This Penguin Classics edition of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved story of sisterhood is edited with an introduction by Elaine Showalter. The story of four sisters — Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth — and their wise and patient mother Marmee, was an immediate success when first published in 1868 and has been cherished by generations of readers ever since. Through hardship and adventure in Civil War New England, the March sisters have become some of American literature’s most enduring characters: readers have rooted for Laurie in his pursuit of Jo, wept over little Beth’s death, and dreamed of travelling Europe with Aunt March and Amy. In her thoughtful introduction, Elaine Showalter explores Alcott’s influences and aspirations and traces the novel’s lasting influence on writers including Joyce Carol Oates and Cynthia Ozick. Notes by Siobhan Kilfeather and Vinca Showalter are also included. Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) grew up among writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry David Thoreau. Her experiences as a Civil War nurse informed Hospital Sketches (1863), and she later produced gothic romances including A Modern Mephistopheles and A Long Fatal Love Chase. Little Women followed in 1868. If you enjoyed Little Women, you might like Elizabeth Gaskell’s Wives and Daughters, also available in Penguin Classics.
ISBN 13: 9780140390698
Author: Louisa May Alcott
