrum charity work to keep her worries at bay. All of that is interrupted when Margaret receives a telegram from the War Department, summoning her to her husband’s bedside in Washington, D.C. While she is away, her daughter Beth falls dangerously ill, forcing Margaret to confront the possibility that the price of her own generosity toward others may be her daughter’s life.

A stunning portrait of the paragon of virtue known as Marmee, a wife left behind, a mother pushed to the brink, a woman with secrets.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Retellings, Audiobook, Civil War, Book Club

Audio CD

First published October 4, 2022

About the author

Sarah Miller began writing her first novel at the age of ten, and has spent the last two decades working in libraries and bookstores. She is the author of two previous historical novels, Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller, and The Lost Crown. Her nonfiction debut, The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century, was hailed by the New York Times as "a historical version of Law & Order." She lives in Michigan.

Reviews

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I sat reveling in the sight of my Family, an absurd question burrowed into the folds of my mind and lodged stubbornly there: Which of my girls am I most proud of? It is rather like asking which of my four limbs is most essential. Each of them has blossomed into a woman that embodies one of my fondest aspirations.

Oh, how this book made me weep. Happy tears and sad tears. Many times I laughed and smiled. Like Sarah Miller's book Caroline: Little House, Revisited, this new release deepens and enlarges my experience with a beloved classic. Here was glimpse the world of "Little Women" through the eyes of the beloved Marmee. We are privileged to read her journal day by day. Birte Hummel becomes a beloved friend and helps Margaret March learn German--paving the way for Professor Bhaer to feel so very welcome in the March household. Throughout we are given details about events that are happening in real time -- Civil War battles, the battles for emancipation and suffrage, the blunders and successes in national politics, the intimate connection between Mr. and Mrs. March., and so much more. Most importantly, we are able to fully grasp the love that Marmee has for her girls as well as her hopes and dreams. Thinking about this book makes me start to tear up all over again. I want to end my review with Beth's favorite hymn: "Come, Ye Disconsolate" It has been a favorite of mine for many years as well. Here is the first verse:

Come, you disconsolate, where'er you languish;
come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
earth has no sorrows that heaven cannot heal.

Thank you many times over to William Morrow for a DRC in exchange for an honest review. Tomorrow is pub day! I hope you all go out and enjoy this books as much as I did.

[Taury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marmee by Sarah Miller. Such a sweet story that Margaret March (Marmee) through her journals. It goes deeper into the March sisters lives as they grow into adult ladies. The hardships and family love. Anyone who loves Little Women will enjoy this sweet book based on family love during wartime 1860s.

[Marcia reading past dark · Rating 5 out of 5]

MARMEE, a beautifully-written retelling of LITTLE WOMEN, by Sarah Miller, is simply marvelous. I am a great fan of Louisa May Alcott’s classic, having read it multiple times as a child and young teen. This new edition, written as a diary and told from the mother’s viewpoint, is the same familiar story. The escapades of the four sisters and the touching scenes of war, abject poverty, and death had me either laughing or crying throughout the book.

The diary begins during the Civil War (1862) and ends in 1868. Sarah Miller has honored the timeless classic while still introducing important issues of that time: women’s health issues, economic matters, and abolitionism. This book also delves into the deeper human topics of love, family, and death.

I loved this trip back in time and the opportunity to visit again with the daughters of Margaret and Amos March: Meg, Jo, Amy, and Beth. Marmee is a strong woman, emboldened by a healthy dose of justified anger and is an inspirational figure in the community for her dedication to aiding the less fortunate. It was interesting to note that she seemed focused on finding jobs for the needy, thereby feeding their confidences as well as their stomachs.

[Glenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew I would like this book based on my reaction to Miller's novel, Caroline. But I was unprepared for how much I loved this book. I did not expect to be so moved by Marmee's ruminations on motherhood. I did not expect to cry through Beth's storyline through her mother's eyes. I did not expect to stop and read certain sentences over and over again because they were so beautifully and thoughtfully written. I was almost sad that these were fictional characters. They felt so real. I do not know how Miller wrote Marmee's journals with so much depth, insight, candor, and authenticity.

You will want to be familiar with Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, of course, to fully appreciate this book. I read an abridged version as a child, and then finally committed to the novel a few years ago at Christmas. I'm so glad I did. (I was 13 when the 1994 movie came out and have watched it dozens of times, so that helped until I read the novel. I do not and cannot sanction the most recent film adaptation. Here I stand.) Anyway, you need to know these characters before you read Marmee. But then read Marmee and let the story fall over you again but this time through her life, with her dreams and work and losses in view. It will not feel like the same story at all, and it will also feel like the same story. I can't explain it. What happens to our children happens to us, but in a very different way.

What a beautiful book. I'd give it more than 5 stars if I could.

[Amanda (BookLoverAmanda) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marmee by Sarah Miller - 5 Stars
BLOG REVIEW POST HERE

Marmee by Sarah Miller is a captivating exploration of the beloved character, Marmee, in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I LOVED this book so much. This book takes you on a journey of the events in Little Women but all from Marmee's point of view through her personal journal entries. It brings such a depth to her character that I think ever person who reads Little Women would appreciate. Marmee was already my favorite character in Little Women, but after this book, I love her even more. It really feels like it goes with the true Little Women story.

The author skillfully weaves a story that uncovers Marmee's joys, struggles, and the choices that shaped her into the compassionate and wise mother we know from Little Women.

Seeing other struggles she went through that we could assume could have happened in this story were truly eye opening and heartbreaking. I sobbbbbeedddd several times while reading this books, specifically in the ending. I could relate to Marmee as a wife and mother throughout the story many times also. It was also nice to see more details of her marriage to Amos and her feelings she could have felt while he was gone to war during that time. It felt so vulnerable and real to me to read through her journal entries.

In conclusion, "Marmee" is a must-read for fans of Little Women as Sarah Miller's portrayal of Marmee breathes fresh life into a timeless character.

[Martine · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Here in these pages is a woman I know more intimately than any other, and yet in the space of a year I am apt to forget some of the intricacies of her heart and mind if I do not take time to sit with her now and then."

This is a retelling of Little Women, but told from the point of view of Marmee. Although I love the story, I've never actually read Little Women. I've tried several times, but I can't seem to connect with the writing style. I absolutely loved the latest movie made in 2019 and was excited to see this new take on the story. Oh my goodness, what beautiful writing! I loved every word! I loved its simplicity, the beautiful sayings that made me pause, and the comfort it brought. I smiled, I sympathized and I cried. A stunning book and one of my favorites for 2022!

[Manybooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever since I originally read Little Women as a young teenager, Louisa May Alcott's classic 1868/1869 story of the four March sisters (of their lives, their loves, their individual philosophies, their tragedies, their successes and failures) has been one of my favourite novels, reread multiple times both then and now and with me laughing and crying alongside of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, and often also rather desperately wanting to have sisters like that, except perhaps for Amy as she did and does remind me rather too much of my younger sister and how coddled and how much of a proverbial golden child she always seemed to be for everyone (and indeed with me equally always strangely hoping a bit at each and every reread of Little Women that Beth would not end up dying but somehow survive, silly and totally and utterly ridiculous, I know and agree, but it is what it is and every time I read Little Women this does seem to happen).

Thus and considering my absolute and utter adoration of Louisa May Alcott's delightful and oh so emotionally satisfying and evocatively stimulating semi-autobiographical story as it is presented in Little Women, I have naturally also read quite a goodly number of retellings over the years (a select few truly wonderful, some a trifle lacking but sadly far too many simply infuriatingly annoying). But Sarah Miller's 2022 young adult novel Marmee is rather (and yes indeed massively delightfully) different from all of the other Little Women adaptations I have encountered to date, since with Marmee Miller reimagines Little Women according to the mother, according to the character of Margaret March, focussing historically realistically and with a marvellous sense for textual authenticity and believability (and even providing a detailed bibliography) on how Marmee's four daughters and their antics, their personalities, their foibles and the absence of her husband Amos due to his participation in the the U.S. Civil War as a chaplain all affect and often traumatise Margaret (who is tasked with holding the March family together in the midst of war and through serious bouts of major poverty and insecurity). And while Marmee in Little Women is portrayed by Louisa May Alcott as pretty much the epitome of saintly patience, albeit there are in fact a select few textual hints of a volatile temperament akin to her daughter Jo textually shown, that same Marmee’s thoughts (in diary, in journal format) as they are realistically and believably imagined by Sarah Miller in her Marmee reveal a vulnerable and easily frustrated woman who is actually often on the brink of losing control and her temper as she tries to feed and provide support and parenting advice to her four daughters and take care of the destitute (all by herself) in a time period where the USA is rather falling apart around her in and with huge and problematic internal strife (civil war, racial tension, social upheaval, you name it). So yes, Sarah Miller's Marmee is authentic, relatable and personable, displaying in the fictional diaries Miller presents in Marmee both major and also many rather petty grievances and a very quick temper always ready to explode, all mixed with a courageous woman on a mission to show love and support to the lowliest of society in a very much tangible and overtly practical manner (basically practical and not theoretical social justice).

Indeed, a wonderful and finely nuanced mirror and expansion of Little Women is Marmee, a journal type novel that I sped through really quickly and with very much appreciated and lovely reading joy. And even though I do sometime cringe a bit at how often in Marmee March family matriarch Margaret is shown by Sarah Miller as being not only at odds with Amy's vanity, Jo's pretty unbridled temper and quick anger, Meg's tendency to embrace conventionality but also with Beth's shyness (as I personally really cannot think of Beth's shyness and being generally a total homebody as something inherently negative), well, I do realise that this also makes Miller's Marmee character all the more human for and to me and that I do (even if a bit contritely) even somewhat prefer this and Marmee's struggles and frustrations to how in Little Women Louisa May Alcott constantly renders Marmee into some almost angelic paragon of virtue, that while Little Women is still and will always remain a personal favourite, I do think that Miller's Marmee does a better job showing Margaret March as a real and living, breathing character, with doubt, with both positive and negative character traits, and that I also very much do appreciate Miller's extra and interesting imagined details in Marmee on both Hannah and the Hummel family (and yes, I really and truly do applaud how Sarah Miller takes away from Birte Hummel and her children that faint but ever present taint of buffoonery, helplessness and even lack of common sense that sometimes does seem to rear rear its head in Little Women).

Five stars for Marmee, highly recommended, and that yes, I also really love love love how Sarah Miller actually stays pretty close to Louisa May Alcott's original text for Little Women, that she does for example not miraculously cure Beth (albeit part of me totally and emotionally speaking wants this), that Jo and Professor Bhaer still end up together as do Amy and Laurie, and that thankfully, the German language inclusions Sarah Miller uses in Marmee are for the most part correct and error free (and that the one or two mistakes I did find in Marmee are pretty much totally insignificant and really only noticeable to those of us who are both fluent in German and also a wee bit anal regarding proper spelling and the like, and while I so stand by being more than a bit the latter, I also know not to go overboard, and that there are indeed so very few German language errors to be encountered in Marmee, that I really do not at all care and in fact very much applaud Sarah Miller for the fact that when she uses German in Marmee, she usually gets both spelling and word usage right).

[Lisa Burgos · Rating 4 out of 5]

A retelling of Little Women from Marmee's(mom) diaries.

[Lori Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy experiencing classic novels from different characters perspectives. Makes an old story new again. Revisiting the ‘Little Women’ story through Marmee’s eyes was a treat as it allows readers to see how she carefully navigated the girls differing personalities and how she encouraged their individual strengths making them who they became. A wonderful story for everyone and even more so for fans of the original.

Narration by Kirsten Potter was very well done. 5 stars!

Audio available on Hoopla. Listen at 4.45 speed.

[Daysfly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t finish reading the whole book. Stopped at pg 285. Writing was really good per language but the whole book felt waaayy too long. I wanted to really like the book but I got to the thought that the author took too many liberties with the book at one point. She threw in some things that I know would not have happened in the original story and I started to lose more and more joy and respect for the author’s vision. Maybe one day I’ll pick it up again but I wasn’t thrilled with what I found in my first attempt.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s not out yet but if someone can give the book one star I can give it five

The author seems like a delightful person and you should look her up on TikTok

sarahmillerbooks

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 5 out of 5]

One thing I love about enjoying literature is that other people enjoy it, too. With many of my favorites, that vicarious enjoyment has become public through adaptations and books like these. Miller's last effort, Caroline (about Laura Ingalls Wilder's mother) was not a favorite, so I was a bit hesitant to try Marmee, but I am so glad I did. Not only do we read Little Women in strikingly similar ways, we seem to value the same things about the story: its wholesomeness, the familial love, the world of women. Miller did true justice to the story, changing very little, only expanding the world of the Marches from Marmee's perspective in her diary.

The expansion of the side characters was especially delightful. Birte Hummel, Mr. Laurence, Hannah, and more received deeper backstories and more participation in this novel than they did in Little Women. I only wish there had been more of Mr. Laurence. We also see the relief rooms where Marmee works, understand the challenges she faces there, and get personal with her emotional turmoil and anger issues.

The one change I didn't like was making Mr. March's name Amos (like his real-life counterpart) rather than the book-accurate Robert. I think my distaste for that comes mostly from my disdain for the real Amos Bronson Alcott, who has not been in my good graces since I learned about the many ways he deprived his family of warmth and food for Values™ that his daughters grew up rejecting. But that's my personal beef* with him, and Miller gives him a lot more grace in the novel, and I should probably soften a bit more toward the historical Amos Bronson Alcott.

Marmee also lives up to its name as a very motherly novel, though the narrative is not entirely taken up with her concerns about raising her daughters. The passages surrounding Beth's death were extremely moving, along with her concerns about Jo. The tenderness of the novel is what's leaving a lasting impression, and because of that, I can heartily recommend it to Little Women fans. The biggest change is Robert to Amos. Everything else is so consistent with the original text, and many of the ways Miller fleshes out the world come from Abba Alcott's own life.

Sarah Miller, if you are taking requests, I earnestly and humbly beseech you to consider Marilla Cuthbert, Julia Ray, and Aunt Cordelia (from Up a Road Slowly). Or revisit Caroline in South Dakota. I'd be down for that, too.

*IYKYK

[Gloria Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

For fans of Little Women, this gives beautiful insight into the matriarch character of Marmee. Loved every minute of this novel told through diary entries. It felt like revisiting the original classic through another perspective.

[Lorie]

3.9🌟

[Laura Lewakowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored Little Women and all the stories of the March family. This was beautifully written and a well narrated addition. I loved every minute.

[Jeannine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew I'd cry, this is Mrs. March's perspective of the events of Little Women after all, but I didn't know I'd WEEP.

If you love Little Women, you'll find this book, using the form of Margaret March's diary entries, a delight. If you are kind of hazy on Little Women, like it's been a while since you've read it, don't worry...in a way, you might read part 2 without the dread that I'm sure many of us did because we knew what was coming. The extra parts are so well done and interesting that this becomes its own work.

A beautiful read.

[Robin Beard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarah Miller re-tells the story of the March family from the eyes and voice of Marmee. While it was wonderful having new life breathed into beloved characters, the undercurrent of political ideals took on a major role. While the sentiments expressed are valid and echo the outrage over the injustices of the time, it distracted from the story.

[Abigail Singrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Little Women, Marmee is ever present, but never the focus. This book takes the spotlight off the girls, and instead focuses on a strong woman holding together her family - and several others - while her husband is off at war as a chaplain. Marmee is given a voice as a force to be reckoned with.

Marmee struggles with her temper, the lack of money as her husband continuously spends it on others rather than sending it home, and the trials and tribulations of raising four very different daughters. This covers the same period as Little Women, so many of the same events occur, but from a different perspective. Her constant generosity and care for others less fortunate than her shines through, and the book also highlights how the Marches helped the abolitionist movement.

This book holds Marmee up as a strong example of Christian womanhood. She's flawed, yet strives to conquer her faults, she's loving and generous, and even the biggest crisis of her life doesn't move her into bitterness.

Perfect for adult fans of Little Women, who've grown up enough to identify more with the mother than the teenage girls.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Christina DeVane · Rating 5 out of 5]

SUCH a lovely book! 😍
If you are familiar with Little Women at all you need to read this! This tells the story from Marmee’s perspective in diary form.
The author did a fabulous job combining the March family with the real Alcott story. Her author’s note at the end explains how her research and storytelling ties everything together.
The writing is beautiful, deep, clever, and witty. Made me laugh, cry, and think, “I need to read that paragraph again!”
I did not rush, but slowly savored this book and winter is also the perfect season for reading this!

A few excerpts I wanted to remember:

📖 “Of all the many forms of starvation, the hunger for respect is hardest to cure.”

📖 “Have we any idea of how to heal the wounds that do not bleed? I fear we do not.”

📖 “What a mercy Meg and Beth take after their father, or the whole house should go up in flames.”

📖 “As I was already downcast, I called on Aunt March to round out a thoroughly disagreeable week. I succeeded marvelously.”

📖 “Had I known what magic that turquoise ring would work upon her (Amy’s) character, I might have bought her one for each finger.” 😆

[Blessing Bloodworth (naptimereaders)]

Deciding to DNF at 20%. I may return to it later, this is why I’m stopping for now:
- Marmee is a beloved character in the classic work of Little Women. The way this author writes her is not at all what I envisioned, and unnecessarily modernized to reflect a modern feminist.
- Not only does it fail to mention important spiritual and faith moments that were instrumental in the original work, she contrives the family into following a denomination that didn’t fit who they are.
- It spends way too much time focusing on side characters and not near enough time on Marmee’s relationship to the 4 girls. It’s lovers of Little Women who are picking up this book, and sadly I think they’d be disappointed.

[Barb Ruess · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like it - Little Women is one of my favorite books of all time. But it’s a slog. No real insights into Marmee or her life… excruciating detail on events that you already know happened… boring details on the war to attempt to establish time passing because you’d never know time was passing from reading the agonizingly repetitive journal entries.

I realize I may be in the minority but I was looking for something more. This was a terrible read

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was really slow to begin with Ngl. But it had a quick pace once I got into the read story of little women. I was crying all over again about Beth and how the story told a different perspective was refreshing! Can’t wait to read more from this author I’m intrigued

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are expecting the traditional Marmee from Little Women you won't find it here. Sarah Miller manages to take the reassurance of a nurturing Marmee and turn her into a narsassistic, political champion of women.

Part of the beauty and charm of Little Women is the fact that the underlying theme shows that the girls each learn to conquer 'themselves' thus becoming 'little' women. For each, it is their own private fault that is conquered and each in their own beautiful way. Please, modern authors, let's stop making it about feminism and showing up a man's world. The original story was never about that! Unfortunately, Sarah Miller makes Marmee about a feminist mother whose anger at the world she lives in comes off as sharp and out of character from what is given in Little Women.

For instance, Marmee in Little Women, is nurturing, wise, tender, and devoted to her daughters. Their relationship is one where the daughters obviously trust Marmee with their deepest thoughts and sometimes Marmee in her wisdom knows their innermost thoughts before they do.

In the book Marmee, Marmee through diary entries, reveals very little about her daughters except rare writings of them. If she is nurturing, it comes off as bizzaredly unconnected. She lobs everything off on Jo because she just can't deal with things and instead finds solace running in the woods. Hardly the mature Marmee of Little Women. Does that show anyone else red flags of a narcissist? More on that in a minute.
Her diary entries are scattered with political thoughts that, while may have been there at that time, would not have been so far advanced as our modern view would like to take it. At first it was slightly annoying, then it became the sole obsession of Marmee, making me wonder if Sarah Miller has even bothered to read other Louisa May Alcott books in order to even understand the author she hoped to freshen up a character for.

Alot of the viewpoints are out of character for the time period. Marmee lacks the wisdom and all-knowing motherism I feel the original character possess.
Some other personal pet peeves: Marmee's work for the war effort is minimal and it would've been nice to see some more in depth into something Marmee was so dedicated to. Lack of historical perspective, even going so far as mentioning Karma. By far the biggest, was Marmee's obsession with Marmee! For instance, as Beth is dying Marmee thinks to herself that 'through her (Marmee) Beth was given life and through her Beth will pass into death'. I didn't find that sweet, I thought it was terribly self absorbed as your child lays dying! Then, as Amos (a spin on Mr March's name) is sick, Marmee is so devoted to him John Brooke must spoon feed her because she cannot tear her eyes from Amos. This major eye role moment borders on gagging because surely Marmee would display the common sense she possessed in the entire Little Women. Marmee writes more of the Hummels, Hannah, and her German lessons then she does of her own daughters. I feel most mothers would think about their children and be consumed with their struggles and victories, but not this Marmee. She leaves it all in Jo's capable hands. Another great narc moment: when riding on the train with John Brooke Marmee breaks the silence by saying, 'Teach me something John' to which John replies 'no, you teach me something'. Eye roll. No! Marmee would not say that. She was not out for her ego and education to be flattered at every turn. The real Marmee would have enquired into John's life, his family, his dreams, because Marmee, of all things was nurturing. To everyone and every thing. This Marmee isn't that.

Given this Marmee, I don't forsee Jo writing fondly about her mother in the future. She would've resented Marmee's absence and unconcern. Meg never would've confided in her. Beth would've been unattached. Amy would never have learned to gracefully conquer her selfishness. The Hummels would've signed up for welfare and sued the state. Amos would've been disrespected by the girls for his apparent lack of education. Laurie could've lived in the house and Marmee wouldn't have noticed. John Brooke would still be spoon feeding Marmee as she sweat over her German lessons. And I, the reader, would've still been waiting for some wise saying to eek out of this apparently highly educated mother who was over qualified for the life she lived. Possibly a few exaggerations in there 😉

[Anne (In Search of Wonder) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Fantastic retelling of Little Women through Marmee's eyes. Actually, it's lots of a retelling and more of an exploration of Marmee as a person, based both on the story written by Louisa May Alcott and by the life of her real mother, Abigail Alcott. The result is mostly fancy but grounded in reality, someone you know wasn't real but could have been.

I enjoyed the epistolary style - it is written entirely in the form of Marmee's diaries, with no additional narrative. Epistolary is not everyone's cup of tea, and there are certainly drawbacks to the style, but it works perfectly in situations such as this where we already have a solid narrative undergirding it.

Have tissues ready: Beth's story is as emotional as ever, perhaps even more so, coming from her mother's perspective.

[Maureen Grigsby · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world of Little Women as told through diary entries of the complicated Marmee.

[Beth Given · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the story of Little Women; I've read the book and watched and read so many adaptations that the characters feel like old friends. This retelling was a delightful way to revisit Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, and to become more acquainted with their mother, Marmee. In this version, Marmee's generous heart extends beyond her family and into her community, and we see rich relationships not just with her children but with Mrs. Hummel (a full-fledged character and not just a carrier of disease), Mrs. King (a dear friend; more than Meg's employer), Aunt March (a rocky relationship!), and her husband. The book is told through Marmee's diary, and her candidness was so compelling. Even though I'm familiar with this story, Marmee's added perspective illuminates the time and characters in a fresh way. Really, really enjoyed this one.

[Hannah Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF I didn’t finish this one. I read almost the first 50 pages and got turned off pretty fast. This author made Marmee about the most judgmental character I’ve ever seen. Instead of placing blame where it belonged, on her husband’s poor choices and her own stubbornness, she proceeded to blame every other woman in the book who was better off than she was, including her own daughters, for her frustrations. I definitely think it would have been interesting to explore her character’s resentment with her life which is hinted at in Little Women, but the author went about this in entirely the wrong way. This book was clearly trying hard to be feminist and it just wasn’t at all. Putting other women down is never right no matter what century it is and Marmee is hardly a role model.

[Paula White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book! I received the ARC from the bookstore I’m privileged to work in a day a week. The daunting 400 plus pages nearly turned me away, but merely a few paragraphs in, I was hooked. Every spare minute found me reading another diary entry from Marmee, experiencing her life’s journey through the own in her hand and the thoughts of her heart. I loved it!

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was beautiful. I cried and cried and cried some more. I didn’t think it was possible for any book to come close to a retelling of Little Women but this book is like a fifth sister to the March Women. Now imagine the rest of this review is coming off a typewriter that Jo March is click clacking away. *Swoosh, ding!*

[Morgan Giesbrecht · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

Um… WOW! Miller gave us a peek behind the curtain into the life of a fictional woman so well beloved, and it’s powerful.

If I had to have a qualm with the masterpiece called Little Women, it would be that Marmee (called Margaret in this story) was too perfect. Didactic fiction was the order of the day however, so I understand *why* she was perfected to such a level. But Miller strips back the veneer and paints Marmee with humanity.

Told through journal entries, we enter into Marmee’s world through her penned words and see into her heart. The beloved quartet—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—have their roles, but this is Marmee’s time to shine. Naturally, there are some creative licenses taken, but the story remains faithful to the original source.

What is this story? Well…

It’s joy and laughter, tears and heartbreak.
It’s a the familiarity of Little Women, told from the perspective of the mother who loved and raised them, despite her failures.
It’s the wife worried for her husband, raising their children without him.
It’s the grieving heart of a mother carrying the shame of losing a baby—the same heart that would break over watching her gentle daughter fade from life.
It’s a tale of politics and war—horrendous laws and thrilling victories.
It’s the relationship between women with a common cause and dissimilar personalities.
It’s the barriers of friendship between women of different stations/social standards, defying odds to forge soul deep bonds.

In short, it was beautiful and absolutely tissue-worthy. 😭 I’d be remiss in failing to mention how immersive and historically detailed this was… seriously, everything danced to life!

Can I have just one qualm? It’s Amos, aka Mr. March. He was an absolute gem in many ways. But I STRUGGLED with how often his attitude towards money and his poor financial decisions hurt his family. I think his heart (and Marmee’s) for helping the less fortunate and being so giving was admirable and right, but when it harms the family you’ve promised to provide for and protect, that’s another kind of failure. I appreciated Marmee acknowledging her part of the blame in this area, but her conclusion that this “trial” was a “punishment for her temper” didn’t sit right. What the two of them needed was to have sat down and had a conversation about money twenty years earlier, because she couldn’t even TALK to him about it now when she was stressed. Communication matters, folks.

Read it. Seriously. I have a lot of words, but none of them can do true justice to this book’s amazing journey!


Content: some convoluting theology is mentioned; some vague references to marital s*x; Marmee writes about missing the touch of her husband and confesses that touching herself isn’t the same; onscreen marital intimacy is vaguely depicted; Marmee gives Meg “the talk” before her wedding night (all very vague); miscarriages & grief are a big part of the story; mention of unmarried women becoming pregnant (whether by prostitution or servants being assaulted by their masters); a couple decides to refrain from s*x to avoid pregnancy until after menopause