Trix Wilkins's Blog: Much ado about Little Women, page 7

The potential lives of Beth March

By Trix Wilkins

The last question from The Courtship of Jo March Comment Challenge! Thank you to Susan Bailey, as I have a bit of a soft spot for Beth…

Do you think that Beth could have married and started her own family? I wonder too if she would’ve been able to share her music outside of the family. Susan Bailey, Louisa May Alcott is my passion

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Beth at the piano; by Frank T. Merrill, courtesy of Project Gutenberg

Short answer: Yes and no (this is my husband’s favorite answer to questions. Maybe it’s a history-teacher thing….).

Long answer: I think Beth had so many potential lives!

She might have been single and stayed at home to care for her parents.

She might have been single and lived away from home to pursue a career, perhaps as a music teacher as Polly did in An Old Fashioned Girl (a character who very much reminds me of Beth, actually!). She and Jo might have been roommies.

She might have pursued a career while married.

She might have not pursued a career, married and had no children (children were not necessarily a given upon marriage neither in her days nor ours; many women are unable to conceive).

She might have married and had children (and maybe even grandchildren, great-grandchildren), career or not career.

(And by career I don’t mean simply “paid employment” but also involvement in volunteer work, social justice issues, community and charitable organizations, perhaps even one’s own business.)

Beth was so young and had only just begun to work out what she wanted for her life – that it might be useful, and those she loved and cared for might be benefited by who she was and what she did. There are definitely more permutations as to the above options!

For Beth, several factors influenced as to how her life would take shape – these are just a few, and there are likely so many more:

A vision for her life

What picture did she have of the significance of her life that was unique to herself? Something for her and her alone, that only she could contribute to those around her? What was she passionate about, had such joy to spend her days doing given the choice?

Medical advancements

We take for granted the medications and medical knowledge available to us today, often forgetting much of history is bereft of them. Beth’s life very much depended on adequate scientific and medical expertise to address her physical and mental health needs.

Opportunities to develop her talents

Beth loved music…What might her life have been like had she been encouraged and enabled in different ways to pursue music? What other talents and passions might she have discovered about herself during the course of developing this one?

Opportunities to develop her social skills

While Beth was afraid of people, she saw this fear as something she wanted to overcome; and sometimes she did, particularly while she was helping others (she wasn’t shy for instance with the Hummels, and James Laurence!).

Regular personal interactions with children

Beth knit all sorts of keepsakes for children; perhaps more personal interactions with children might have helped with her confidence and widened her view as to how “useful” her life really was and could be in future days.

Reduced household chores

Along with Hannah, I get the impression that Beth carried the brunt of home maintenance, which was much more arduous in the 1860s than it is today. What difference would it have made, had there been more paid help with the chores?

Adequate financial provision

Money very much plays into ability to purchase healthy food, medical care, an extensive education, and lessened manual labor in the home. For Beth to have access to all of the above, a certain amount of finances were required.

A suitable suitor

I honestly can’t see Beth being the least bit romantically interested in any man who wasn’t exceptionally fitted to her personality and passions, let alone accepting his hand in marriage.

For Beth to have married, I think the man who won her would need these characteristics:

Shares her interest in music, or at least something equally compelling for both
Impressive to Jo as well as Mr and Mrs March, on whose judgment she would have relied
Gently and softly spoken
Of strong moral fibre like her parents, particularly her father
Humble, sensitive, quick to discern her feelings and the interests of others
Aware of his own strengths and weaknesses, and open to her about them
Quick to recognize the lovable aspects of her character, and to affirm her in them
Encourages without the excessive flattery that daunts her
Willing to live with the Marches out of consideration for her sense of duty to her parents

Does Beth marry and have children in The Courtship of Jo March? Can’t give away that one…

A Little Women summer with Louisa May Alcott

By Trix Wilkins

From Conversations about Little Women and meeting awesome authors to reading, rowing, and enjoying sumptuous lobster dinners, it was going to be a lovely summer getaway without the kids…

I had hoped to get to Boston and neighboring Concord this July with my husband. In between business I was to pay homage at Little Women-related houses, museums, libraries, and my husband was to trawl history-laden Boston for paraphernalia with which to wow his students related to the abolition of slavery, the civil war, and his favorite ship the USS Constitution.

It was going to be a week-long utterly romantic nerdy date without the kids.

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Boston Street Scene by Edward Mitchell Bannister, courtesy of WikiMedia

Alas, the trip was cancelled – so I will have to be satisfied with letting you know what I had hoped to have done in the hope you will have the joy of these experiences. (If you do go on these ramblings, please do post a comment and/or a link to your blog about your adventures and finds, would love to hear about them!)

Take some day trips into Concord to attend the Louisa May Alcott Summer Conversations

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Photos courtesy of Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House

In two weeks, Orchard House in Concord will be hosting the annual Louisa May Alcott Summer Conversations from July 16-20, 2017 – and this year the theme is Quest for Social Justice. I’m especially intrigued by the sound of these sessions:

Louisa May Alcott’s Virtuous Men: Friends, Mentors, and (Fictional) Lovers – Laura Dassow Walls (July 17, 13:15-14:30). Doesn’t the title say it all? Keen to know about the characters of the influential men in Louisa’s life, and who might be reflected in what shape and form in Little Women! Especially curious about Samuel Joseph May and Alf Whitman.

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Photo of plaque memorializing Reverend Samuel Joseph May courtesy of D.A.Sonnenfeld

From Story to Action: Social Justice in Louisa May Alcott’s Fiction – Cathlin Davis (July 18, 9:30-10:45). I’ve always felt Little Women openly espoused social justice issues, it’s one of the reasons I love it! Fascinated to see the process in which Louisa’s real life experiences and observations of others involved in justice causes transferred to the pages of her novels.

Bread, Roses, and One-Liners: Jokes and Feminism from Louisa May Alcott to Tina Fey – Gabrielle Donnelly (July 18, 11:00-12:15). Gabrielle being a journalist and author of The Little Women Letters, I would probably have been keen to hear her no matter what the session was called – but I admit I’m particularly wondering why Louisa and Tina Fey are in the same title.

For those interested in what else is on the table for discussion at Summer Conversations, here’s the full schedule. And for those keen to attend, you can register online here.

Talk to an Orchard House staff member who has been there forever

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Photo courtesy of Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House

I am assuming I would have met at least one person who has worked for or volunteered with Orchard House for over ten years, and I would have loved to pick their brain! I would’ve asked about their favorite Little Women sister, when did they first read the novel and who did they want to grow up to be when they were sixteen, did they ever at any point have a crush on Theodore Laurence, Friedrich Bhaer, or John Brooke?

Get a print of Norman Rockwell’s painting of Jo March writing in the garret

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Photo courtesy of Louisa May Alcott is my Passion

I collect art for our ballroom (ballroom being our dining room/library, and art consisting of prints of our favorite paintings or puzzles in Ikea frames – but I love it all nonetheless!). Would haved loved to add this to the collection and talk to my daughter about the story of the young woman in the painting.

Take photos of all the different Little Women covers I can find, especially the old ones

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Some of the covers that showed up in Google Search

Two weeks ago I found and purchased yet another copy of Little Women which I didn’t need, but couldn’t resist. It had been printed in Edinburgh in 1923 and the lady who sold it to me said she was certain it had been kept for mere display and never been opened (which I thought was a sad fate for a book, and resolved to read it as soon as I got home). While having books for mere display is not my thing, I wouldn’t sneeze at a photo collection of rare and old book covers!

Meet Gabrielle Donnelly and ask her to sign my The Little Women Letters

Does this make me a groupie? Maybe! I really enjoyed The Little Women Letters. I also like writing notes and finding messages in my books. Sometimes I will buy a second hand book just because of someone’s notes. And of course would have loved to chat to Gabrielle about writing!

Read and write in an old Harvard library

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Photo of Houghton Library, Harvard University, courtesy of WikiMedia

I think Laurie went to Harvard for college in Little Women, so thought it would be fantastic to find a sandstone library with high ceilings, walls lined with books, and read like a March sister or just write…a leisurely and suitably scholarly occupation while my husband is off excitedly touring war-related museums.

Eat a lobster dinner

Where is a good place to have lobster in Concord or Boston? As in once-in-a-lifetime this-is-the-best-meal-of-my-life type of lobster? Whilst reminiscing and laughing over our past culinary disasters and the anticipation of more to come… (Lobster is related to Little Women because a) Jo failed to cook it b) Laurie still ate it and c) Amy failed to hide it).

Row a boat in Boston Common

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View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common, October 25 1848. Lithograph by P. Hyman and David Bigelow, courtesy of WikiMedia

Admittedly, this sounds like we planned to live out Little Women scenes – in my defence, this pastime is not exclusive to Jo and Laurie! We have our own sentimental rowing memories from our honeymoon (though he will tell you that he did most of the work, which is probably true, given that I wasn’t all that tired after two hours of kayaking…).

Go to a ball

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The Ball by Victor Gabriel Gilbert, courtesy of Fine Art America

There’s a ball in Concord this summer, right? Long dresses, petticoats, waltzes, bowing, curtseying, long gloves, walking in on the arm of one’s debonair partner…And it would be really lovely to have one next year, 2018 marking 150 years since the first publication of Little Women

The man for Jo March: Theodore Laurence, Friedrich Bhaer, or…

By Trix Wilkins

In The Courtship of Jo March, does Mr Bhaer ever come into the picture? Do Laurie and Jo’s marriage end up as dramatic as their friendship? Etain, A Homeschooling Life

We are into Post 3 of answers to questions from The Courtship of Jo March Comment Challenge, and I have to just say a big thank you to Etain for these particular questions – I really had fun with them! Having an excuse to delve into the love life of Jo March? It’s almost like getting to write the novel all over again

To write or not to write: Little Women and the making of a novel

By Trix Wilkins

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Behind the writing of The Courtship of Jo March

How long was it from the time you finished Little Women (for the first time) to the time that you started thinking about writing The Courtship of Jo March? Just curious about how long it took from the unsettling feeling of literary discontentment to the moment of coming up with your own concept of an alternative plot. Tarissa, In the Bookcase

I first read Little Women twenty years ago and I loved it. It became my favorite novel only to be superseded by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice that same year (by a smidge!), and Persuasion about ten years later.

The thing I didn’t realize at the time was that I had only read Part 1. Part 1 that ended with Beth having recovered from scarlet fever, Mr March home safe from the war, and Meg engaged to John Brooke.

I had no idea Part 2 (Good Wives) existed until I got to university, and how excited I was by the discovery. “Castles in the air” had been one of my favorite chapters from Part 1, and how eager I was to find out what had become of those dreams.

Oh my was Good Wives a shock to read at the age of seventeen! Jo hadn’t become a travelling author, Laurie hadn’t pursued music, Amy had abandoned art to become “an ornament to society,” and Beth…The only fate I was happy to read was Meg’s, for John did love her as dearly as she had hoped, and Demi and Daisy are two of the most adorable children in literature.

I could not pick up Little Women for some time. I do believe that years passed. For years I didn’t want to read anything of Louisa May Alcott’s, instead opting for Jane Austen’s novels, William Shakespeare’s comedies, even the tragedies of Les Miserables and the Count of Monte Cristo became preferable holiday reading to what had happened to my favorite fictional sisters.

One Christmas I tried to read the two halves continuously, thinking perhaps I would feel better about both halves in context. I didn’t. I still couldn’t reconcile how the two could belong to the same story – still felt dissatisfied with Beth’s passing, Jo and Laurie abandoning their passions, and the switch of Laurie’s affections from Jo to Amy.

Ultimately I decided that I still loved Little Women Part 1 and so would read Good Wives (only until Laurie’s proposal). But after my best friend and I fell in love and married, I couldn’t read even until that point. I suppose part of it was the hubris of thinking that since I found being married to my best friend so blissful, Jo would have also.

The dissatisfaction didn’t come to anything except the occasional conversation with book-loving friends about the novel. We had our first child the year after the wedding and I was kept busy with baby one, house-hunting, finishing post-graduate studies, then baby two and working part-time. There wasn’t really the head-space for Little Women.

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One summer about a year and a half ago (this was in the southern hemisphere), while on holiday with my family and perhaps the first time that we had truly relaxed (having just purchased our family home yay!), I was sitting on the couch next to my husband and started doodling how Laurie might have proposed differently.

What a shock it was to me to find, while I was writing, that no matter what Laurie said I still couldn’t get Jo to accept his proposal! And then I started thinking about all the reasons Jo had said no (I have a whole separate blog post on this, Why did Jo say no), and all the things that had to be in place for it to make sense for Jo to accept Laurie.

It wasn’t enough that he was her best friend – and it certainly wasn’t enough that he was rich, handsome and sought after. Jo didn’t care about wealth, status, looks, or what people thought. So first Laurie had to have the sort of character Jo could esteem and find attractive over the long haul. He had to move beyond the playmate while retaining his sense of fun.

Jo also had to know with absolute certainty that Beth wasn’t romantically interested in Laurie. And she had to be put in a situation where she would be able to recognize her own feelings, unfamiliar as any romantic feeling would have been to her at the time. She had to be given time and experience to enable her to discern what she was feeling and why.

But the biggest hurdle was Marmee’s advice. Jo relied on her mother’s judgment and trusted her so implicitly. For Jo to even be open to considering Laurie, Marmee’s response had to give her space to work it out for herself. Thus one of the differences in The Courtship of Jo March is their conversation about Laurie’s affection (see sample chapters).

Once these two scenes were written, the story kind of took a life of its own. I did not intend to write a book; I have many unfinished manuscripts that I haven’t had the heart or will to finish, but this was different. I almost felt like it was demanding to be written. And when I read Eve LaPlante’s Marmee & Louisa, that was the clincher.

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Louisa had given up Laddie for reasons lost to history; Elizabeth had died in devastating circumstances. And I just had to keep writing. I had to write of the life that Beth might have led, the love with which Jo might have been lavished that she had so richly deserved. I couldn’t amend real history – but with fictional history, the possible is limited only by the imagination.

It only became a book when my son needed unexpected surgery. I had this story in hand that I had absolutely enjoyed writing for no other reason than that I wanted to – and then came one timely word of encouragement: someone said it was worth turning into a book. So I turned it into an eBook for extra cash. Then when friends and family wanted hard copies, I had it printed.

In a nutshell, it took twenty years and marrying my own best friend to write The Courtship of Jo March; my son’s surgery to publish it. (If you’re wondering why I didn’t opt for Amazon, for about two days I did. Then I thought hang pragmatism and gave my business to a local printer, who moved heaven and earth to have the book ready in exactly the way I wanted by Christmas.)

The inspiration of other writers

Before writing your book, did you read other alternative variations of Little Women? Tamara

I wish I had to be honest! I hadn’t known any actually existed (probably should have looked for Beverly Lyon Clark’s The Afterlife of Little Women…). On one hand I’m glad I hadn’t read another variation so I could be happy with my own story line; on the other it would have been brilliant to learn from others (and simply know that there were others who felt the same way!).

The closest thing I’ve read to a full-length variation was Mending my mistakes (whose author is featured in an earlier post, Little Women, Marmee, and the weight of a mother’s word). The story explored the complexity of the situation surrounding Jo’s refusal in a way that made me think more deeply about that question whilst writing.

However, the book that was the impetus for the novel wasn’t a variation but a biography – as mentioned above, Eve LaPlante’s Marmee and Louisa. The doodles written on holiday I doubt would have progressed beyond my journals had I not read of the lives of both Louisa and her mother, and longed to create a world in which things turned out differently for them.

Another influence was Bill Bryson’s Home: a history of private life. It was in this book that I discovered the World Fairs of the nineteenth century, which got me to thinking more deeply about the Vienna World Fair of 1873 and inspired me to move the setting of the novel – 1873 would provide the circumstances that were impossible in the original.

I think those who say that Jo and Laurie would not have worked well in Little Women are actually right – but given a different time and circumstance, I believe they would have. The Courtship of Jo March aims to sketch out exactly that time and circumstance – the world in which Jo and Laurie would have been together and loved each other well.

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Photograph courtesy of Greg Bridges

Trix Wilkins is the author of The Courtship of Jo March: a variation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, for all who have ever wondered how things might have worked out differently for the beloved March sisters. Available in paperback and an eBook package from $4.95. Other formats available from Kobo, Scribd, Apple, and Angus & Robertson. Sample chapters free to download here.

To write or not to write: Q&A from the Courtship of Jo March giveaway #2

By Trix Wilkins

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Behind the writing of The Courtship of Jo March

How long was it from the time you finished Little Women (for the first time) to the time that you started thinking about writing The Courtship of Jo March? Just curious about how long it took from the unsettling feeling of literary discontentment to the moment of coming up with your own concept of an alternative plot. Tarissa, In the Bookcase

I first read Little Women twenty years ago and I loved it. It became my favorite novel only to be superseded by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice that same year (by a smidge!), and Persuasion about ten years later.

The thing I didn’t realize at the time was that I had only read Part 1. Part 1 that ended with Beth having recovered from scarlet fever, Mr March home safe from the war, and Meg engaged to John Brooke.

I had no idea Part 2 (Good Wives) existed until I got to university, and how excited I was by the discovery. “Castles in the air” had been one of my favorite chapters from Part 1, and how eager I was to find out what had become of those dreams.

Oh my was Good Wives a shock to read at the age of seventeen! Jo hadn’t become a travelling author, Laurie hadn’t pursued music, Amy had abandoned art to become “an ornament to society,” and Beth…The only fate I was happy to read was Meg’s, for John did love her as dearly as she had hoped, and Demi and Daisy are two of the most adorable children in literature.

I could not pick up Little Women for some time. I do believe that years passed. For years I didn’t want to read anything of Louisa May Alcott’s, instead opting for Jane Austen’s novels, William Shakespeare’s comedies, even the tragedies of Les Miserables and the Count of Monte Cristo became preferable holiday reading to what had happened to my favorite fictional sisters.

One Christmas I tried to read the two halves continuously, thinking perhaps I would feel better about both halves in context. I didn’t. I still couldn’t reconcile how the two could belong to the same story – still felt dissatisfied with Beth’s passing, Jo and Laurie abandoning their passions, and the switch of Laurie’s affections from Jo to Amy.

Ultimately I decided that I still loved Little Women Part 1 and so would read Good Wives (only until Laurie’s proposal). But after my best friend and I fell in love and married, I couldn’t read even until that point. I suppose part of it was the hubris of thinking that since I found being married to my best friend so blissful, Jo would have also.

The dissatisfaction didn’t come to anything except the occasional conversation with book-loving friends about the novel. We had our first child the year after the wedding and I was kept busy with baby one, house-hunting, finishing post-graduate studies, then baby two and working part-time. There wasn’t really the head-space for Little Women.

One summer about a year and a half ago (this was in the southern hemisphere), while on holiday with my family and perhaps the first time that we had truly relaxed (having just purchased our family home yay!), I was sitting on the couch next to my husband and started doodling how Laurie might have proposed differently.

What a shock it was to me to find, while I was writing, that no matter what Laurie said I still couldn’t get Jo to accept his proposal! And then I started thinking about all the reasons Jo had said no (I have a whole separate blog post on this, Why did Jo say no), and all the things that had to be in place for it to make sense for Jo to accept Laurie.

It wasn’t enough that he was her best friend – and it certainly wasn’t enough that he was rich, handsome and sought after. Jo didn’t care about wealth, status, looks, or what people thought. So first Laurie had to have the sort of character Jo could esteem and find attractive over the long haul. He had to move beyond the playmate while retaining his sense of fun.

Jo also had to know with absolute certainty that Beth wasn’t romantically interested in Laurie. And she had to be put in a situation where she would be able to recognize her own feelings, unfamiliar as any romantic feeling would have been to her at the time. She had to be given time and experience to enable her to discern what she was feeling and why.

But the biggest hurdle was Marmee’s advice. Jo relied on her mother’s judgment and trusted her so implicitly. For Jo to even be open to considering Laurie, Marmee’s response had to give her space to work it out for herself. Thus one of the differences in The Courtship of Jo March is their conversation about Laurie’s affection (see sample chapters).

Once these two scenes were written, the story kind of took a life of its own. I did not intend to write a book; I have many unfinished manuscripts that I haven’t had the heart or will to finish, but this was different. I almost felt like it was demanding to be written. And when I read Eve LaPlante’s Marmee & Louisa, that was the clincher.

Louisa had given up Laddie for reasons lost to history; Elizabeth had died in devastating circumstances. And I just had to keep writing. I had to write of the life that Beth might have led, the love with which Jo might have been lavished that she had so richly deserved. I couldn’t amend real history – but with fictional history, the possible is limited only by the imagination.

It only became a book when my son needed unexpected surgery. I had this story in hand that I had absolutely enjoyed writing for no other reason than that I wanted to – and then came one timely word of encouragement: someone said it was worth turning into a book. So I turned it into an eBook for extra cash. Then when friends and family wanted hard copies, I had it printed.

In a nutshell, it took twenty years and marrying my own best friend to write The Courtship of Jo March; my son’s surgery to publish it. (If you’re wondering why I didn’t opt for Amazon, for about two days I did. Then I thought hang pragmatism and gave my business to a local printer, who moved heaven and earth to have the book ready in exactly the way I wanted by Christmas.)

The inspiration of other writers

Before writing your book, did you read other alternative variations of Little Women? Tamara

I wish I had to be honest! I hadn’t known any actually existed (probably should have looked for Beverly Lyon Clark’s The Afterlife of Little Women…). On one hand I’m glad I hadn’t read another variation so I could be happy with my own story line; on the other it would have been brilliant to learn from others (and simply know that there were others who felt the same way!).

The closest thing I’ve read to a full-length variation was Mending my mistakes (whose author is featured in an earlier post, Little Women, Marmee, and the weight of a mother’s word). The story explored the complexity of the situation surrounding Jo’s refusal in a way that made me think more deeply about that question whilst writing.

However, the book that was the impetus for the novel wasn’t a variation but a biography – as mentioned above, Eve LaPlante’s Marmee and Louisa. The doodles written on holiday I doubt would have progressed beyond my journals had I not read of the lives of both Louisa and her mother, and longed to create a world in which things turned out differently for them.

Another influence was Bill Bryson’s Home: a history of private life. It was in this book that I discovered the World Fairs of the nineteenth century, which got me to thinking more deeply about the Vienna World Fair of 1873 and inspired me to move the setting of the novel – 1873 would provide the circumstances that were impossible in the original.

I think those who say that Jo and Laurie would not have worked well in Little Women are actually right – but given a different time and circumstance, I believe they would have. The Courtship of Jo March aims to sketch out exactly that time and circumstance – the world in which Jo and Laurie would have been together and loved each other well.

[image error]

Photograph courtesy of Greg Bridges

Trix Wilkins is the author of The Courtship of Jo March: a variation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, for all who have ever wondered how things might have worked out differently for the beloved March sisters. Available in paperback and an eBook package from $4.95. Other formats available from Kobo, Scribd, Apple, and Angus & Robertson. Sample chapters free to download here.

Why we like to dislike Amy March

By Trix Wilkins

First things first – thank you so much to everyone who took the time to thoughtfully ask questions and give comments on The Courtship of Jo March giveaway

Why Amy March: Q&A from the Courtship of Jo March giveaway #1

By Trix Wilkins

First things first – thank you so much to everyone who took the time to thoughtfully ask questions and give comments on The Courtship of Jo March giveaway

Little Women and the compassionate use of tax

By Trix Wilkins

It is the end of financial year and I have been thinking about Little Women and tax. Not tax avoidance or tax minimization – OK a bit about tax minimization, but specifically: what would the March sisters have done?

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And as I was thinking about office supplies relevant to such a venture, it struck me that perhaps Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy might not have reduced their taxable income by buying more stuff. They might have given to worthier causes than the accumulation of things.

And that got me to thinking about some of the non-profits that might have been right up their alley…

(Disclaimer: I am not financially or otherwise benefiting from my mentioning these organizations, I simply think their avowed causes might have resonated with the characters in Little Women. I claim no knowledge as to tax deductibility regarding donations to these particular organizations. I am not a tax agent or tax lawyer and in no way affiliated with the IRS, ATO or any other tax-related organization.)

Project Gutenberg

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Picture courtesy of Project Gutenberg

Offers over 54,000 free eBooks amongst which you will find the world’s great literature, especially older works for which copyright has expired, digitized and diligently proofread with the help of thousands of volunteers.

Jo: Free books! She would’ve devoured this site. I think she would’ve volunteered too!

Laurie: Same as above. He might’ve also helped fund it.

Meg: Chatted with her husband John about the content of books.

John: Chatted with Meg about the financial viability of such a business.

Mr and Mrs March: Relished in this vast resource for the education of children.

Printed Matter

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Photograph courtesy of Printed Matter

Dedicated to the dissemination, understanding and appreciation of artists’ books (as in “publications that have been conceived as artworks in their own right”). Has an open submission process for artists to submit their books, and hosts exhibitions of contemporary and historically significant books, talks, book launches and performances.

Amy: She would have loved the idea of her work in a book! She might have been encouraged to go on with her art seeing the work of other artists out there, not just the Masters of Europe.

Laurie: A general patron of the arts, I think this would also have resonated with him.

MMAD (Musicians Making A Difference)

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Photograph courtesy of MMAD

I can’t help but think of Beth when I read their vision, “To see every young person have someone who believes in them and the opportunity to live their potential.”

MMAD is a grassroots charity that aims to change lives through music, dance and mentoring. They especially have a heart for those who have suffered emotional abuse, neglect and disadvantage, and hope not only to break negative cycles but empower people to make a difference within their community.

Beth: Love for music and compassion for people. I think she would have signed up to mentor. And she would have delighted in using her skill and passion to do so.

Laurie: Jo says he spends a great deal of money, but I think she would have approved of his spending on MMAD! And from the way he is so chuffed to have brought the neglected Nat to Plumfield as a young budding musician and his desire to be more involved, I think Laurie had it in him to mentor someone in music.

International Justice Mission

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Picture courtesy of IJM

It’s no secret that the Alcotts were anti-slavery and thoroughly involved in the abolition movement in the US – and from Mr March’s volunteering in the army and Mrs March’s work among the poor, I think we can safely infer the March family would have been as tangled in the work to not only free slaves but have them live in dignity and safety.

According to IJM, the biggest problem among the poor is not their lack of money per se – it’s their vulnerability to violence. Slavery exists today: with millions of children and families forced to work for little or no pay in abusive and often violent conditions; vulnerable widows and orphans chased from their homes, leaving them destitute. IJM aims to protect such people from violence.

Jo: She would’ve joined this team. She might have become a lawyer just to do so, but more likely I think she would’ve wanted to be on the front line on the ground physically rescuing people and then writing accounts like LMA did in Hospital Sketches.

Beth: Beth would’ve come with Jo. Jo would’ve protested, but Beth would have wanted to be part of it.

Mr and Mrs March: Freeing slaves entirely suited to their core of being.

Meg: She would’ve taught her children to have compassion in practical ways.

Laurie: Would’ve shocked him to see the sort of work being done. But he would have gotten behind it financially. And maybe sequestered some of his grandfather’s ships in a smuggling cause.

This end of financial year, what are some of the causes you’ve found fitting for your dollar and you’d love to see thrive?

Who should play Jo and Laurie? Thoughts on the ideal Little Women cast

By Trix Wilkins

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Image courtesy of PBS and Masterpiece

I had originally planned to write a post about Little Women and the compassionate use of taxes today (stay tuned for a future post if that takes your fancy this end of financial year. Disclaimer: I am not a tax agent or tax lawyer and in no way affiliated with the IRS, ATO or any other tax-related organization).

Then I heard about PBS and Masterpiece (the creators of Downton Abbey and the Sherlock Holmes series starring Benedict Cumberbatch) producing a TV mini-series of Little Women – and so I’m opting to write about that instead (taxes or TV, hmm…).

Here’s an excerpt from the PBS feature on this upcoming series:

Writer and executive producer Heidi Thomas says: “Little Women is one of the most loved novels in the English language, and with good reason. Its humanity, humour and tenderness never date, and as a study of love, grief and growing up it has no equal. There could be no better time to revisit the story of a family striving for happiness in an uncertain world, and I am thrilled to be bringing the March girls to a new generation of viewers.”

Now it looks like casting hasn’t yet been announced as far as I can work out (though principal photography is due to start in July), so until it has, we are free to imagine!

My thoughts on the ideal Little Women cast…

Jo March: Emma Watson

I know Emma is a versatile actor, but I still associate her with the book-loving intellectually-brilliant sassy yet devoted (Ron! How could you not have noticed for so many years!) Hermoine Granger from Harry Potter who reminds me an awful lot of Jo March (if Jo had gone to Hogwarts I think she would have been friends with Hermoine).

Beth March: Jennifer Lawrence

Am I choosing actors who might not pass for teenagers? Nonsense, if Elizabeth Taylor could play Amy then I don’t see why Jennifer Lawrence couldn’t play Beth! Beth is sweet and generous with spunk simmering under the surface. Not exactly Katniss Everdeen of the Hunger Games, but I bet Beth would have traded places with her sister too.

Meg March: Mandy Moore

She was great in Nicholas Sparks’ A Walk to Remember as Jamie Sullivan, and I think she’d be lovely as the beautiful eldest sister Meg of “Vanity Fair” who marries John Brooke for love not money.

Amy March: Alexis Bledel

I wonder if Alexis will be forever in our minds Rory Gilmore, but for some reason I can still see her playing Amy. This might weird out fans who are pro-Jo-Laurie and also pro-Rory-Jess though.

Theodore Laurence: Milo Ventimiglia

Yes the age thing might be an issue, but I don’t care (see note on Beth March). I think he’d make a great Laurie and had that whole brooding book-reading struggling-artist thing down pat in Gilmore Girls (plus he is actually Italian).

Mrs March: Winona Ryder

I think it would just be poetic to have the woman who played Jo March twenty years ago play the mother who encouraged Jo to write and who was a kindred spirit!

Mr March: Christian Bale

I am laughing so much right now as I write this. My pro-Jo-Laurie leanings are coming out strong (see note on Mrs March). It would be poetry, absolute poetry, for the Jo and Laurie of 1994 to play the married Mr and Mrs March of 2018.

I have no picks for Professor Bhaer and John Brooke. I’m too busy being delighted by the idea of Winona Ryder and Christian Bale returning in this series.

Who would you like to see play Jo March and Theodore Laurence in the new Little Women series? (And the rest of the Little Women cast if that takes your fancy!)

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P.S. Three days to go until the Courtship of Jo March Comment Challenge closes on June 30! To enter, post a question regarding the novel OR a comment answering this question: “Why do you think Jo and Laurie should have been together?” here.

Marmee’s legacy: the making of a mother in Little Women

By Trix Wilkins (and the wonderful children whose loving efforts furnished this post)

My husband once told me he wasn’t sure the existence of Mothers’ Day was a good idea.

Having just become a mother – of his child ­no less – I was offended.

He then explained he thought it was fitting every day to love and honor mothers, and that sometimes people forget on other days because there is “a designated day” to do so.

(Needless to say, I stopped being offended and we enjoyed the rest of our evening. I am also happy to say that I still receive treats on Mothers’ Day.)

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I wonder whether every girl who has ever read or watched Little Women has compared her mother to Marmee, and every mother compared herself. Marmee is an incredibly high standard, but as my own brilliant and affectionate mother has always said: there’s no other way to aim than high.

So while today is not Mother’s Day, this is for all mothers who have ever sought to love our children well, had days when we’ve failed and cried, and got up the next day to try again.

Twenty years after my first reading of Little Women, these are the things I still love about Marmee.

She’s a cheerful presence

“The first sound in the morning was her voice, as she went about the house singing like a lark; and the last sound at night was the same cheery sound…Always at the window, to nod, and smile, and wave her hand to them…The last glimpse of that motherly face was sure to affect them like sunshine.”

She is “preachy”

Marmee is undoubtedly preachy (and we all recognize a sermon when we hear it!), but I admit I quite like her style – she tells stories, sets an example, and is unafraid to let her children experience the consequences of their actions (in a safe environment, of course).

When the March sisters complain about their “burdens” (which I admit to completely sympathizing with – who doesn’t want to not have to go to work or do housework and instead read books and go out on day trips with charming friends?), Marmee tells them a “story” about four discontented girls. This sobers up her daughters, who recognize themselves as well as their richness in having each other.

She visits and comforts poorly neighbors, and her children know that “there never was such a woman for givin’ away vittles and drink, clothes and firin.’” They respect their mother for setting a generous example and are proud to take after her – and so when she asks them to give away their breakfast on Christmas morning to others less fortunate, they feel no resentment about her doing so.

Then there’s that brilliant chapter, Experiments, in which the sisters are allowed to experience the consequences of self-serving “all play and no work.” (Salt with strawberries, anyone? Having once attempted to cook dinner for my husband while we were just friends and serving what was meant to be a seafood delight that looked dangerously undercooked, I still laugh over this episode.)

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She turns a potentially dangerous situation into a blessing

I’ve always been rather impressed with the way Marmee handles Laurie. Here’s a rich young handsome boy living next door to her four daughters – and had I been she, my first reaction would have been to warn them about the dangers of fraternizing with a person who might easily toy with them.

Marmee doesn’t do this. She sees Laurie’s longing for a mother and for friends, and welcomes him. She doesn’t just allow her daughters to frolic wherever and whenever they choose – but she provides an environment in which enjoyable, helpful and lasting friendships can develop.

She is also balanced. She recognizes that while Laurie is modest and kind, “he would make a fine man, if not spoilt by petting.” (A fitting warning, as Laurie Makes Mischief proves!) Good character is the standard to which her daughters are to hold men, even rich and handsome men like Laurie.

She openly shares her own weaknesses and experiences

This is my favorite scene in Little Women between Jo and Marmee. Just after Amy falls through the ice and Jo comes home in repentant tears over her anger and temper, Marmee confesses, “You think your temper is the worst in the world; but mine used to be just like it.”

“We all have our temptations…and it often takes all our lives to conquer them.”

She is unafraid to admit her need for help

She sets up the realistic expectation that while beautiful character is not the work of a moment but of a lifetime, the marring of a day does not have to last beyond it. There are consequences, certainly – but the next day is new, and the help of loved ones essential.

“He helped and comforted me, and showed me that I must try to practice all the virtues I would have my little girls possess, for I was their example. It was easier to try for your sakes than for my own; a startled or surprised look from one of you, when I spoke sharply, rebuked me more than any words could have done; and the love, respect and confidence of my children was the sweetest reward I could receive for my efforts to be the woman I would have them copy.”

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She shares her faith with her children

For Christmas, Marmee gifts each of the girls with a copy of the Bible to read each day. She doesn’t shy away from talking about her faith in God, as real to her as sunshine – and how her children are as free to come to Him as she, being as beloved of God as every other.

“His love and care never tire or change, can never be taken from you, but may become the source of lifelong peace, happiness and strength. Believe this heartily, and go to God with all your little cares, and hopes, and sins, and sorrows, as freely and confidingly as you come to your mother.”

She is a snob about the people with whom her daughters keep company

Marmee is very brazenly (and bravely) open about the fact she is a snob. But unlike most mothers of her class, wealth and status are not her benchmarks. These are not enough – to the great annoyance of bachelors eyeing her daughters such as Ned Moffat and the Tudors.

“Learn to know and value the praise which is worth having, and to excite the admiration of excellent people.”

She has high ambitions for her children

When Meg asks her mother whether her plans involve marrying her daughters off to rich men, Marmee reveals that her ambitions reach even further.

“I want my daughters to be beautiful, accomplished, and good; to be admired, loved, and respected…I’m not ambitious for a splendid fortune, a fashionable position, or a great name for my girls. If rank and money come with love and virtue, also, I should accept them gratefully, and enjoy your good fortune; but I know, by experience, how much genuine happiness can be had in a plain little house…rich in the possession of a good man’s heart, and that is better than a fortune.”

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(I wish Marmee had also spoken about the possibility – probability, considering both Jo and Beth’s ambitions at this point – that her daughters might choose not to marry, and the fact that there is joy to be had in world by women who are not “in the possession of a good man’s heart.”)

She prays for her children

I love this picture of Marmee. I hadn’t noticed it in previous readings of Little Women, as by the end of this chapter my mind was usually full of the fact that Jo had sacrificed her “one beauty.” It is such a beautiful picture of a mother who prays for her children, even during a time of personal anguish.

“A figure glided quietly from bed to bed, smoothing a coverlid here, setting a pillow there, and pausing to look long and tenderly at each unconscious face, to kiss each with lips that mutely blessed, and to pray the fervent prayers which only mothers utter.”

I re-read Little Women Part 1 as part of the Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge hosted by In the Bookcase. 

P.S. For the final week of the Challenge, I’m holding a Comment Challenge to give away a copy of The Courtship of Jo March. To enter, post a question regarding the novel OR a comment answering this question: “Why do you think Jo and Laurie should have been together?” in the comments section of the blog post If only Little Women…Courtship of Jo March Comment Challenge and giveaway. Entries close June 30.