Good Wives (Little Women) - Softcover

Alcott, Louisa May

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140311270 ISBN 13: 9780140311273

Publisher: Puffin, 1979

Synopsis

Little Women is, to this day, one of the most beloved novels in the English language. But few of its fans realize that it was originally published complete with its sequel, 1869's Good Wives, in one volume. This wonderful book picks up the story of sisters Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy three years later, as they've passed through childhood and begin to face the complications of adult life.\n\nThe further adventures of the March women-as well as their friend Laurie-will delight and enthrall readers who've only known their tale as ending with Little Women.\n\nLOUISA MAY ALCOTT (1832-1888), one of the most well-known American novelists of the 19th century, was born on November 29, 1832 to transcendentalist educator Amos Bronson Alcott and his wife, Abigail May Alcott. She was the second of four sisters (like Jo, her literary corollary), and grew up in a family that encouraged and sympathized with her abolitionist and feminist leanings. As a child she received instruction from noted literary figures such as Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, all family friends. In addition to the Little Women series, which included four novels, she wrote 28 other works, three under the pen name A.M Barnard. Though Alcott had chronic health problems in her later years, most likely attributed to an autoimmune disease, she continued to write until her death at 55 in 1888.

About this title

About the Author:

Louisa May Alcott was both an abolitionist and a feminist. She is best known for Little Women (1868), a semiautobiographical account of her childhood years with her sisters in Concord, Massachusetts. Alcott, unlike Jo, never married: ''... because I have fallen in love with so many pretty girls and never once the least bit with any man.'' She was an advocate of women's suffrage and was the first woman to register to vote in Concord, Massachusetts.

From AudioFile:

Alcott's "little women" continue their story in Good Wives, a tale that follows them into adulthood. Herbert brings characters as diverse as the guttural Mr. Baer and the Irish Hannah to life but struggles to differentiate the four girls, making Jo take on a rough, mannish tone while Beth is almost otherworldly. In truth, her voice is better suited to the older characters, whose scenes flow seamlessly until another youngster interjects a word. Listeners may find Herbert's deep intonations, while clear and consistent, too heavy for such a gentle tale. She paces the story well, though, and true fans of Alcott will find the interpretation of the work worth their time. K.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Puffin
• Publication date: 1979
• ISBN 10: 0140311270
• ISBN 13: 9780140311273
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320