NPR

After 150 Years, 'Little Women' Still Resonates

In Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy, Anne Boyd Rioux describes how the sisterly bond of the March girls that Louisa May Alcott created many years ago remains a paragon of female friendship and inspiration.
An illustration of <em>Little Women</em>'s Jo, Beth, Meg and Amy by British artist Harold Copping.

About once a year I turn to one particularly tattered book, its red cover worn, its two halves taped together after falling apart from frequent use years ago.

Like so many others through generations, I return to this book again and again, called to it by some inexplicable yearning for a life I never had, a nostalgia for a time I didn't experience, and a desire to learn and mature with the characters. Thoughby Louisa May Alcott. Each time I read it, I discover something new and wonderful while simultaneously communing with the familiar and beloved.

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