Little Women Paperback - 2001
by Louisa May Alcott; Introduction by Susan Cheever
About this book
Little Women (or Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy) is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). Written and set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts, it was published in two parts in 1868 and 1869. The novel follows the lives of four sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March—on their way into adulthood while their father serves as a chaplain in the American Civil War.
Although it is not based on a true story, it is loosely inspired by the author's childhood experiences with her three sisters and her father’s educational philosophy. Amos Bronson Alcott, a pioneer of “progressive education,” was a notable intellectual at the time.
The book was an assignment of Alcott’s editor Thomas Niles, who wanted a novel for young women for the Robert Brothers publishing catalog. Although she initially despised the idea of writing a "girls' story," once she started, her writing became feverish. The first volume was published in 1868 with illustrations by Louisa’s younger sister May - the inspiration for the character of ‘Amy’ in the novel. It became an immediate hit, and the initial printing of two thousand copies sold out in two weeks. Little Women's original book cover was maroon cloth with gilt lettering, and it has become one of the most iconic Little Women book covers.
The second part of the novel was issued in 1869, under the title of Good Wives in the UK. The novel is still published separately in some instances, although starting in 1880 the two parts were published as one single volume under Little Women in the US.
Little Women has been adapted into a film on four different occasions. The first one was George Cukor’s 1933 version, which cast Katharine Hepburn as Jo, followed by the 1949 Mervyn LeRoy adaptation, and the 1994 film directed by Gilliam Armstrong, the first one directed, adapted, and produced by women. The most recent version was in 2019 by director Greta Gerwig and stars Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan, and Eliza Scanlen.
Alcott’s most successful work has had notable cultural relevance all over the world. The ambitious and free-spirited Jo March has inspired women writers since its publication. Her unpretentious depiction of the March sisters and their aims and frustrations distinguish the work from the pious and moral tales of the time.
If you are looking for books like Little Women, the novel has two sequels that constitute an unofficial trilogy: Little Men: Life at Plumfield with Jo’s Boys (1871), which tells the story of Jo Bhaer (formerly March), Professor Bhaer, and the children at Plumfield Estate School; and the followup, Jo’s Boys and How They Turned Out (1886).
Summary
From the jacket flap
It is no surprise that Little Women, the adored classic of four sisters and their enduring devotion to and protection of one another, was loosely based on Louisa May Alcott's own life. Alcott drew from her own personality to create a unique protagonist: Jo, willful, headstrong, and undoubtedly the backbone of the March family, is a heroine unlike any seen before. Follow the sisters from innocent adolescence to sage adulthood, with all the joy and sorrow of life in between, and fall in love with them and this endearing story.
Praised by Madeleine Stern as "a book on the American home, and hence universal in its appeal," Little Women has been an avidly read, and reread, tale for generations. This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition includes newly written notes that offer more description and insight than those of previous editions.
First Edition Identification
The first US edition of Little Women was published in 1868 by the Roberts Brothers, Boston and includes an advertisement in the back pricing Little Women at $1.25. The second part was published in 1869. Each volume is illustrated with a frontispiece and three plates; those in the first part of Little Women were created by the author’s sister, May. Originally bound in purple cloth with gold lettering. The first UK edition was published by Sampson Low in 1869.
Details
- Title Little Women
- Author Louisa May Alcott; Introduction by Susan Cheever
- Binding Paperback
- Edition [ Edition: sixth
- Pages 528
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Modern Library, New York
- Date 2001-01-09
- Features Bibliography
- ISBN 9780375756726 / 0375756728
- Weight 0.87 lbs (0.39 kg)
- Dimensions 8.02 x 5.16 x 1.11 in (20.37 x 13.11 x 2.82 cm)
- Ages 10 to UP years
- Grade levels 5 - UP
- Reading level 640
-
Themes
- Chronological Period: 1851-1899
- Cultural Region: New England
- Geographic Orientation: Massachusetts
- Sex & Gender: Feminine
- Topical: Family
- Library of Congress subjects Mothers and daughters, Domestic fiction
- Library of Congress Catalog Number 00056641
- Dewey Decimal Code FIC
Excerpt
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