“Love Jo all your days, if you choose, but don’t let it spoil you, for it’s wicked to throw away so many good gifts because you can’t have the one you want.” He never loses patience, never doubts or complains, but always hopes, and works and waits so cheerfully that one is ashamed to do otherwise before him.” “There are many Beths in the world, shy and quiet, sitting in corners till needed, and living for others so cheerfully that no one sees the sacrifices till the little cricket on the hearth stops chirping, and the sweet, sunshiny presence vanishes, leaving silence and shadow behind.” “I’ve got the key to my castle in the air, but whether I can unlock the door remains to be seen.” “I’d rather take coffee than compliments just now.”
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“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” “I like good strong words that mean something…” Louisa May Alcott died as a result of a stroke in 1888, at the age of 55. Away from her writing, she was known as a supporter of women’s suffrage and an opponent of slavery. Alcott also sometimes wrote under the name A. In addition to publishing the two volumes that make up Little Women, Alcott eventually wrote two sequels – Little Men, which was published in 1871, and Jo’s Boys, published in 1886. Over the course of her career, she wrote novels, short stories and poetry. She endured financial hardship during her childhood, but developed an aptitude for writing and became successful during the 1960s. Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, USA in 1832 and was the second oldest of four sisters. However, it is not usually seen as fully autobiographical, because there are also some significant differences between Alcott’s real-life upbringing and the lives of the four March sisters in the book. Little Women is often viewed as being semi-autobiographical, with Louisa May Alcott drawing heavily from her own experiences growing up alongside her sisters, with the character of Josephine most closely resembling Alcott herself. Some of the major themes and ideas that are explored throughout the novel include family, the loss of innocence, the role of women in society, the importance of work, and struggles with disease and poverty. The novel focuses on their transition from childhood into becoming young women and finding their place in 19th century American society. Little Women Summary.Ĭentral to the novel itself are the characters of Margaret, Josephine, Elizabeth and Amy March, four sisters who are aged between 12 and 16 at the start of the story. The original Little Women book cover with illustrations, First Edition 1868. It is one of the most widely-read examples of American feminist literature and it generally seen as a classic coming of age tale, as well as an example of a novel that bridges the gap between adult and children’s fiction. The book has since inspired various television, film and stage adaptations. It is estimated that Little Women has sold around two million copies in total, and the novel was an immediate hit with both literature critics and readers. The first time it was issued as a single novel was in 1880, when it was simply published as Little Women and this single novel version that most readers will now encounter. The second volume is sometimes referred to as Good Wives, although this name was never used by Alcott herself. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott was originally published in two separate volumes, with the first being released in 1868 and the second coming a year later.