In the Bookcase

6/23/2018

Celebrating 150 years of Little Women

Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge


Louisa May Alcott gave to the world a wonderful gift in 1868. She published Little Women that year. It is a classic piece of literature that most women have read at some point in their childhood, and still to this day, girls lovingly read it across the world.


2018 marks the 150th birthday of Little Women! What an accomplishment. If only Louisa knew that this girl's book that she didn't really desire to write (but her publisher desperately wanted) would turn into something that would touch so many lives... and make so many people cry over it!

Fun fact!

Did you know that Louisa's sister, May Alcott (we know her fictionally as Amy March, the youngest sister), actually illustrated the first edition of Little Women?

I've collected the illustrations that appear in the first edition to show you here...








I'd say these are perfectly charming pictures! And I love knowing that with Little Women being a story about sisters, that Louisa's sister was happy to provide her artistic skills towards Louisa's project.

May's illustrations didn't garner the best reviews (she received some harsh criticism from the press, but it didn't crush her artistic spirit)... and thankfully those negative opinions didn't reflect in the sales and overall success of the book itself.

The first 2,000 copies of Little Women spun off the shelves, and a re-printing was quickly underway, along with a request for a sequel. Good Wives only took Louisa 3 months to write after the publication of Little Women, and was published in 1869. Little Men shortly followed in 1871, and Jo's Boys, the final conclusion to the March family's story didn't appear for 15 more years in 1886.


How has Little Women or any of its sequels affected you?



If you'd like to learn more about the Louisa May Alcott reading challenge, or to sign-up, just visit this link to start at the beginning.







11 comments:

  1. OMG! I love this post so much! My grandma and I used to read this book together when I was younger. I had no idea that Amy is based off of her own sister. Such a lovely post. :)

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    1. Candid Cover... In fact, ALL of the 4 March sisters in Little Women are based on a sister from the actual Alcott family. A lot of the stories that went into the story are based on fact. It's really fun to learn about the story behind the story. :)

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  2. The illustrations are wonderful! And! An unforgettable read! :)

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    1. Katie, unforgettable is a great word to describe Little Women! It's also a book that deserves re-reads at different times in one's life. :)

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  3. I only recently learned that Louisa's younger sister was a real artist. How neat that she illustrated the first edition of Little Women! One of the videos on the PBS website showed how she illustrated parts of their house, and her drawings are still on the walls today.

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    1. Barbara, I find it rather fascinating to learn about these girls, and compare their real life to how their lives were portrayed in Little Women. One of my favorite paintings by May Alcott is her rendering of Orchard House itself. It's lovely.

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  4. Louisa May Alcott has been my hero for longer than I can remember. I read about her and some of her other books before Little Women. Other than Anne Shirley, I don't think I had met a literary character who was so much like me before I met Jo. My family visits Concord every year for Christmas shopping and I usually make a pilgrimage to the Orchard House gift shop for my Christmas gift. I have a collection of old and rare LMA books but not that first edition. I saw it once but the asking price was more money than I'll ever see in my lifetime!

    I have been on the Orchard House tour a couple times and recently took my young nieces for the first time. They loved it and are eager to read Little Women. They're not that advanced yet at only 8 and 9 1/2 but there are some nice picture books and abridged versions of the story they can read.

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    1. QNPoohBear, Jo March and Anne Shirley are two of my absolute favorite female literary characters. Both are kindred spirits. :)

      I'm so glad that you're fueling the next generation with the story of Little Women! It's a story to keep passing down. I'm sure your nieces would love some of her fairy stories too, and other short works intended for young girls.

      I hope to one day visit the Concord area and get to stop by Orchard House. Sounds thrilling!

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  5. How fun that her sister illustrated the first edition! I'll admit that the illustrations aren't my favorite, but I'm glad that May kept her artistic spirit!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. Nicole,
      I thought it was rather neat that the sisters collaborated on the book. Later on, May became a fairly prolific artist. I'm starting to grasp Amy March's character from Little Women a bit better as I find out little tidbits like this. :)

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