This beautiful collectible edition presents three novels from one of the most loved American Louisa May Alcott. It includes her most famous and cherished classic, Little Women, about the lives of four sisters in America during the Civil War, as well as the sequels, Little Men and Jos Boys.
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.
What can I say..... it’s a classic for a reason. This is definitely one of my all time favorite stories. I love the March girls so much. I saw the new movie and had to re-read this one again.
Oct 2020: another dnf cause I stopped reading for two whole years (;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`)
I told myself I would only look around in the bookstore today. But I had to get this! It's so lovely! Barns and Nobles has such beautiful editions. But where's the cover goodreads?? 😍
To more specifically review these individually, I’ve already rated Little Women 5 stars from before, I’d give Little Men 5 stars as well, but Jo’s Boys would be a 3.5 for me. Although there were about 5 chapters I loved with all my heart, the rest of the entire book taught me what over-moralizing looks like. It’s a heavy-handed, syrupy, grandma-goose-on-a-soapbox kind of lesson all the way through. In the first two novels Jo is my heroine, and in the third she turned into a constant proverbial headache. We get it, everything that comes out of your mouth is always profound and always the correct way to do everything! I also did not enjoy the ending. The last paragraph where Alcott speaks directly to the reader in order to summarize how the story ends for the March family (and all others brought up by them) felt like a jolted disconnect from the rest of her writing. Both Little Women and Little Men ended with such a serene and nostalgic finale. Jo’s Boys ended with a blunt “I’ve already written 22 chapters in this book for you so here’s the gist of it, ‘they all live happily ever after,’ and this concludes all my writings for the March family.” I just did not see that coming!
I have only just finished Little Women (and it took me almost a month to do so) and though it saddens me a bit I have to 'fess that I didn't enjoy it as much as I did when I was a wee thing. Especially the second part...
So, with a heavy hearth, I leave this aside until some other time, to pick it up again and find enjoyment in it.
Little Men 4+ stars Oh, my dearest Teddy, I laughed so hard and felt such love for that sweet little angel! Note: I was a bit confused with who’s who of the boys tbh, so many informations! 🥴
Trying not to bias this for better or worse because I know it’s Jemma’s fave. Might fail at that. But! I won’t bias on account of the movie at all. I do adore the movie tho 😍😍😍
I really liked it, but I also grew to despise it.
How do I start?
Jo and Laurie. I was doomed from the beginning y’all. I just- nothing has scratched my childhood friends to lovers itch for so long and this would’ve been so perfect, and then jo was like- I honestly don’t even remember her reason for not marrying him, it was that stupid. And even at the end, it was said to be stupid because she said she would’ve married him had he asked again. (Yes, she did say she didn’t love him any more than she did, but she literally hadn’t seen him since, and she knew that he was marrying her sister, and I feel like Jo’s pride is a bit of a pattern that maybe that’s a lie.)
Amy and Laurie were never a thing. Not in childhood, not later. I never felt the love, ever. I don’t see how Amy could even think to do such a thing KNOWING that Laurie and Jo were always a thing. How could you do that to your sister? So much for sisterly love. And then to marry him without telling anyone, or inviting your own FAMILY to the wedding? Eejit.
And Laurie loved Jo so much more ardently and truly and less sensibly than Amy. It was passion! He never had any passion for Amy! Ugh. I could go on and on and on and on but basically- I love Laurie, I love the way he loves Jo, he never loved Amy as much as he loved Jo, and Amy’s… Amy annoys me.
Amy annoys me because like Jo says, she got everything. She got the looks, she got the ‘grace’ (whatever the flying frigalick that means) and the aUrA and the worldliness, she got to go to France, she got the drawing talents, she got the favour of Aunt March, she got the money and the hubby and stuff. And what did she do? What did she sacrfice? Ooh, one time she was nice to otehr girls who were mean to her. She also BURNED JO’S BOOK and was a prat for a long time and was typical annoying little sister, selfish and immature and ‘I don’t wanna go to aunt march’s! I wanna be a nuisance for my sick sister!’ And then la dee dah, she got to go prance about in France doing nothing for three years, when JO should’ve gone and she would’ve done so much more! She’s so much more adventurous and exciting and willing to get her hands dirty for the good of others!
Jo wrote and jo wrote happily and jo had fun and jo was agreeable when she wanted to be, and she didn’t care about being an ornament to society. She wanted a real life. Full of substance. So while I think she should’ve been with Laurie’s person, I don’t see her with all his money. Or at least not ostentatiously. I love th ending about how she made the house/school for boys and picked apples and was a mother to them. But, imagine how she could’ve done that with just orphans or poor boys or anyone except the rich IF she had Laurie’s money.
Maybe if Baer dude had youth or, like, any page time at all, or ANY in between moments of fondness or falling in love or ANYTHING… I would’ve accept d him gladly but he didn’t. Laurie had all that. With jo, not with Amy. He had no moments of falling in love with Amy except? Letters? And? One moment under chestnut trees where he was basically being the exact same brother/friend as always?
Same thing with Mr Brooke and Meg. They just went ‘hmmm kinda like the look of you… wanna get married?’ ‘Yep! See you in three years!’ ‘🤟narly’
But then suddenly Laurie and Jo have to be absolutely perfect and in love and matured and EVERYTHING for each other? Can we please note that Laurie even said he was a boy then? He wasn’t finished growing up! Jo hasn’t yet learned to need love! Come on! You didn’t give ‘em enough time!
Anyway. 😔
Beth? Beth was fine. I have nothing to say against Beth. She was sweet and home-like and quietly hardworking - and these aren’t just adjectives that The Alcott sprinkled in every time the character came up (cos blawdy heyell, she did that a lot. Everyone had just an aura of whatever The Alcott wanted them to be without showing us how. And maybe the writing was impressive at first because of how concise it was. It was all adjective noun, adjective noun, adjective noun, where all the nouns were concept-words like ‘contentment’ and ‘despondence’ and ‘faith’) Beth reminds me of my Nanna in that she’s a gentle giver, and always generous and never wants a fuss, always busy doing small, helpful things. I liked Beth, and I liked that she addressed that she felt like she was always meant to die young because everyone else had ambitions and dreams and such that needed age and time to unravel, but Beth was happy right where she was and she experienced everything she wanted to for herself and wasn’ sad to be able to watch everything go on from above.
Beths’ death wasn’t sad. Which was a shame. I would’ve loved to have had a good sob, but I was disappointed in that. No one seemed sad, which is I think the thing. Everyone was like ‘ah well, God’ll take care of her. She’d want us to be happy,’ which is all well and good but like- idk. I wanted some bitterness, some anger, some moment of them not leaning on their family for everything.
Someone rebel! Someone roll their eyes! Someone talk back! Someone make someone angry! Someone go have an illicit romance! Someone go bring disgrace on the family! SOMEONE DO SOMETHING THAT ISN’T PERFECT!
This book was fatally flawed for me because it was too pure, and good, and every story had a lesson and a moral and worked out for the best and everyone turned out happy and perfect and there was no contrast. Well- I suppose that’s unfair. Amy burned a book and Jo rejected Laurie and Marmee said she got angry all the time and Meg made a few wrongs as wife, but- idk.
I have daydreams about sweet families where they all love each other and have play-mates and gardens and lace curtains and go to church and etc etc. but I don’t consistently daydream about them. Sometimes I’m in that mood, sometimes I’m in the fucking six ways to sunday mood where they smoke and gamble and have no parents at all, sometimes I’m in the homeschooled in the forest and gothic churches mood where they throw mud at each other and eat dirt and have tree-houses and gumboots. And sometimes I’m in the domestic violence, couch-surfing, Treat You Better mv, Fast Car Tracy Chapman mood.
So… to have the sweetness without the sweetness of romance for over a month kind of killed me. BUT! I don’t deny that I adored it at the beginning. It was SO CUTE! And PERFECT! And homelike and loving and mwah mwah mwah.
And then… and then we know what happened. Part 2 happened. Amy went to Europe, jo refused Laurie, Laurie went to Amy, Beth died and it wasn’t sad, Meg wasn’t as part of the family. Demi and Daisy-? Ohhhh my gosh. Someone create a more ANNOYING PAIR OF CHILDREN because you can’t. It’s impossible. I don’t understand why she decided to write them like that. It was awful.
Ummmm there were a lot of cute moments, but must also say that the reason this took me so long to read was that half of the time when I was reading it, I was reading it, and half of the time I was reading it, I was daydreaming about all the scenes that should’ve happened, or been expanded upon, or just sparked something in my imagination that distracted me for a bit and
Sigh. It did not satisfy my cravings very far. It did not quench my thirst. It did not scratch my itch. It did not- you get the point.
If I reviewed part one before part two… this would be a very different review, which is why it’s a three star, instead of a 1 star.
*goes and hides from jemma* *actual apology because I know that if you’d slandered Aogg this way I would be upset too* *acknowledgement that it was a very sweet book and I liked it a lot, writing, plotting, character, scene wise, but I was doomed from the beginning not just because of jo and Laurie* *also, I adore the movie with all my heart so take that as a consolation rather than an insult*
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read this for a buddy read in Book Lovers Club on Discord.
Since I am already pretty familiar with Little Women, I did enjoy it a lot this time around. I had never read Little Men nor Jo's Boys before, and unfortunately I didn't like them very much. Little Men was definitely worse, Jo's Boys wasn't that bad.
It took me 20,5 months to read this book. I don't know why as I enjoyed almost every chapter, but it did. The morals of the stories / chapters were very clear, and their presence didn't bother me at all. I found it wonderful to read about how the children learned right from wrong as well as how to be good human beings. Three wonderful stories that I'll definitely read again at some point (when I'm older).
you can't help but notice Alcott's commitment to the words gay and queer - terms that, in the original context, of course denote perfect sense, yet in modern practice, i can't help but giggle at the ironic subtext. if little women were set in modern day, jo would be spending less time reading, and more time realising things ...
-boring until like the last ⅓, but it’s not like it was meant to be a super suspenseful thriller -language made it hard to get through, though that’s understandable bc it was written in the 1860s -loved Amy and Laurie’s time abroad -Jo was my favorite character because she was stubborn, feisty, rebellious/didn't want to conform to society’s standards, and fiercely loyal to her family - Amy was a close runner up bc of her growth and her artistic nature -the "scene" when Laurie professes his love for Jo and all that broke my heart -ending was sweet
some of my favorite quotes:
"'I like good strong words that mean something,'" --Jo, pg 33
"Here she succeeded better, for she was one of those happily created beings who please without effort, make friends everywhere, and take life so gracefully and easily that less fortunate souls are tempted to believe that such are born under a lucky star." -pg 211 (describing Amy)
"Now, if she had been the heroine of a moral story-book, she ought at this period of her life to have become quite saintly, renounced the world, and gone about doing good ... But, you see, Jo wasn't a heroine, she was a struggling human girl like hundreds of others, and she just acted out of her nature, ... as the mood suggested." -pg 351
“Mr. Bhaer could read several languages, but he had not learned to read women yet.” -pg 380
"Though it came in such a very simple guise, that was the crowning moment of both their lives, when, turning from the night and storm and loneliness to the household light and warmth and peace waiting to receive them, with a glad 'Welcome home!' Jo led her lover in, and shut the door." -pg 388
Little Women: Date started: 2019 April 28 Date finished: 2019 May 15
A classic that I have loved since childhood. This time around, the religious preachiness did seem a bit excessive, but is understandable, given Louisa May Alcott's background and her desire to write morally edifying books for children. The March sisters and their friends and family are still charming.
Little Men: Date started: 2019 May 16
Finished all three novels. I hadn't read Little Men in many years, and I think I only read Jo's Boys once when I was a kid. Both take place at Plumfield, Aunt March's estate, which she left to Jo, and Jo and her husband turned into a boys' school (with a couple of girls, too). It was fun to see the next generation growing up. The March sisters' children are still little in Little Men, and we meet a number of other boys who are attending the school. In Jo's Boys, everyone is living at Plumfield - Meg has a cottage on the estate, and Laurie and Amy have build a mansion there, as well. They've also built a college there, and the kids from the previous novel are young men and women. I have really enjoyed revisiting these childhood favorites!
I have tried to read Little Women so many times and it's one of only a handful of books I can not get through. I watched the most recent movie with my nan and didn't mind it so tried again when I was gifted this copy. I thought if I persisted I may enjoy it but I really couldn't. It's old fashioned writing and values just goes in one ear and out the other. It was visually a beautiful copy of the book though!
I read Little Women and Good Wives in this, but I have not yet read Little Men and Jo's Boys. Not sure when I will, but it's not now and I need this book off my reading shelf 😅 Little Women is a beautiful, perfect, endearing classic and I loved every second of it. One of my all time favourite classics!
First completed read of the year! I chose to only read Little Women (again) just because after watching the movie it just got me wanting to re-read it. I feel like it was a lot easier to get into the story after I watched the film, or maybe I was just a lot focused on it this time around.
Read Little Women again, but have not finished the other stories. Will put back on the Currently reading shelf again when I get to the other stories. But Little Women is the classic everyone needs to read!
5 stars forever. I can never get enough of LMA’s beautiful and poignant narration. The girls story in childhood is charming and their growing up heartwarming. I love the mini morals in each chapter and I will never grow tired of the Laurences. I will sing this book’s praises till the day I die.
A brilliant semi-autobiographical book about Louisa Alcott and her family. I do recommend watching the 2019 film "Little Women" because it added bits from Louise's real life, but Louisa did make the book a little more sweet to fulfil USA 19th Century expectations. In fact she in a later book got Jo married, because her publisher told her to! Louise's father was a feminist who encouraged Louisa to publish her book because he thought she would be a successful writer. All four sisters were talented. Two of them later pursued careers despite being married. Lawrie is undoubtedly based on their lifelong family friend Thoreau.
So sincerely little women is such an amazing book. I wish every woman could read it because it stands the test of time, even if the “house and husband” obligations aren’t necessarily explicit anymore (thank god). I also think this made me appreciate Amy’s character so much more and understand her romance with Laurie. Absolutely loved it!
a timeless classic that captures the heart with its charming depiction of the lives and adventures of the march sisters—it beautifully explores themes of family, love, and personal growth through the distinct personalities and journeys of each sister.