Little Women, Book 1

Front Cover
Simon and Schuster, 2000 - Fiction - 704 pages
Before the new movie adaptation starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, and Timothée Chalamet arrives in theaters, discover Louisa May Alcott's enchanting tale of the March sisters for yourself.

The quintessential American family story, Little Women captured readers' hearts right from the start. A bestseller from the time it was originally published in 1868, it is the story of the four March sisters: Meg, Beth, Jo, and Amy. Louisa May Alcott recreates her own family's dramatic and sometimes comic experiences in this American novel, inspiration for numerous dramatic and film versions.
 

Selected pages

Contents

Playing Pilgrims
3
A Merry Christmas
20
The Laurence Boy
37
Burdens
53
Being Neighborly
71
Beth Finds the Palace Beautiful
89
Amys Valley of Humiliation
100
Jo Meets Apollyon
111
Laurie Makes Mischief and Jo Makes Peace
314
Pleasant Meadows
332
Aunt March Settles the Question
343
PART 2
361
Gossip
362
The First Wedding
380
Artistic Attempts
390
Literary Lessons
406

Meg Goes to Vanity Fair
128
The P C and P O
153
Experiments
164
Camp Laurence
181
Castles in the Air
211
Secrets
226
A Telegram
241
Letters
254
Little Faithful
266
Dark Days
277
Amys Will
290
Confidential
303
Domestic Experiences
418
Calls
441
Consequences
461
Our Foreign Correspondent
479
Tender Troubles
494
Jos Journal
512
A Friend
531
Heartache
554
Beths Secret
571
New Impressions
580
On the Shelf
598
Lazy Laurence
617

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About the author (2000)

Louisa May Alcott was born in 1832 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She is best known for Little Women (1868), which is loosely based on her own life and proved to be one of the most popular children’s books ever written. Three sequels followed: Good Wives (1869), Little Men (1871), and Jo’s Boys (1886). Alcott was the daughter of the famous transcendentalist Bronson Alcott and was friend of Emerson and Thoreau. In addition to writing, she worked as a teacher, governess, and Civil War nurse, as well as being an advocate of abolition, women’s rights, and temperance. She died in 1888 and is buried in Sleepy Hollow cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts. Joan W. Blos was born in New York City on December 9, 1928. She received a bachelor's degree from Vassar College and a master's degree in psychology from the City University of New York. She wrote many children's books including In the City, People Read, Joe Finds a Way, and Just Think written with author Betty Miles. A Gathering of Days received the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award. She also taught at the University of Michigan and Bank Street College of Education. She died on October 12, 2017 at the age of 88.