Little Women

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is a beloved portrait of an American family during the latter half of the 19th century. The March family patriarch engaged in the Civil War as a chaplain in the Union army, while at home, Mrs. March and and her four daughters are facing a cold and poor Christmas. Each daughter is different: the beautiful Meg, the energetic and self-absorbed Jo, the kind yet fragile Beth, and the family pet, Amy. Despite its age, readers a century and a half later still fall in love with Little Women's March family. The intimate portrayal of a genuinely American family going about housework and education, all in a wholesome yet non-preachy manner, has made it a masterpiece of children's fiction.

Louisa May Alcott grew up in a poor yet intellectually strong family, whose friends included Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne. She didn't take to Transcendentalism, though it did shape her notions of individualism and self-reliance. Alcott, who had previously written a highly-successful book titled Hospital Sketches, was reluctant to write "a book for girls." At the behest of a publisher, who promised he'd put together her short stories after she wrote a book with "wide appeal," Alcott would begrudgingly write Little Women (basically for the money). Little did she know that it would be her most loved and enduring work. It was such a success that she wrote a follow up called Good Wives, which is sometimes included along with the first book.