Little Women

by Louisa May Alcott

Paperback

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

[April Parman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why did I not read this book as a child? I laughed. I cried. I cheered. I loved it. It felt like a warm cozy blanket. Can see this as a reread.

[Jacob Coolidge · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good night i was so bored

[Evangeline Guevarra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book i have ever read. The way she writes her characters, gets you attached to them so when you have to let go it HURTS. I was completely in love with the idea of Jo and Laurie because thats what she was trying to get readers to believe, amy and laurie was unexpected, and i really didn’t like that if i’m being honest. Although, friedrich and jo and meg and john were amazing. A perfect way to end the story, especially with “under the umbrella.” I was SO attached to beth and thats what hurts most. Besides all the hurt and love, it’s the best thing i’ve read yet and full of so many heart-warming, pleasant, moments. This is also coming from a twelve year old, it was perfectly easy to read, especially since i had no classic experience at the time. Definitely recommend!

[Nicholas Waldrop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, and I understand how it’s a classic.
Content not necessarily hard to grasp but a long winded read; which is my first complaint (bad news first folks) Part one felt drawn out but had decent suspense towards the end. But it takes maybe 100 or so pages to get the story going, which makes it a real drag and why it took me so long to read.
Part two was great! My wife suggested me to read this to “understand girlhood.” To be fair I have felt like I’m some ways I have (good news second) The thought, actions and dreams of little girls - to little women. Also in reflection it brings a smile to my face that girl/ little women, in many ways have never changed. The experiences of girls/women have been the same throughout time generally (at least from the American Civil War/ reconstruction times till now in the early 21st century). Overall a good read and a insight into womanhood.

[Caroline Robelen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this story, and always feel the urge to re-read it around Christmas. I’ve never listened to an audiobook all the way through before, but found one read by Christina Ricci on Spotify and really enjoyed! If you like classic novels, I definitely recommend. It’s a cozy story with great characters, and I’m always amused by the way Louisa May Alcott included her own moralities and beliefs into the story.

[Kelly Zander · Rating 5 out of 5]

didnt realize that there are different versions of this book! so i definitelyyyy read the shortened version. still so good wowwww

[Maria Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

On my Partially-Read list— Skipped some of the middle starting about chapter 19, but enjoyed the book, especially the very end :)

[Josie Frazier · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many thoughts. I’ve read pieces of this book when I was a teenager, but never all the way through. after loving the movie for years, I decided to finally read the book start to finish. I knew there were big differences so I wasn’t disappointed at the changes between book and movie like some people were. I’m specifically referring to the 2019 version. The book did bring out a lot of emotions, and I loved the story at so many times, but there were several things that I happen to like that the movie did differently than the book. I was just never team Laurie and Amy. I didn’t want Jo and Laurie together, but I imagine that a similar girl to what Amy turned out to be would’ve suited him. It could’ve been written in I think, obviously I’m not the literary genius that Louisa May Alcott was I just don’t like that ending, maybe I just can’t fathom the thought that a sister would marry her own sister’s weird Situationship/lifelong best friend. But other than that, this novel was touchingly beautiful, and I especially loved Beth’s story and Jo’s love for Beth as she fell ill not once but twice. Rather than a romance, I think this part of the plot is the most important piece of the story. Jo will always have a special place in my heart as a fellow sister, writer, and wild tempered girl but especially as a fellow Jo.