Little Women

Written by Louisa May Alcott

Narrated by Liza Ross

Little Women, closely based on Louisa M. Alcott’s own experience of family life, was first published in 1869 and has never lost its extraordinary power to move and delight: from the heartrending story of gentle Beth to the humorous adventures of tomboyish Jo, and Meg’s vain attempts to cut a fashionable figure in "society".

• Language: English
• Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks
• Release date: May 31, 2000
• ISBN: 9789629543716

Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott was a 19th-century American novelist best known for her novel, Little Women, as well as its well-loved sequels, Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women is renowned as one of the very first classics of children’s literature, and remains a popular masterpiece today.

Reviews for Little Women

[mazeway · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The only good thing I got out of reading March was that it got me to finally read "Little Women." I'd avoided it as a kid b/c, let's face it, that's a terrible title to a girl who mostly likes mysteries and horses. But I finally read it and really enjoyed it. I skimmed a lot b/c I just don't care about the actual script of the play the girls produced or Jo's actual stories. I liked the slice of life at the time. I got a kick out of the descriptions of their clothes and decorations. The characters were so fully realized and engaging. now I have the task of convincing my own kids that it really is worth a read.

[justabookreader · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I’m not going to call this a review because it’s not. If you want to read more about the book, google it. I thought I’d take the opportunity to talk about what I thought of it on this go around instead. When I picked this up, I was in a slight reading slump and thought a beloved book from my childhood that I’ve always considered a comfort read would pull me out of it. By page 40, I was so annoyed with everyone --- Meg for bemoaning being poor, Jo for her hyper personality, Beth for all her goodness could only talk about being even better, Amy took me to the heights of annoyance over wanting to be so prim, proper and rich, and even dear Marmee started to rankle. They were too perfect. They were too moral. Everything was a lesson. Then something changed. It was that dear old scene where Beth befriends Mr. Laurence and when the little piano arrives, she boldly walks next door to thank him properly for the joy he’s brought her. The two become a pair content in a friendship that comes of music and Beth’s simple nature. My annoyances dropped away and once more I felt at home. It took me a minute though and even when I thought about dropping it, I couldn’t. I didn’t want to leave the story on a bad note. Sometimes when re-reading a story that is so loved, there creeps in the need to change it or to imagine it with different endings. I’ve heard others talk about wanting Jo and Laurie to get together and while I can see that as a possible ending, and at one point in my life I felt it should have been that way, I found this time that I wanted Jo and the Professor to be together instead. Yes, Jo and Laurie fit together perfectly but they are so alike that it wouldn’t feel satisfying to me now. Somehow just like Marmee said! Jo finds someone who appreciates her outbursts and willingness to learn by throwing herself so fully into things that she forgets about the world around her and there’s something lovely in that simple ending for her. She finds not only love but a partner. While I still found Jo to be my favorite, Meg and Amy left me wanting this time. They were still, I don’t know how to put this, but still too preoccupied with the thoughts of others. Amy does redeem herself but she felt small and slightly inconsequential. Her romance with Laurie isn’t so much of a romance as a settling for me and maybe that’s why years ago I felt cheated by it and wanted Laurie to be with Jo. Meg has a way of wrapping herself up so tightly in small things that she forgets there are others in her life, and when this happens in her marriage, I didn’t feel for her. It was a normal reaction and the lesson from Marmee felt more like preaching and I sort of glossed over it. Marriage is tough and Meg needed to find that out. Yes, Marmee let her but it didn’t stop any discussion of the lesson learned. Then there is the moral; make that morals. There’s a lesson to be learned by one and all every day, rich or poor. I felt preached to in the end by people better than me and that frustrated me. Not because I think I’m a bad person, I think the contrary actually, but this time it weighed heavily. It was probably my mood considering how busy life has been during the last few weeks but I was looking for comfort and I got a sermon. I don’t remember it being this way on other reads but somewhere along the way I saw it all differently. And I’m grateful for that. I appreciate being able to take a book I’ve read and loved, re-examine it and look at it from a new perspective. In some ways it became a more satisfying read this time even if I didn’t enjoy it as much. I still adore this story and nothing in the world will change that but it’s interesting to see how my current life and experiences changes my reading and memories.

[bohemima · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Along with thousands of others, I believe this is the world's best book for young girls. Some now think it's much too syrupy, but it remains a great story of four sisters, trying hard to learn to be the "Little Women" of the title. Moving, funny, and a glimpse of a vanished world.

[arizonaflame · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you have enjoyed the classic movie, you will enjoy the classic book even more. It is a must read.

[misslizzy_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my mother's favorite books, and consequently, one of mine. This is yet another of my favorite books, and when I had the great luck to tour Orchard House, Louisa's home in which she wrote and centered her novel around, in 2003, I became even more absorbed. I also love the fact that even though she wrote this novel, as well as several children's/Christmas stories, more of her work is as dark and foreboding as Jo's never-ending scribbles.

[dorritt_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

How odd to be reading this for the first time as an adult! Somehow, growing up, I missed out on reading Little Women, but the PBS Great American Reads program piqued my curiousity. What it is about this book that, 150 years later, still earns it a place among America's top 100 novels? And now that I've read it, I get it. This coming-of-age tale about four sisters growing up relative poverty in the years following the civil war is charming, sentimental, entertaining, romantic, and profoundly moral. There's a temptation to judge the tale by 21st moral values, which scrutiny might raise some hackles. For instance, Alcott's chapters - each a little morality tale in itself - resolutely preach that the ultimate life's goal of all women should be marriage, that women should be dutiful to men, that poverty and humility are more honorable than wealth and striving. Through the lens of today's standards, it's hard not to cringe a little when Meg saves her marriage by pretending to be interested in things that interest her husband, when the sisters consistently suffer humiliation every time they make the mistake of craving something material, or when Jo gives up her writing career rather than risk offending the sensibilities of a man. But there are also many moral lessons in here that have stood the test of time - such as honoring your mother/father, marrying for love rather than money, allowing men to take a part in the rearing of their children, and treating people the way you'd wish to be treated - and, besides, there's something inherently unfair in judging a book written over 150 years ago by modern standards, right?What Alcott does best is create a lovely, nostalgic portrait of childhood the way we all want to believe it used to be, full of tree-climbing and apple-picking, wise mothers, moral fathers, picnics and family parties, flirting and fooling and make-believe, with just enough work to thrown in to teach responsibility, just enough mischief added to inculcate morality, just enough sorrow endured to sweeten satisfaction, just enough heartbreak suffered to invest wisdom, and just enough hardship endured to guarantee appropriate appreciation of the blessings of friendship and love. In other words, Little Women is like comfort food for the soul: it's not so much about maximizing nutrition as about evoking memories of a happier and simpler time when morality was a little less complicated and we were all a lot more innocent.

[krista23 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

You'll laugh, you'll cry and you will devote yourself to these 4 young sisters and their great development as they grow as a family and become closer through each others achievements and friendships and loss. A true classic.

[victrola_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book growing up and I think I may love it even more as an adult. Exceedingly poignant; manages to be realistic but sentimental at the same time.

[dinelson_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a lovely and heart rending tale about the March family--a family who loses its wealth and gains much more--love and unity, set during the Civil War and loosely based on the author's life.

[shadrachanki · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is another one of those "childhood classics" that I managed to miss reading when I was actually a child. I'm still trying to decide whether or not this is a good thing. I think that, had I tried reading it as a child, I would have been just a bit bored by the story overall. But as an adult reader, I find I am probably less forgiving of things I perceive as flaws in the writing.

Coming to it as an adult reader, I can see why it is viewed as a classic, and I enjoyed reading it, but I also don't think it would really be publishable today. The pacing is somewhat uneven--it seemed that just when things would start to pick up a good pace we would be treated to another "now gentle reader" moment, highlighting the moral lessons we should be learning from the story, and also bringing the forward momentum of the story to a halt.

I had problems with Beth as a character, mostly because I don't feel she really was a character. Of the main characters, she is the only one whose viewpoint we don't really see. We are told she is sweet and perfect and wonderful and beloved, but the only real evidence we have of these things is circumstantial at best: Beth is wonderful because we are told she is wonderful. Consequently, the major plot points that hinge on Beth all struck me as a little bit fake, which was rather unfortunate.

I liked John and Laurie and Professor Bhaer, and I enjoyed the romances that came with them (though again, it seemed like we got an awful lot of preaching and moralising whenever something interesting was about to happen).

I'm glad I read it, and I may very well read it again at some point, but probably not for several years.

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Some edition-specific notes:

The Barnes & Noble Classics ebook edition is, for the most part, quite good. It comes with quite a bit of supplementary material in the form of a biography of the author; historical background of both when the book was written and the time period in which it was set; and approximately twenty pages of endnotes and footnotes, all hyper-linked within the book itself.

I would have preferred to see the information about the author and her history placed at the end of the text rather than the beginning. Ditto with the introduction, which, like most such introductions, assumes the reader is already familiar with the text.

The proofreading of the ebook text is...spotty. As far as I can tell it was typeset by scanning an existing print copy of the book, using OCR technology to render the text. On the whole, this works perfectly well, but there are a number of places where words are split oddly (e.g. "beg inning" instead of "beginning"), or specific letters were not translated correctly, leading to spelling errors (e.g. "tor" instead of "for").

[shesinplainview · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story of four sisters growing up during the War Between the States, with their mother holding everyone together while their father is serving for the North, is beautiful and tender. After the loss of their fortune, they are brought up to know what truly makes a person rich in other ways.

[thanemal · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'll admit, I was hesitant at first to begin reading this "girl's story" from god-knows-when, but by the heart of act one I was willing to admit that it wasn't as boring as I had presumed and nearing act two I was sobbing and exclaiming right along with the girls at their troubles and pleasures- respectively, of course. I therefore award three and a half stars to Little Women and would recommend it- depending on who you are and how much you'll make fun of me for promoting such.Although I'll be the first to admit that I'm a little confused why Beth died (oh, hey, that's a spoiler)- not why her death was necessary to the story, but physically why it happened - I found the confusion appealing as it let me make up my own answer which always allows the reader to connect a little more clearly to the characters. Stories like this (and probably like Jane Austen's as well, although I'm not going to pretend that I've been able to make it through them yet) dig at you and make you want to keep reading, however more than being merely an enjoyable read, Little Women is also well written.Proff: "... for love casts out fear, and gratitude can conquer pride.""There is not danger that real talent or goodness will be overlooked long; even if it is, the consciousness of possessing and using it well should satisfy one, and the great charm of all power is modesty.""If people really want to go, and really try all their lives, I think they will get in, for I don't believe there are any locks on that door or any guards at the gate.""Their hearts were very heavy as they sent loving messages to Father, remembering, as they spoke, that it might be too late to deliver them."(Okay, I'm done convincing you that she can write, on with the review!)Trust me when I say that this is a funny book.Ms Louisa May Alcott, although undoubtably a spinster for the rest of her days, has dry sense of humor that you wouldn't expect for something written a hundred and fifty years ago and after such passages, I would have to go back and re-read wondering, "Did that really just happen?"Little Women is amazingly scandalous and it makes you wonder how much of a social outcast Alcott was because surely proper society didn't smile upon a number of the things she included in this novel (for example, I'm pretty sure one of the girls wrote 1800s versions of pornos known as 'sensation stories').However, the book does have it's faults. It's a bit lengthy at times (472 pages total and not at all the next Harry Potter book) and the characters/actions the reader is supposed to like are so clearly defined that it makes you want to bond with other characters just to annoy fellow readers. As a reader, I would like to be able to choose which characters to like and which to dislike but Louisa May is a little bit of a biased narrator and really only lets you see one side of a lot of situations. Another interesting feature of the novel is that Louisa May is not merely standing in the corner while she tells her story, she's a little bit like Mark Twain in that she likes to get her two cents in there- to be taken or left. But like I said, I would recommend Little Women- perhaps especially to young women who like these sorts of simple but heart wrenching romances.Little Women can be found at your local library or book store in either main or juvi fiction.

[bkohl_6 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The morality of Little Women is very 19th century; charity toward the immigrant Hummels seems to consist of largely giving away prepared food that one dislikes and not calling or paying for a doctor when children are gravely ill. Meg is advised to be content with her poverty, which involves a new house upon marriage and a servant. Amy and Laurie resolve to spend their fortune on people on the verge of falling out of their class, not those who are trying to make their way into it.Jo is the most lively character; she has an animating power beyond the simple "thou shalt not" stories. Her path through life, and late marriage, is a good counterpoint to an Edith Wharton heroine, stuck like a fly in societal sticky paper.

[caseybp · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love this story. It allows us poor artists to dream and realize that what we need is what we have.

[merrymary_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A new copy of an old favorite. What girl of my (advanced!) age didn't read this delightful story about growing up? At times a morality play, at times a comedy of manners, at times a soap opera, always a delight.

[lookingforpenguins · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Every woman should read this book at least once every ten years.

[librarylou · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A charming book, that I love to reread.

[glennbell_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Heartwarming little story of four daughters. Has good morals and proper teaching. Very puritan in its nature. Not real interesting but OK.

[aharey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Little Women is the story of the March sisters as they grow up during postbellum Massachusetts.Where do I begin with Little Women? This is one of my top ten, life defining, read when I need to be comforted, all-time favorite books. Ever. Period. When I read this book, I picture a house I lived in when I was ten in Colorado (yes, I know an early 1980s four story split level is NOT an accurate depiction of the pseudo-Alcott home and I don’t even care). I can picture it all so vividly it’s hard to imagine it didn’t actually happen there. I love each of the March girls, although Jo is my favorite (and I am one of the few, apparently, who never thought she belonged with Laurie- no, don’t try to convince I am wrong!) with Beth a very close second (and I can’t tell you how much I ugly cry when she dies- seriously, I use up a box of Kleenex every single time). If you’ve never read this book, I have no idea what you are waiting for. Get it and start reading it now. There is a reason thousands of women have named their daughters after these characters!

[heidiangell · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is not the first time I have read Little Women, in fact I tried many times in my teens to read the story, but I always so loathed it because I couldn't help thinking how backwards these women were. Joe was scandalous for not being a proper lady (and sadly she was the one I related to the most). Each time I was left feeling bleh about the thing and wondering what was wrong with me for not enjoying such a classic. At about sixteen I had decided that it wasn't me who had the problem, it was that I could not relate to the story because I was a modern woman and let it go at that, vowing never to read the stupid thing again.

Then I got a Nook and found myself with very little money and a load of free books and went to town. Suddenly all I had left was Little Women. I figured what the heck, it was better than nothing, I was fairly sure. I was surprised how differently I felt about it this time. Now, having children, I can see the way I have tried to use some of Mrs. March's subtle techniques. Knowing other mothers, wanting a little girl, I found myself suddenly entrenched with their lives and wondering if I would have a Joe like me, or what would I do if I had an Amy! The things that seemed antiquated in my youth, now seemed nostalgic and charming. It is amazing how books change as we change! If you have read it before and weren't sure you cared for it, perhaps you should try it again!

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Little Women is so preachy in places that it's a wonder I loved it as much as I did, when I was younger. Reading it now, the preaching is more obvious than ever -- though, I still love it. That's part nostalgia, and part Jo. She's my favourite character of them all. Her faults, her temper, is like mine, and she's a writer, and she's by far the most interesting of the girls. Meg is just irritating, to me, and likewise Amy; Beth is sweet, but we keep getting told how sweet and perfect she is, which is somewhat trying. Jo's mistakes are funny and endearing -- salt instead of sugar on berries, indeed -- and she's no saint.

Must confess, I wept a little, reading this again. Even at points which I've never cried at before. There was something about the family feeling and the way the children try so very hard that got to me extremely, this time.

One thing I don't like very much is the relationship between Meg and Brooke. I mean, it doesn't come out of nowhere, but I'm just not that invested in it and so the time spent on it bores me.

I was never that interested in reading the sequels to this. I was content in the picture of the family we get at the end -- the parents reunited, Meg and Brooke together, Beth getting better, etc, etc. So don't plague me with tales of Beth's death!

[jlshunk · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I just read this for the first time. I don't know, it was a nice read, however the book was spoiled for me from watching the movie first. I think it took the magic out of it because I knew what was coming. That being said, it was a lovely read and I would reccomend

[jessicadelellis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book. It was seriously one of the best books I've ever read. My AP English teacher called it "elementary", but it really wasn't. This book changed my life. For an "elementary" book it's deep. This book is also very relatable. I think everyone, both boys and girls,should read this book.

[knitwit2_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An especially good book when read with a book group. I read it with a book group of middle school girls and found thier insights to be wonderful. Reading the accompanying Spark notes was beneficial as it gave me much insight into Ms. Alcott's life and of time period in which she wrote. The characters each strong in thier own ways reflect women not only of that time period but also of today. As indicated by comparisons my book group young ladies made to thier mothers and mothers' friends.

[missboyer3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Louisa May Alcott's story about the four March sisters who learn the hard lessons of poverty and of growing up in New England during the Civil War.

[auntieknickers · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm not sure I can even count how many times I've read this book since first finding it on my grandmother's bookshelf. I always cried more at Jo's refusal of Laurie than at Beth's death, though. The more I know about Louisa May Alcott the more I can see in the book.

[theageofsilt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I bought this book at "The Orchard House" in Concord, Massachusetts where Louisa May Alcott lived while she wrote "Little Women". I didn't enjoy this book as a girl, but I appreciate it more now. It was a pleasure to read about young women who are more interested in developing their character than their appearance. The writing style is lively enough to carry the reader through plotlines that are credible to the point of banal. It is also a wonderful depiction of daily life of its time. It is also a feminist novel -- the home is the core of a woman's responsibility, but the home is also seen as absolutely crucial for society. Oddly, I think the denigration of the role of women in the world belongs to a later era.

[mamashepp · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have read this book many times--I first read it as an 8-year-old and just read it again a couple of years ago with my daughter. Every time I read it, I feel like I'm revisiting old friends. I had such strong feelings about this book that I found it hard to enjoy Geraldine Brooks' "March" because I felt she was sullying the reputation of a beloved friend.

[princess0starr · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Disclaimer: I have read this book exactly once before. And now for the very unpopular opinion…I didn’t really like it. The first half of the book just bored me to tears, and while Jo’s story definitely picked up in the second half, I still had a hard time getting through the chapters. Alcott puts a lot of emphasis on the morality exhibited by the girls, which by today’s standards seem also comical, and the some of the characters are only one-dimensional and their only purpose is to exhibit goodness. I am curious to pick up Alcott’s other work, though, after giving this a reread.

[pickwick817 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the book. The Jo character seems to be held up as the model daughter. It makes me think Alcott put some of herself into Jo.