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Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag #4
La borsa delle cianfrusaglie di zia Jo
Il quarto volume della serie, divisa in sei tomi e intitolata La borsa delle cianfrusaglie di Zia Jo, contiene quindici racconti brevi scritti tra il 1872 e il 1882: Le mie ragazze, Nella nebbia londinese, Lo scherzo dei ragazzi… con finale a sorpresa, Boccioli di rose, Nontiscordardimé, Il vecchio Major, L'estate delle ragazze, Due vicini in miniatura, Mr. Twitters, I tre doni di Marjorie, La casa di Patty. Come la trovò, E come la modificò, Autobiografia di una corriera, Tulipani rossi, Un buon compleanno.
- GenresClassicsShort Stories
Paperback
Published January 1, 2020
About the author
Louisa May Alcott
4,315 books11k followersLouisa 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 16, 2020
4 stars & 4/10 hearts. I enjoyed these stories, as usual. They were sarcastic, humorous, real, sweet, & often autobiographical. There was a lot of feminism, though, in the first story! But the others I enjoyed.
A Favourite Quote: “If any one asked her what she would do when our bitter winter came, the smile on her placid face grew graver, but did not vanish, as she laid her worn hands together and answered, with simple faith,—‘The good Gott who gave us this home and raised up these friends will not forget us, for He has such as we in His especial charge.’”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “Bertie had heard Professor Parpatharges Patterson called a very learned man, who could read seven languages, so he thought he would call and inquire if bird language was among the seven. He peeped first, and there was Mr. P. reading away with his big spectacles on, and some dreadfully wise old book held close to his nose. As he did not look up, Bertie tapped softly, but Mr. P. did not hear. Then this resolute young person pushed up the window, walked coolly in, and stood close to the student's side. But Mr. P. did not see him till the remarkable appearance of a small blue mitten right in the middle of Plato's Republic, caused the Professor to start and stare at it with such a funny expression of bewilderment that Bertie could not help laughing....
“‘Please, sir, I knocked, but you didn't hear, so I came in,’ said Bertie[.] ‘I wanted to know if you would tell me how I could learn bird-talk.’
“‘What?’ and the man stared at the child harder than ever.
“‘Perhaps I'd better sit down and 'splain all about it," remarked Bertie, feeling that the subject was too important to be hastily discussed.”
A Favourite Quote: “If any one asked her what she would do when our bitter winter came, the smile on her placid face grew graver, but did not vanish, as she laid her worn hands together and answered, with simple faith,—‘The good Gott who gave us this home and raised up these friends will not forget us, for He has such as we in His especial charge.’”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “Bertie had heard Professor Parpatharges Patterson called a very learned man, who could read seven languages, so he thought he would call and inquire if bird language was among the seven. He peeped first, and there was Mr. P. reading away with his big spectacles on, and some dreadfully wise old book held close to his nose. As he did not look up, Bertie tapped softly, but Mr. P. did not hear. Then this resolute young person pushed up the window, walked coolly in, and stood close to the student's side. But Mr. P. did not see him till the remarkable appearance of a small blue mitten right in the middle of Plato's Republic, caused the Professor to start and stare at it with such a funny expression of bewilderment that Bertie could not help laughing....
“‘Please, sir, I knocked, but you didn't hear, so I came in,’ said Bertie[.] ‘I wanted to know if you would tell me how I could learn bird-talk.’
“‘What?’ and the man stared at the child harder than ever.
“‘Perhaps I'd better sit down and 'splain all about it," remarked Bertie, feeling that the subject was too important to be hastily discussed.”
January 2, 2022
These are very sweet stories, with a few that aren't completely children's tales. They still make you think and feel.
May 3, 2026
Love these stories. I will definitely look up the other volumes.
December 22, 2014
This volume of Aunt Jo's Scrapbook features several unrelated stories. The frontispiece of the first edition features an illustration that isn't in this volume. There are two more illustrations that follow. The first story My Girls is a tract about how virtuous young girls can become whatever they want to be with a little encouragement and not become idle and empty-headed. Of course she ignores the fact that she came from a very progressive family and most girls could never dream of becoming lawyers or doctors in 1877! This story represents Louisa's stance on women's rights and why I adore her so much.
The second story Lost in a London Fog is the story of two sisters, one being based on Louisa and the other her sister May, take a cab in London with a cabbie who has not only been drinking, but has no idea where he is going! They're out all night in the London fog in despair of ever getting home again. This story is pretty bland and not in Louisa's usual vein.
The Boys' Joke and Who Got the Best of It is more in Louisa's usual line. It features a charming dolls' Christmas party and a bunch of boys who try to outwit the girls with a sweet little party of their own. Animal rights activists beware - there are certain gruesome elements to the story that apparently didn't bother anyone in the 1870s. Even with that, this was my favorite story in the book. It's a lot of fun and if you like Little Men you will probably enjoy this story.
The fourth story Roses and Forget-Me-Nots is one of Louisa's moral tales in which a rich girl learns to really see the poor and help a poor girl find happiness. It's a little heavy handed but not too bad. The writing is typical of Louisa's moral tales. Nothing new or special here. Old Major is an unusual story because it's about saving an old horse and rewarding him for his years of hard work. Unlike Black Beauty it's not from the horse's point-of-view but very much the same idea. I didn't remember Louisa was a champion of animal rights as well. I knew I loved her for a reason!
What the Girls Did is a forgettable moral tale. A once wealthy girl learns to leave off the frills of Society and live plain and simple with middle-class folks and give back to those in need. The descriptions of the culture and social life are really interesting and give a good feel for the time period.
Little Neighbors features a lonely boy, an old professor and a cheerful little bird. This story is sweet without being overly moral and didactic. It's a nice little domestic story and I can see Emerson in the role of professor.
Marjorie's Three gifts is another moral tale rewarding the virtuous poor. I wish Louisa's poor people weren't so abnormally good. I prefer her blood and thunder tales because the characters show more human emotion. Marjorie is a sweet girl and deserves happiness as a reward. I like how the story COULD be mystical if interpreted from a child's point-of-view.
Patty's Place is a moral Christmas story about an orphan who is in need of some love and kindness. I've read this one elsewhere so I skipped it for now. It's not a bad story and full of heartwarming Christmas cheer.
Autobiography of an Omnibus is unlike anything I've ever read as it's told from the POV of a bus! It ends up being a moral tale about the virtuous poor. It's a little slow until the final section and I was wondering what the point of the story was until then.
Red Tulips a moral tale of the same idea as Roses and Forget-Me-Nots. This time the virtuous poor girl happens to be "colored." Little Betty, a colored girl, loves bright flowers but does not have a garden and is not allowed to pick any flowers in private gardens. Along comes a young woman with the power to make Betty happy and find her own path to happiness along the way. This is a sweet story that though moral, is fun to read. I liked Betty's enthusiasm for flowers and how it all turned out. This is my second favorite story in the volume.
The final story A Happy Birthday is a forgettable, boring story of an old woman's birthday and the happiness being with her family brings her. There is a bit of racist content but the boys were influenced by Barnum's circus so it's not really the author's fault because that's what boys did back then.
This collection is a must have for any Louisa May Alcott fan. As of Christmas 2014, The Barrow Bookstore in Concord had one early edition left on the shelf and one first edition pristine volume containing "An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving" and other stories.
The second story Lost in a London Fog is the story of two sisters, one being based on Louisa and the other her sister May, take a cab in London with a cabbie who has not only been drinking, but has no idea where he is going! They're out all night in the London fog in despair of ever getting home again. This story is pretty bland and not in Louisa's usual vein.
The Boys' Joke and Who Got the Best of It is more in Louisa's usual line. It features a charming dolls' Christmas party and a bunch of boys who try to outwit the girls with a sweet little party of their own. Animal rights activists beware - there are certain gruesome elements to the story that apparently didn't bother anyone in the 1870s. Even with that, this was my favorite story in the book. It's a lot of fun and if you like Little Men you will probably enjoy this story.
The fourth story Roses and Forget-Me-Nots is one of Louisa's moral tales in which a rich girl learns to really see the poor and help a poor girl find happiness. It's a little heavy handed but not too bad. The writing is typical of Louisa's moral tales. Nothing new or special here. Old Major is an unusual story because it's about saving an old horse and rewarding him for his years of hard work. Unlike Black Beauty it's not from the horse's point-of-view but very much the same idea. I didn't remember Louisa was a champion of animal rights as well. I knew I loved her for a reason!
What the Girls Did is a forgettable moral tale. A once wealthy girl learns to leave off the frills of Society and live plain and simple with middle-class folks and give back to those in need. The descriptions of the culture and social life are really interesting and give a good feel for the time period.
Little Neighbors features a lonely boy, an old professor and a cheerful little bird. This story is sweet without being overly moral and didactic. It's a nice little domestic story and I can see Emerson in the role of professor.
Marjorie's Three gifts is another moral tale rewarding the virtuous poor. I wish Louisa's poor people weren't so abnormally good. I prefer her blood and thunder tales because the characters show more human emotion. Marjorie is a sweet girl and deserves happiness as a reward. I like how the story COULD be mystical if interpreted from a child's point-of-view.
Patty's Place is a moral Christmas story about an orphan who is in need of some love and kindness. I've read this one elsewhere so I skipped it for now. It's not a bad story and full of heartwarming Christmas cheer.
Autobiography of an Omnibus is unlike anything I've ever read as it's told from the POV of a bus! It ends up being a moral tale about the virtuous poor. It's a little slow until the final section and I was wondering what the point of the story was until then.
Red Tulips a moral tale of the same idea as Roses and Forget-Me-Nots. This time the virtuous poor girl happens to be "colored." Little Betty, a colored girl, loves bright flowers but does not have a garden and is not allowed to pick any flowers in private gardens. Along comes a young woman with the power to make Betty happy and find her own path to happiness along the way. This is a sweet story that though moral, is fun to read. I liked Betty's enthusiasm for flowers and how it all turned out. This is my second favorite story in the volume.
The final story A Happy Birthday is a forgettable, boring story of an old woman's birthday and the happiness being with her family brings her. There is a bit of racist content but the boys were influenced by Barnum's circus so it's not really the author's fault because that's what boys did back then.
This collection is a must have for any Louisa May Alcott fan. As of Christmas 2014, The Barrow Bookstore in Concord had one early edition left on the shelf and one first edition pristine volume containing "An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving" and other stories.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews