Trix Wilkins's Blog: Much ado about Little Women, page 9

10 things I’m learning from Jo March about writing

By Trix Wilkins

She wrote with perseverance, passion, and no small amount of drive – but the best of her words were those she wrote with love. These are the things I’m learning from Little Women’s Jo March about writing, the craft that is necessarily a labor of love.

We can never be too young to write – and even start our own publication!

The March sisters’ Pickwick Portfolio…After reading this chapter in Little Women, did anyone manage to resist the urge to start one’s own little newspaper of sorts? (Or nowadays, a blog ;)) I love that all the sisters contributed to the publication, owned it, and that they explored different forms of writing: news, features, recipes, short stories, classifieds…

Little Women doesn’t say exactly when they started the paper. I like to think it was as soon as Jo could string a sentence together! Years ago I had the joy of working on our school newspaper with some of my closest friends – lots of experiments and fun, and felt very a la Jo March…

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Loving people deeply is very much connected to writing

I wonder how many of the most lovable and unforgettable characters in literature are homages to real people, an outpouring of a writer’s core. Louisa pays tribute to her sister Elizabeth in her portrayal of Beth in Little Women. She also honors her other sisters, parents, even Laurie who was modelled on some of the men she loved and esteemed most.

Are not those we know best and truly our nearest and dearest? Can we write of people, really, without knowing them, know people without loving them? I could not have written of Laurie’s affection for Jo in The Courtship of Jo March, without knowing of that sort of perseverance.

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Emotionally charged points in our lives serve as jumpstarts for creativity

It’s when we feel, that we write passionately, from the heart – and that is where compelling story begins. We write best about what is personal to us. Jo is grieving the loss of Beth; the loss of Laurie; the loss of what she had imagined to be her “castle in the air.” She then writes the “simple story” that wins her acclaim.

Mr March affirms the bewildered Jo, saying gently, “There is truth in it, Jo – that’s the secret. Humor and pathos make it alive, and you have found your style at last. You wrote with no thought of fame or money, and put your heart into it.”

These are the stories we come to love – the ones that ring with truth, humor and heart.

What a valuable thing a friend is, a friend we can share our writing with!

This is a must for any writer I think! A loved one, a friend, a family member…Someone who celebrates and cheers us on, whose acclaim makes the effort worthwhile even if they are the only one in the world to applaud.

Jo had her mother who encouraged her to write; her sister Beth who thought everything she wrote brilliant just by virtue of the fact she wrote it; her best friend Laurie, the first to know she had begun to submit her stories to newspapers, the first she celebrated their success with, the first to proclaim her to be “the celebrated American authoress;” Professor Bhaer, who advised her to write what would be of benefit to the mind, heart and soul.

I am indebted to so many for the mere fact that I have begun writing again, but I owe the most to my dearest friend and husband.

Poetry can be potent, and have unintended consequences

When Jo writes a poem following the passing of Beth, she sends it to be published – and Professor Bhaer upon seeing it in a newspaper decides to visit her, saying to himself, “She has a sorrow, she is lonely, she would find comfort in true love.” (Needless to say, she had no idea of his thinking so being such a consequence!)

(Not all poetry has such romantic results. I once wrote a poem for my husband while we were friends, and he didn’t get the hint. I suppose it wasn’t a romantic poem, so he was justified in construing it as a merely friendly gesture…Ah well, we got there in the end!)

[image error]Background photograph courtesy of Canva

Writing letters is important. A timely letter can change a life.

It’s one of the most moving parts of Little Women. When Laurie gifts a post office box for the use of the Pickwick Club upon his being received as a member, all sorts of letters begin to flow through them – one of which is written by Mrs March to her daughter Jo.

My dear,

I write a little word to tell you with how much satisfaction I watch your efforts to control your temper. You say nothing about your trials, failures, or successes, and think, perhaps, that no one sees them but the Friend whose help you daily ask, if I may trust the well-worn cover of your guide-book, I, too, have seen them all, and heartily believe in the sincerity of your resolution, since it begins to bear fruit.

Go on, dear, patiently, and bravely, and always believe that no one sympathizes more tenderly with you than your loving,

Mother.

Jo recognizes her mother’s letter to be “worth millions of money, and pecks of praise.” It becomes tucked away in her heart and mind as to how she might use the power of her pen – and reminds me what a privilege I possess, to be in a position to write such a letter to my children.

Back up precious pieces of writing, particularly complete manuscripts

I think every one who has ever produced anything personally precious must have felt the stab of betrayal, loss and grief upon reading that Amy had thrown Jo’s precious book into the fire. And consequently swiftly learned the lesson of making copies – including hard copies – of such precious works and keeping them somewhere safe…!

To write deeply we must read widely

Jo reads books from a century ago, three centuries ago, ten years ago – she reads history, travel, biography, romance…even books she’s not a particular fan of, she gives a go. (More details in 16 books the March sisters read.)

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I didn’t realize how narrow had been my reading until I started to compare my reading lists with Jo’s, and have been pleasantly surprised giving books I never would have dreamed of picking up a turn (the Vicar of Wakefield I found myself devouring rather quickly, and Ivanhoe – once you get past the opening with the squires talking in the forest – was also a delight).

Reading disciplines are helpful…

I used to cringe at the word discipline. It used to suggest punishment, restriction, and worst of all, boring. My husband being one of those disciplined men who somehow manages to also be spontaneous, fun, and passionate, I’ve had to abandon this definition and admit that to possess discipline is rather an admirable thing.

Reading daily from something that refreshes the mind helps orient our thoughts to what we deem important; and when we come to writing, we can’t help but be influenced by the feelings and thoughts that come by during these times. We read in Little Women that Jo reads daily from her Bible, the crimson covered book Mrs March gave each of her girls at Christmas.

A change of scenery can help, but sometimes the best things are written close to home

Jo writes plenty of money spinners while in New York, but her greatest literary success isn’t full of exotic places, unpredictable twists, and colorful characters.

It’s full of the people she knows best, the home where most of her years have passed – all that is dearest to her. And despite the quietness, the lack of novelty, she’s still able to write – and write that powerful story as no one else could.

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Trix Wilkins is the author of The Courtship of Jo March: a variation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, a novel 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. Other formats available from Kobo, Apple, Barnes & Noble and Angus & Robertson.

10 things I’ve learned from Jo March about writing

By Trix Wilkins

Little Women’s Jo March wrote with perseverance, passion, and no small amount of drive – but the best of her words were those she wrote with love. These are the things I’ve learned from Louisa May Alcott’s narrative counterpart about writing, the craft that is necessarily a labor of love.

We can never be too young to write – and even start our own publication!

The March sisters’ Pickwick Portfolio…After reading this chapter in Little Women, did anyone manage to resist the urge to start one’s own little newspaper of sorts? (Or nowadays, a blog ;)) I love that all the sisters contributed to the publication, owned it, and that they explored different forms of writing: news, features, recipes, short stories, classifieds…

Little Women doesn’t say exactly when they started the paper. I like to think it was as soon as Jo could string a sentence together! Years ago I had the joy of working on our school newspaper with some of my closest friends – lots of experiments and fun, and felt very a la Jo March…

Loving people deeply is very much connected to writing

I wonder how many of the most lovable and unforgettable characters in literature are homages to real people, an outpouring of a writer’s core. Louisa pays tribute to her sister Elizabeth in her portrayal of Beth in Little Women. She also honors her other sisters, parents, even Laurie who was modelled on some of the men she loved and esteemed most.

Are not those we know best and truly our nearest and dearest? Can we write of people, really, without knowing them, know people without loving them? I could not have written of Laurie’s affection for Jo in The Courtship of Jo March, without knowing of that sort of perseverance.

Emotionally charged points in our lives serve as jumpstarts for creativity

It’s when we feel, that we write passionately, from the heart – and that is where compelling story begins. We write best about what is personal to us. Jo is grieving the loss of Beth; the loss of Laurie; the loss of what she had imagined to be her “castle in the air.” She then writes the “simple story” that wins her acclaim.

Mr March affirms the bewildered Jo, saying gently, “There is truth in it, Jo – that’s the secret. Humor and pathos make it alive, and you have found your style at last. You wrote with no thought of fame or money, and put your heart into it.”

These are the stories we come to love – the ones that ring with truth, humor and heart.

What a valuable thing a friend is, a friend we can share our writing with!

This is a must for any writer I think! A loved one, a friend, a family member…Someone who celebrates and cheers us on, whose acclaim makes the effort worthwhile even if they are the only one in the world to applaud.

Jo had her mother who encouraged her to write; her sister Beth who thought everything she wrote brilliant just by virtue of the fact she wrote it; her best friend Laurie, the first to know she had begun to submit her stories to newspapers, the first she celebrated their success with, the first to proclaim her to be “the celebrated American authoress;” Professor Bhaer, who advised her to write what would be of benefit to the mind, heart and soul.

I am indebted to so many for the mere fact that I have begun writing again, but I owe the most to my dearest friend and husband.

Poetry can be potent, and have unintended consequences

When Jo writes a poem following the passing of Beth, she sends it to be published – and Professor Bhaer upon seeing it in a newspaper decides to visit her, saying to himself, “She has a sorrow, she is lonely, she would find comfort in true love.” (Needless to say, she had no idea of his thinking so being such a consequence!)

(Not all poetry has such romantic results. I once wrote a poem for my husband while we were friends, and he didn’t get the hint. I suppose it wasn’t a romantic poem, so he was justified in construing it as a merely friendly gesture…Ah well, we got there in the end!)

Writing letters is important. A timely letter can change a life.

It’s one of the most moving parts of Little Women. When Laurie gifts a post office box for the use of the Pickwick Club upon his being received as a member, all sorts of letters begin to flow through them – one of which is written by Mrs March to her daughter Jo.

My dear,

I write a little word to tell you with how much satisfaction I watch your efforts to control your temper. You say nothing about your trials, failures, or successes, and think, perhaps, that no one sees them but the Friend whose help you daily ask, if I may trust the well-worn cover of your guide-book, I, too, have seen them all, and heartily believe in the sincerity of your resolution, since it begins to bear fruit.

Go on, dear, patiently, and bravely, and always believe that no one sympathizes more tenderly with you than your loving,

Mother.

Jo recognizes her mother’s letter to be “worth millions of money, and pecks of praise.” It becomes tucked away in her heart and mind as to how she might use the power of her pen – and reminds me what a privilege I possess, to be in a position to write such a letter to my children.

Back up precious pieces of writing, particularly complete manuscripts

I think every one who has ever produced anything personally precious must have felt the stab of betrayal, loss and grief upon reading that Amy had thrown Jo’s precious book into the fire. And consequently swiftly learned the lesson of making copies – including hard copies – of such precious works and keeping them somewhere safe…!

To write deeply we must read widely

Jo reads books from a century ago, three centuries ago, ten years ago – she reads history, travel, biography, romance…even books she’s not a particular fan of, she gives a go. (More details in 16 books the March sisters read.)

I didn’t realize how narrow had been my reading until I started to compare my reading lists with Jo’s, and have been pleasantly surprised giving books I never would have dreamed of picking up a turn (the Vicar of Wakefield I found myself devouring rather quickly, and Ivanhoe – once you get past the opening with the squires talking in the forest – was also a delight).

Reading disciplines are helpful…

I used to cringe at the word discipline. It used to suggest punishment, restriction, and worst of all, boring. My husband being one of those disciplined men who somehow manages to also be spontaneous, fun, and passionate, I’ve had to abandon this definition and admit that to possess discipline is rather an admirable thing.

Reading daily from something that refreshes the mind helps orient our thoughts to what we deem important; and when we come to writing, we can’t help but be influenced by the feelings and thoughts that come by during these times. We read in Little Women that Jo reads daily from her Bible, the crimson covered book Mrs March gave each of her girls at Christmas.

A change of scenery can help, but sometimes the best things are written close to home

Jo writes plenty of money spinners while in New York, but her greatest literary success isn’t full of exotic places, unpredictable twists, and colorful characters.

It’s full of the people she knows best, the home where most of her years have passed – all that is dearest to her. And despite the quietness, the lack of novelty, she’s still able to write – and write that powerful story as no one else could.

[image error]

Trix Wilkins is the author of The Courtship of Jo March: a variation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Available from Kobo, Apple, Barnes & Noble and Angus & Robertson.

The confessions of Jo and Laurie in the Little Women sequels

By Trix Wilkins

Did Friedrich Bhaer replace Theodore Laurence as Jo March’s dearest friend? Or did Jo and Laurie retain that irresistible connection in the Little Women sequels…

[image error] Photo background courtesy of Canva

It took me twenty years after my first reading of Little Women to finally read the sequels Little Men and Jo’s Boys. I wrote The Courtship of Jo March, then begrudgingly admitted to myself it would be fair to at least give Professor Friedrich Bhaer a reading. What did Jo’s marriage end up looking like? Would I find it more compelling, more romantic, more engaging than I had ever found the interactions between Jo and Laurie in the first two books? Maybe the Professor really was the best choice…?

There are definitely things I love about Little Men and Jo’s Boys. I love the stories about the children of Plumfield, and laugh to myself wondering what sorts of scrapes my own little ones will get up to one day (of course they haven’t gotten up into any scrapes yet, of course). I fell in love with Nat, Nan, Demi, Daisy, even Tommy Bangs made a dent in my heart. In the midst of all that, was I finally sold on Jo and the Professor? Did I come to the conclusion that Professor Bhaer was Jo’s perfect match intellectually, emotionally, spiritually? Not at all…

Writer Andrea Lundgren makes the insightful point that our preferences for Jo have a lot to do with our expectations and ideas of an ideal marriage.  I admit, I still cannot imagine passing up marrying one’s best friend. The idea of having a separate man to my husband as a best friend just doesn’t sit right. (I lay the blame for this bias at my husband’s door.)

And so when I came to Little Men and Jo’s Boys, I expected Laurie to fade into the background, that the most tender and intimate interactions between Jo and another character would be with Professor Bhaer – that he would take the place of Laurie as her closest and dearest friend.

This just doesn’t happen in the sequels. It is still Jo and Laurie who have that irresistible connection, and it is woven throughout both the books.

He’s still “her boy”

Little Men opens with Laurie sending Nat, a young boy with a penchant for music, to Plumfield to be cared for and educated. He signs off his letter to Jo with, “Give him a trial, for the sake of your own boy, Teddy.” When Laurie comes to talk to Jo, he sits down at a stool at her feet, and she “stroked the curly black head at her knee affectionately as ever, for, in spite of everything Teddy was her boy still.”

The second Theodore

Jo names her second son Teddy, which is understandable in one sense. We’re told Laurie has proven to be a friend to both Jo and the Professor over the years. (In another sense, does anyone else feel it’s a little strange for a woman to name her child after a man she’s rejected? I know it’s all water under the bridge by this point, but surely there were other names?)

He’s the one we see look after Jo

He may not be her husband, but Laurie takes care of Jo as far as he is able or allowed to anyway. He gifts Jo with Toby the donkey “so she shouldn’t carry Teddy on her back when we go to walk.” After the passing of John Brooke, Jo asks one of the Plumfield boys, Nat, to play “the sweet little airs Uncle Teddy sent you last. Music will comfort me better than anything else tonight.” It is still Laurie we see minister to Jo and comfort her even at a distance.

She’s the one we see him write music for

Then he writes a song. Laurie writes a song. I had wondered, almost the whole time I first read Little Women, “When is Laurie going to write a song the way Jo has written a book?”

At the family thanksgiving dinner, Nat performs “one of those songs without words that touch the heart.” Jo somehow recognizes instantly that this is no ordinary song, turns to Laurie and says, “You composed that.”

He replies, “I wanted your boy to do you honor, and thank you in his own way.”

A lot of the fun times – they’re of Jo and Laurie

Most of the moments of fun we see Jo enjoying are with Laurie. She runs into him by accident whilst shopping for a play kitchen for Daisy, “Teddy and went and bought it with me, and we had such fun in the shop choosing the different parts.” (Without him she would not have been able to buy a thing, as the best pieces were just too expensive.)

When Jo tells the children of the last time she flew a kite (one of her favorite things), it was not while on a romantic date with the Professor. The memory she recalls is of Laurie, when they had privately made kites together and flown them during the first days of their friendship. (She hadn’t enjoyed climbing a tree since that time, either.)

They understand each other without words

Not only was there camaraderie between the two, there was an inexplicable understanding of the other. When Laurie comes to visit Plumfield, and Demi innocently asks him how he knew that Jo would approve of his taking the injured Dan in his carriage, he replies, “We have a way of sending messages to one another, without any words.”

During a family gathering at Plumfield, Laurie takes Jo (not Amy) on a ‘tour’ of the school, to each ‘scene’ through a doorway or window depicting a snapshot of the lives of the graduates of Plumfield, the grown up young men and women of whom Jo had such hopes and still does; they speak openly and confidentially to each other.

There is such a closeness between the two that I almost feel sorry for Amy…

They would have agreed on parenting

Actually, I do feel sorry for Amy. The one scene in the sequels where Amy appears and speaks is when she and their daughter Bess are working on their art together (we are told they spend a lot of time doing this).

Laurie says Bess needs to get out more, have more balance in life and not be utterly consumed by her art. He also says that he and Amy do not see eye to eye on this subject (I actually don’t like the fact that Laurie does this, as it’s not fair to his wife – really, it’s not nice to bring into a marital discussion the opinion of the woman whose hand in marriage you asked for first).

Jo takes Laurie’s side, telling Amy that she agrees with his assessment of the parenting situation – that is, while Laurie and Amy do not exactly agree on how to parent Bess, Laurie and Jo do.

Plumfield would not have existed without Laurie

But if Jo and Laurie had married and there were no Professor, some might object, there would have been no Plumfield! According to Jo, not true. She explicitly says to Laurie, “If it hadn’t been for you, there never would have been a Plumfield.” There would have been no school for it is Laurie’s generosity (and capability) that helps it thrive.

I suspect this might be part of the reason Louisa May Alcott wrote this situation into being. Initiatives like Plumfield cost somebody something – just like the schools her father attempted to form cost her family dearly and personally. Jo and the Professor have the luxury of doing what they love because Laurie does not.

Schools need money. Laurie went into the very business he despises for the money to enable all these things to happen; at first, it was to regain Jo’s respect and approval, next it was for the power to bring her joy through what he does for the school, and finally for himself.

Laurie doesn’t only visit Plumfield for Jo, as much as he does “pine” to see her. He visits to get away from business, saying that it does him good to see both Jo and the boys at the school – he’s longing to be there, to be more part of it.

She’s the one who inspires him

It is Laurie who envisions and endows Plumfield with what Jo then names, “The Laurence Museum,” a place for the boys to store and display their ‘treasures.’ It is he who gives a speech to them about researching the creatures and objects they display, and composing presentations in order to educate their fellow students.

Jo then asks, “What did inspire you with such a beautiful, helpful idea, Teddy?”

Did Laurie reply, “My wife?” “My daughter?” “The bundle of brilliant boys?”

No. What happens next is this: “Laurie took both her hands in his, and answered, with a look that made her eyes fill with happy tears, ‘Dear Jo! I have known what it is to be a motherless boy, and I never can forget how much you and yours have done for me all these years.’”

She’s always been the one who’s inspired him

Towards the end of Little Women, when Laurie spills the beans that he is already married to Amy, Jo muses that Amy had been the better influence and “managed” Laurie better than she ever had. She believes that it is Amy who helped Laurie become the man he is, the man she is so proud of that she declares to her entire family that she will tell all the boys at the school she wants to start that he is the sort of man they should seek to become.

Little Men closes with a telling conversation between Jo and Laurie that turns this idea on its head. While they are talking of the school and Jo tells Laurie her hopes for the little boys and girls, she says that she thinks Bess, “the lady, full of natural refinement, grace, and beauty” is the one to “keep them gentlemen in the best sense of the fine old word.”

Laurie replies, “It is not always the ladies who do that best, Jo. It is sometimes the strong brave woman who stirs up the boy and makes a man of him.”

The Little Women that could have been…

Amy had not wrought that significant change in Laurie, though her speech certainly did its part by pointing him to the surety of Jo’s sunken opinion were he to continue as he was. Jo had been mistaken thinking it was ladylike refined Amy who had done so, or who did it best.

The woman who compelled him to become the sort of man she would not find wanting, his best friend, his kindred spirit, who inspired him to write music, to support a school, to start a museum – he had not waited for her.

I finished the Little Women sequels feeling even more dissatisfied with the separation of Jo and Laurie, even more convinced, to borrow from Jane Austen, “no such happy marriage could now teach the admiring multitude what connubial felicity really was.”

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Trix Wilkins is the author of The Courtship of Jo March: a variation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, available from Kobo, Apple, Barnes & Noble and Angus & Robertson.

The March sisters and the Fellowship of the Nine

By Trix Wilkins. Art by Adanwen

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Last year I stumbled across this brilliant story that draws upon two of my favorite books, Lord of the Rings and Little Women. It remains one of my favorite pieces of literary speculation. Little lords and women of the Ring was written by Adanwen, who unashamedly lives and breathes Tolkien’s classic. I love the way she has imagined how Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy might have befriended the beloved characters of Middle Earth.

The story takes place during the time Mrs March is away tending to her husband in Washington, and the Laurences are helping to keep guard over the March sisters left at home. Then one snowy day, who else should Jo stumble upon than the Fellowship of the Nine, worn from their attempted journey to Mordor and quite bewildered by the unfamiliar world of quiet Concord…

I had the privilege of a brief interview with the author, and she has kindly allowed for a snippet from her story to be published below (don’t worry, there is also a link to the full story so you won’t be left wondering!).

How did you begin writing this story? What inspired it? 

I had the basic idea in summer 2014, when I happened to be very much immersed in both fandoms at the same time (Little Women always was one of my favourite childhood stories/memories, and Lord of the Rings is my life, basically). I love crossovers and always am thinking about how characters from one story would act in another story, how they’d get along with other characters, etc, so it was nothing unusual.

The unusual thing was that I sat down and wrote it! I think that was because about one and a half years after having had the idea, and having made a tumblr post about it, I introduced one of my best friends to Little Women. And since she loved it (as well as Lord of the Rings), I went back and found the motivation to actually write it.

What’s your favorite scene in Little Women?

Good question! I think “Beth finds the Palace Beautiful” is my favourite chapter, so I’ll go with the ending of that, when Beth resolutely marches over to Mr Laurence to thank him for her new piano. It’s so beautiful!

Is there anything you wish Louisa May Alcott had written into Little Women? If so, what?

Since Beth is my favourite character (I identify so much with her), I wish she had written a bit more about her. Also I live in denial of the existence of such a thing as “Good Wives” – for me it’s probably the worst sequel ever and I just really wish she hadn’t written it.

Jo & Laurie or Jo & Professor Bhaer at the end of Little Women? Why?

I always was and will be an avid shipper of Jo and Laurie. I think their deep friendship is the perfect base for a romantic relationship. They just always were obvious companions to me. On top of that I don’t like ships with older men/father figures and young women. I would have preferred Jo to stay single if not ending up with Laurie.

Many thanks again Adanwen for this excerpt from Little lords and women of the Ring – I trust others will enjoy it as much as I!

“I feel like I should write to Marmee about the strangers, but it seems too surreal, I’m afraid she wouldn’t believe me and only worry about the state of my mind.” Meg said, several days later, while poring over their mother’s last letter from Washington, which she meant to answer that morning.

“How can you still call them strangers?” Jo protested from the depths of a blanket pile, for she had caught a cold in the chill weather. “With Sam cooking for us every day and everyone else behaving like our long lost brothers.”

It was true that Sam had found a permanent spot in their kitchen, after a power struggle with Hannah, who had only allowed him shared access to her domain after he had proven his superior skills by producing a delicious dinner for the whole company and March family all on his own, and in record time as well.

“Well, they can’t stay at the Laurences forever.” Meg retorted, as if that would finish the debate.

It was true that the “merry men,” as Jo called them, were now lodged at the great house across the fence. Being quite overwhelmed by the ravenous appetite of the little boys, Jo had sought help in Laurie the day after their arrival.

Laughing outright at Jo’s story, he still consented to go and see the company, having to bear Jo’s laughter in turn at his incredulous face.

After the first shock he was eager enough to make everyone’s acquaintance and he quickly saw what Jo meant – the old house couldn’t possibly hold such a large and strange party for long, so he proposed to move everyone over at once, without waiting to put the question to his grandfather. This latter point was exactly what made Jo hesitate to accept the gracious offer, even though it was more than obvious how relieved she was at it.

“Don’t worry about grandpa, leave him to me. I’m sure he won’t object to have some more life in the silent, old house, and that fellow, Mr Gandalf, he seems honourable. I’m sure they’d get along. Only if Beth could vouchsafe for all of them, it would make things much easier, true enough.” He added the last bit as an afterthought, trying not to betray how unsure he was of his grandfather’s hospitality in this case.

“Oh, I’m sure she would if she knew them, but I couldn’t persuade her to come down and see them yet!” Jo groaned, being reminded of another problem.

Taking a look at the assembly (half of them being very loud, and the other half looking calm but very unusual), Laurie could very well understand Beth’s feelings.

“Never mind then. I’ll manage.” He consoled Jo, squaring his shoulders once and then starting to treat the whole thing as a joke from that moment onward.

There was a little row between Mr Laurence and him afterwards, but Laurie “managed” in the end, and after a long, mysterious talk with Gandalf (Laurie was sent away but ere long he could hear muffled laughter and smell pipe smoke), Mr Laurence acquiesced to let the company stay.

“I wish they could, though.” Jo sniffed at Meg’s comment, which had less to do with her attachment than her running nose. “Things have gotten much jollier and a thousand times more interesting since they arrived – they are just what we needed after that worry about father!”

“If you ask me, they are more trouble than fun, and they’ll bring us more trouble yet, no doubt.” was Meg’s withering reply, as she tried to concentrate on writing a reply to her mother, but was continually disturbed by pearls of laughter and shouting from the garden. “I wish they were more quiet in any case.”

“Calm down, I’ll tell them.” Jo appeased her sister, getting out of the blanket pile to quickly change into thick layers of cloaks and shawls.

Stepping out into the cold, she easily spotted the cause of the clamour in the snowball fight between the little boys and the taller members of the company, minus Gandalf.

“BE QUIET!” She shouted to the group, causing Meg inside to wince and leave a huge ink stain on a newly finished sentence.

Seeing her mission as accomplished, Jo went on to see what Amy, who was sitting on a bench a bit off, was doing. She was completely covered in her enormous blue winter coat and wool bonnet, contrasting strongly with her little, red hands and nose, the only parts left to the mercy of the chilling November wind.

As she approached, Jo saw why she had taken off her gloves – she was sketching. Meaning to ask her for a picture of the whole company, lest they should depart without her having anything to remember them by, Jo greeted her sister, but was surprised to find her colour up and hastily cover her sketchbook with her arms.

“What’s the matter?” She inquired, walking round her, so as to catch a glimpse of her sketch.

Managing to extricate the sketchbook from her after a long and hard fight, she laughed out loud in amazement. “Why, they’re all of Legolas! I knew you had taken a fancy to him!”

“Give it back!” Amy shouted, wrestling the sketchbook back from Jo. Settling the sheets and her dress, she continued in the most prim manner. “You needn’t laugh, he’s simply the most stratifying to draw.”

“So I should think!” Jo agreed, after having laughed at her sister’s archaeological assessment of the young man – or young-looking, at least. Sometimes there was something eerily primeval about him. “But I thought you wanted to draw all of them!”

Amy sniffed with the superior air of an artist who knew their matter. “Maybe later on. I don’t know if I want to do all of them. Some of them are positively aggratating.”

Jo knew what she meant – Gimli’s table manners had even shocked her at times, and she knew that Amy despised Aragorn for his dirty and worn clothing and ragged appearance. She had found Boromir romantic enough in the beginning, until she had realised how domestic he was. Chopping wood, setting the table, and, worst of all, offering to put on her bonnet, was not consistent with her ideal of the bearing of a true aristocrat (even though she didn’t know how to spell the word). She got along well enough with the little boys when she forgot to play the young lady, but spent more and more time trailing after Legolas wherever he went, as Jo had noticed.

“You shouldn’t aggravate him by following him around all the time, he’ll find it annoying.” Jo warned and corrected her at the same time.

“Legolas knows much better than that! He never told me to “run along” or any of the sort!” Amy defended herself and her object of admiration in a high-pitched tone.

It was true that Legolas didn’t seem to be bothered by her, but the truth was that he hardly paid her any attention at all. It was impossible to say whether ignoring her came naturally to him or whether it cost him as much as Meg trying to concentrate on her letter, since his face was a perfect blank most of the time – very fascinating to draw, but hard to read, especially for little Amy, who had no more experience with elves than from the vague remembrance of fairy stories.

Jo only shook her head at the stout remonstrance, but didn’t dwell long on her sister’s infatuation. “Let her fill her sketchbook with him, I’ll be sure to get a company sketch out of her when she’s tired of long tresses and piercing blue eyes.” She thought.

But Jo was mistaken in supposing Amy fickle in this instance. Her obsession did not subside but increase, so much so that everyone noticed it and started to wish that Legolas would put a stop to it soon. Meg talked first to Amy and then to Laurie, asking him to distract her, but even he found it difficult to make her forget about archery, which she had taken a sudden interest in, and long golden locks, in this case, not her own.

“It’s quite hopeless.” Laurie observed to Jo, after coming back from a snow ride with the afflicted lady. “You’d better have them marry and be done with it.”

Jo laughed with Laurie, but Meg, who was sewing in the corner, put on a sober face. “I’m afraid I can’t think too highly of this Legolas, if he doesn’t know when to put everyone at rest. It’s very disconcerting.”

“Come, don’t be too hard on the fellow.” Laurie replied, warming his hands by the fire. “I haven’t spent as much time with him as Amy, but as magnificent as his eye sight may be, he doesn’t seem to be too observant when it comes to much subtler things than an apple on a pole a 160 feet away.”

Meg continued to grumble, but Jo laughed it off once more. “I don’t even see why all of you have to make such a fuss about it. They’ll be off in time any way, more’s the pity. But that will definitely put a stop to this silliness for good, if nothing else does.”

For all who are keen to read the whole saga, here’s the promised link to Little lords and women of the Ring by Adanwen.

[image error]

Trix Wilkins is the author of The Courtship of Jo March: a variation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, available from Kobo, Apple, Barnes & Noble and Angus & Robertson.

Interview with Adanwen: the March sisters and the Fellowship of the Nine

By Trix Wilkins. Art by Adanwen

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Last year I stumbled across this brilliant story that draws upon two of my favorite books, Lord of the Rings and Little Women. It remains one of my favorite pieces of literary speculation. Little lords and women of the Ring was written by Adanwen, who unashamedly lives and breathes Tolkien’s classic. I love the way she has imagined how Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy might have befriended the beloved characters of Middle Earth.

The story takes place during the time Mrs March is away tending to her husband in Washington, and the Laurences are helping to keep guard over the March sisters left at home. Then one snowy day, who else should Jo stumble upon than the Fellowship of the Nine, worn from their attempted journey to Mordor and quite bewildered by the unfamiliar world of quiet Concord…

I had the privilege of a brief interview with the author, and she has kindly allowed for a snippet from her story to be published below (don’t worry, there is also a link to the full story so you won’t be left wondering!).

How did you begin writing this story? What inspired it? 

I had the basic idea in summer 2014, when I happened to be very much immersed in both fandoms at the same time (Little Women always was one of my favourite childhood stories/memories, and Lord of the Rings is my life, basically). I love crossovers and always am thinking about how characters from one story would act in another story, how they’d get along with other characters, etc, so it was nothing unusual.

The unusual thing was that I sat down and wrote it! I think that was because about one and a half years after having had the idea, and having made a tumblr post about it, I introduced one of my best friends to Little Women. And since she loved it (as well as Lord of the Rings), I went back and found the motivation to actually write it.

What’s your favorite scene in Little Women?

Good question! I think “Beth finds the Palace Beautiful” is my favourite chapter, so I’ll go with the ending of that, when Beth resolutely marches over to Mr Laurence to thank him for her new piano. It’s so beautiful!

Is there anything you wish Louisa May Alcott had written into Little Women? If so, what?

Since Beth is my favourite character (I identify so much with her), I wish she had written a bit more about her. Also I live in denial of the existence of such a thing as “Good Wives” – for me it’s probably the worst sequel ever and I just really wish she hadn’t written it.

Jo & Laurie or Jo & Professor Bhaer at the end of Little Women? Why?

I always was and will be an avid shipper of Jo and Laurie. I think their deep friendship is the perfect base for a romantic relationship. They just always were obvious companions to me. On top of that I don’t like ships with older men/father figures and young women. I would have preferred Jo to stay single if not ending up with Laurie.

Many thanks again Adanwen for this excerpt from Little lords and women of the Ring – I trust others will enjoy it as much as I!

“I feel like I should write to Marmee about the strangers, but it seems too surreal, I’m afraid she wouldn’t believe me and only worry about the state of my mind.” Meg said, several days later, while poring over their mother’s last letter from Washington, which she meant to answer that morning.

“How can you still call them strangers?” Jo protested from the depths of a blanket pile, for she had caught a cold in the chill weather. “With Sam cooking for us every day and everyone else behaving like our long lost brothers.”

It was true that Sam had found a permanent spot in their kitchen, after a power struggle with Hannah, who had only allowed him shared access to her domain after he had proven his superior skills by producing a delicious dinner for the whole company and March family all on his own, and in record time as well.

“Well, they can’t stay at the Laurences forever.” Meg retorted, as if that would finish the debate.

It was true that the “merry men,” as Jo called them, were now lodged at the great house across the fence. Being quite overwhelmed by the ravenous appetite of the little boys, Jo had sought help in Laurie the day after their arrival.

Laughing outright at Jo’s story, he still consented to go and see the company, having to bear Jo’s laughter in turn at his incredulous face.

After the first shock he was eager enough to make everyone’s acquaintance and he quickly saw what Jo meant – the old house couldn’t possibly hold such a large and strange party for long, so he proposed to move everyone over at once, without waiting to put the question to his grandfather. This latter point was exactly what made Jo hesitate to accept the gracious offer, even though it was more than obvious how relieved she was at it.

“Don’t worry about grandpa, leave him to me. I’m sure he won’t object to have some more life in the silent, old house, and that fellow, Mr Gandalf, he seems honourable. I’m sure they’d get along. Only if Beth could vouchsafe for all of them, it would make things much easier, true enough.” He added the last bit as an afterthought, trying not to betray how unsure he was of his grandfather’s hospitality in this case.

“Oh, I’m sure she would if she knew them, but I couldn’t persuade her to come down and see them yet!” Jo groaned, being reminded of another problem.

Taking a look at the assembly (half of them being very loud, and the other half looking calm but very unusual), Laurie could very well understand Beth’s feelings.

“Never mind then. I’ll manage.” He consoled Jo, squaring his shoulders once and then starting to treat the whole thing as a joke from that moment onward.

There was a little row between Mr Laurence and him afterwards, but Laurie “managed” in the end, and after a long, mysterious talk with Gandalf (Laurie was sent away but ere long he could hear muffled laughter and smell pipe smoke), Mr Laurence acquiesced to let the company stay.

“I wish they could, though.” Jo sniffed at Meg’s comment, which had less to do with her attachment than her running nose. “Things have gotten much jollier and a thousand times more interesting since they arrived – they are just what we needed after that worry about father!”

“If you ask me, they are more trouble than fun, and they’ll bring us more trouble yet, no doubt.” was Meg’s withering reply, as she tried to concentrate on writing a reply to her mother, but was continually disturbed by pearls of laughter and shouting from the garden. “I wish they were more quiet in any case.”

“Calm down, I’ll tell them.” Jo appeased her sister, getting out of the blanket pile to quickly change into thick layers of cloaks and shawls.

Stepping out into the cold, she easily spotted the cause of the clamour in the snowball fight between the little boys and the taller members of the company, minus Gandalf.

“BE QUIET!” She shouted to the group, causing Meg inside to wince and leave a huge ink stain on a newly finished sentence.

Seeing her mission as accomplished, Jo went on to see what Amy, who was sitting on a bench a bit off, was doing. She was completely covered in her enormous blue winter coat and wool bonnet, contrasting strongly with her little, red hands and nose, the only parts left to the mercy of the chilling November wind.

As she approached, Jo saw why she had taken off her gloves – she was sketching. Meaning to ask her for a picture of the whole company, lest they should depart without her having anything to remember them by, Jo greeted her sister, but was surprised to find her colour up and hastily cover her sketchbook with her arms.

“What’s the matter?” She inquired, walking round her, so as to catch a glimpse of her sketch.

Managing to extricate the sketchbook from her after a long and hard fight, she laughed out loud in amazement. “Why, they’re all of Legolas! I knew you had taken a fancy to him!”

“Give it back!” Amy shouted, wrestling the sketchbook back from Jo. Settling the sheets and her dress, she continued in the most prim manner. “You needn’t laugh, he’s simply the most stratifying to draw.”

“So I should think!” Jo agreed, after having laughed at her sister’s archaeological assessment of the young man – or young-looking, at least. Sometimes there was something eerily primeval about him. “But I thought you wanted to draw all of them!”

Amy sniffed with the superior air of an artist who knew their matter. “Maybe later on. I don’t know if I want to do all of them. Some of them are positively aggratating.”

Jo knew what she meant – Gimli’s table manners had even shocked her at times, and she knew that Amy despised Aragorn for his dirty and worn clothing and ragged appearance. She had found Boromir romantic enough in the beginning, until she had realised how domestic he was. Chopping wood, setting the table, and, worst of all, offering to put on her bonnet, was not consistent with her ideal of the bearing of a true aristocrat (even though she didn’t know how to spell the word). She got along well enough with the little boys when she forgot to play the young lady, but spent more and more time trailing after Legolas wherever he went, as Jo had noticed.

“You shouldn’t aggravate him by following him around all the time, he’ll find it annoying.” Jo warned and corrected her at the same time.

“Legolas knows much better than that! He never told me to “run along” or any of the sort!” Amy defended herself and her object of admiration in a high-pitched tone.

It was true that Legolas didn’t seem to be bothered by her, but the truth was that he hardly paid her any attention at all. It was impossible to say whether ignoring her came naturally to him or whether it cost him as much as Meg trying to concentrate on her letter, since his face was a perfect blank most of the time – very fascinating to draw, but hard to read, especially for little Amy, who had no more experience with elves than from the vague remembrance of fairy stories.

Jo only shook her head at the stout remonstrance, but didn’t dwell long on her sister’s infatuation. “Let her fill her sketchbook with him, I’ll be sure to get a company sketch out of her when she’s tired of long tresses and piercing blue eyes.” She thought.

But Jo was mistaken in supposing Amy fickle in this instance. Her obsession did not subside but increase, so much so that everyone noticed it and started to wish that Legolas would put a stop to it soon. Meg talked first to Amy and then to Laurie, asking him to distract her, but even he found it difficult to make her forget about archery, which she had taken a sudden interest in, and long golden locks, in this case, not her own.

“It’s quite hopeless.” Laurie observed to Jo, after coming back from a snow ride with the afflicted lady. “You’d better have them marry and be done with it.”

Jo laughed with Laurie, but Meg, who was sewing in the corner, put on a sober face. “I’m afraid I can’t think too highly of this Legolas, if he doesn’t know when to put everyone at rest. It’s very disconcerting.”

“Come, don’t be too hard on the fellow.” Laurie replied, warming his hands by the fire. “I haven’t spent as much time with him as Amy, but as magnificent as his eye sight may be, he doesn’t seem to be too observant when it comes to much subtler things than an apple on a pole a 160 feet away.”

Meg continued to grumble, but Jo laughed it off once more. “I don’t even see why all of you have to make such a fuss about it. They’ll be off in time any way, more’s the pity. But that will definitely put a stop to this silliness for good, if nothing else does.”

For all who are keen to read the whole saga, here’s the promised link to Little lords and women of the Ring by Adanwen.

[image error]

Trix Wilkins is the author of The Courtship of Jo March: a variation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, available from Kobo, Apple, Barnes & Noble and Angus & Robertson.

The Little Women that might have been: the March sisters and the Fellowship of the Nine

By Trix Wilkins

Last year I stumbled across this brilliant story that draws upon two of my favorite books, Lord of the Rings and Little Women. It remains one of my favorite pieces of literary speculation. Little lords and women of the Ring was written by Adanwen, who unashamedly lives and breathes Tolkien’s classic. I love the way she has imagined how Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy might have befriended the beloved characters of Middle Earth.

The story takes place during the time Mrs March is away tending to her husband in Washington, and the Laurences are helping to keep guard over the March sisters left at home. Then one snowy day, who else should Jo stumble upon than the Fellowship of the Nine, worn from their attempted journey to Mordor and quite bewildered by the unfamiliar world of quiet Concord…

I had the privilege of a brief interview with the author, and she has kindly allowed for a snippet from her story to be published below (don’t worry, there is also a link to the full story so you won’t be left wondering!).

How did you begin writing this story? What inspired it? 

I had the basic idea in summer 2014, when I happened to be very much immersed in both fandoms at the same time (Little Women always was one of my favourite childhood stories/memories, and Lord of the Rings is my life, basically). I love crossovers and always am thinking about how characters from one story would act in another story, how they’d get along with other characters, etc, so it was nothing unusual.

The unusual thing was that I sat down and wrote it! I think that was because about one and a half years after having had the idea, and having made a tumblr post about it, I introduced one of my best friends to Little Women. And since she loved it (as well as Lord of the Rings), I went back and found the motivation to actually write it.

What’s your favorite scene in Little Women?

Good question! I think “Beth finds the Palace Beautiful” is my favourite chapter, so I’ll go with the ending of that, when Beth resolutely marches over to Mr Laurence to thank him for her new piano. It’s so beautiful!

Is there anything you wish Louisa May Alcott had written into Little Women? If so, what?

Since Beth is my favourite character (I identify so much with her), I wish she had written a bit more about her. Also I live in denial of the existence of such a thing as “Good Wives” – for me it’s probably the worst sequel ever and I just really wish she hadn’t written it.

Jo & Laurie or Jo & Professor Bhaer at the end of Little Women? Why?

I always was and will be an avid shipper of Jo and Laurie. I think their deep friendship is the perfect base for a romantic relationship. They just always were obvious companions to me. On top of that I don’t like ships with older men/father figures and young women. I would have preferred Jo to stay single if not ending up with Laurie.

Many thanks again Adanwen for this excerpt from Little lords and women of the Ring – I trust others will enjoy it as much as I!

“I feel like I should write to Marmee about the strangers, but it seems too surreal, I’m afraid she wouldn’t believe me and only worry about the state of my mind.” Meg said, several days later, while poring over their mother’s last letter from Washington, which she meant to answer that morning.

“How can you still call them strangers?” Jo protested from the depths of a blanket pile, for she had caught a cold in the chill weather. “With Sam cooking for us every day and everyone else behaving like our long lost brothers.”

It was true that Sam had found a permanent spot in their kitchen, after a power struggle with Hannah, who had only allowed him shared access to her domain after he had proven his superior skills by producing a delicious dinner for the whole company and March family all on his own, and in record time as well.

“Well, they can’t stay at the Laurences forever.” Meg retorted, as if that would finish the debate.

It was true that the “merry men,” as Jo called them, were now lodged at the great house across the fence. Being quite overwhelmed by the ravenous appetite of the little boys, Jo had sought help in Laurie the day after their arrival.

Laughing outright at Jo’s story, he still consented to go and see the company, having to bear Jo’s laughter in turn at his incredulous face.

After the first shock he was eager enough to make everyone’s acquaintance and he quickly saw what Jo meant – the old house couldn’t possibly hold such a large and strange party for long, so he proposed to move everyone over at once, without waiting to put the question to his grandfather. This latter point was exactly what made Jo hesitate to accept the gracious offer, even though it was more than obvious how relieved she was at it.

“Don’t worry about grandpa, leave him to me. I’m sure he won’t object to have some more life in the silent, old house, and that fellow, Mr Gandalf, he seems honourable. I’m sure they’d get along. Only if Beth could vouchsafe for all of them, it would make things much easier, true enough.” He added the last bit as an afterthought, trying not to betray how unsure he was of his grandfather’s hospitality in this case.

“Oh, I’m sure she would if she knew them, but I couldn’t persuade her to come down and see them yet!” Jo groaned, being reminded of another problem.

Taking a look at the assembly (half of them being very loud, and the other half looking calm but very unusual), Laurie could very well understand Beth’s feelings.

“Never mind then. I’ll manage.” He consoled Jo, squaring his shoulders once and then starting to treat the whole thing as a joke from that moment onward.

There was a little row between Mr Laurence and him afterwards, but Laurie “managed” in the end, and after a long, mysterious talk with Gandalf (Laurie was sent away but ere long he could hear muffled laughter and smell pipe smoke), Mr Laurence acquiesced to let the company stay.

“I wish they could, though.” Jo sniffed at Meg’s comment, which had less to do with her attachment than her running nose. “Things have gotten much jollier and a thousand times more interesting since they arrived – they are just what we needed after that worry about father!”

“If you ask me, they are more trouble than fun, and they’ll bring us more trouble yet, no doubt.” was Meg’s withering reply, as she tried to concentrate on writing a reply to her mother, but was continually disturbed by pearls of laughter and shouting from the garden. “I wish they were more quiet in any case.”

“Calm down, I’ll tell them.” Jo appeased her sister, getting out of the blanket pile to quickly change into thick layers of cloaks and shawls.

Stepping out into the cold, she easily spotted the cause of the clamour in the snowball fight between the little boys and the taller members of the company, minus Gandalf.

“BE QUIET!” She shouted to the group, causing Meg inside to wince and leave a huge ink stain on a newly finished sentence.

Seeing her mission as accomplished, Jo went on to see what Amy, who was sitting on a bench a bit off, was doing. She was completely covered in her enormous blue winter coat and wool bonnet, contrasting strongly with her little, red hands and nose, the only parts left to the mercy of the chilling November wind.

As she approached, Jo saw why she had taken off her gloves – she was sketching. Meaning to ask her for a picture of the whole company, lest they should depart without her having anything to remember them by, Jo greeted her sister, but was surprised to find her colour up and hastily cover her sketchbook with her arms.

“What’s the matter?” She inquired, walking round her, so as to catch a glimpse of her sketch.

Managing to extricate the sketchbook from her after a long and hard fight, she laughed out loud in amazement. “Why, they’re all of Legolas! I knew you had taken a fancy to him!”

“Give it back!” Amy shouted, wrestling the sketchbook back from Jo. Settling the sheets and her dress, she continued in the most prim manner. “You needn’t laugh, he’s simply the most stratifying to draw.”

“So I should think!” Jo agreed, after having laughed at her sister’s archaeological assessment of the young man – or young-looking, at least. Sometimes there was something eerily primeval about him. “But I thought you wanted to draw all of them!”

Amy sniffed with the superior air of an artist who knew their matter. “Maybe later on. I don’t know if I want to do all of them. Some of them are positively aggratating.”

Jo knew what she meant – Gimli’s table manners had even shocked her at times, and she knew that Amy despised Aragorn for his dirty and worn clothing and ragged appearance. She had found Boromir romantic enough in the beginning, until she had realised how domestic he was. Chopping wood, setting the table, and, worst of all, offering to put on her bonnet, was not consistent with her ideal of the bearing of a true aristocrat (even though she didn’t know how to spell the word). She got along well enough with the little boys when she forgot to play the young lady, but spent more and more time trailing after Legolas wherever he went, as Jo had noticed.

“You shouldn’t aggravate him by following him around all the time, he’ll find it annoying.” Jo warned and corrected her at the same time.

“Legolas knows much better than that! He never told me to “run along” or any of the sort!” Amy defended herself and her object of admiration in a high-pitched tone.

It was true that Legolas didn’t seem to be bothered by her, but the truth was that he hardly paid her any attention at all. It was impossible to say whether ignoring her came naturally to him or whether it cost him as much as Meg trying to concentrate on her letter, since his face was a perfect blank most of the time – very fascinating to draw, but hard to read, especially for little Amy, who had no more experience with elves than from the vague remembrance of fairy stories.

Jo only shook her head at the stout remonstrance, but didn’t dwell long on her sister’s infatuation. “Let her fill her sketchbook with him, I’ll be sure to get a company sketch out of her when she’s tired of long tresses and piercing blue eyes.” She thought.

But Jo was mistaken in supposing Amy fickle in this instance. Her obsession did not subside but increase, so much so that everyone noticed it and started to wish that Legolas would put a stop to it soon. Meg talked first to Amy and then to Laurie, asking him to distract her, but even he found it difficult to make her forget about archery, which she had taken a sudden interest in, and long golden locks, in this case, not her own.

“It’s quite hopeless.” Laurie observed to Jo, after coming back from a snow ride with the afflicted lady. “You’d better have them marry and be done with it.”

Jo laughed with Laurie, but Meg, who was sewing in the corner, put on a sober face. “I’m afraid I can’t think too highly of this Legolas, if he doesn’t know when to put everyone at rest. It’s very disconcerting.”

“Come, don’t be too hard on the fellow.” Laurie replied, warming his hands by the fire. “I haven’t spent as much time with him as Amy, but as magnificent as his eye sight may be, he doesn’t seem to be too observant when it comes to much subtler things than an apple on a pole a 160 feet away.”

Meg continued to grumble, but Jo laughed it off once more. “I don’t even see why all of you have to make such a fuss about it. They’ll be off in time any way, more’s the pity. But that will definitely put a stop to this silliness for good, if nothing else does.”

For all who are keen to read the whole saga, here’s the promised link to Little lords and women of the Ring by Adanwen.

[image error]

Trix Wilkins is the author of The Courtship of Jo March: a variation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, available from Kobo, Apple, Barnes & Noble and Angus & Robertson.

16 books the March sisters read: the Little Women library

By Trix Wilkins

A hint of mystery surrounds references to books within books. They are like a code, a shorthand, a glimpse into separate yet connected worlds within the world of the novel – full of their own histories and personalities, brimming with obstacles to be surmounted and triumphs to be relished.

From the centuries-old Christian classic Pilgrim’s Progress, the romantic nineteenth century novels of Maria Edgeworth, Sir Walter Scott & Elizabeth Wetherell, to the calls of conscience in Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the winsome humor of The Pickwick Papers… Little Women is replete with passing mentions of the books that came before, those that lent ballast to its pages. These are the books the March sisters read.

Note: Titles are listed in order of their appearance in Little Women.

The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan (1678)

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“Go then, my little Book…

Tell them of Mercy; she is one

Who early hath her pilgrimage begun.

Yea, let young damsels learn of her to prize

The word which is to come, and so be wise;

For little tripping maids may follow God

Along the ways which saintly feet have trod.”

Preface

Sometimes books demand the reading of another book first, and the Pilgrim’s Progress is one of these. One can easily read Little Women without reading Pilgrim’s Progress, but one can’t make sense of Pilgrim’s Progress without reading the Bible – or at least, not the ‘adult version.’

I first read Pilgrim’s Progress about twenty years ago and don’t remember it being so long and in parts quite violent. Now having read the unabridged text, I see this is not a moralistic children’s fairy tale. It’s an incredibly confronting allegory of what is seen and unseen of life – enjoyable in parts, distressing in others, but always intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually challenging. And little wonder. It was written by Bunyan while he was in prison for preaching and leading a church separate to that of the Church of England. It wasn’t meant for children, but for an adult audience familiar with the Bible and thus the context of the references throughout.

(I would thus recommend reading at least the Gospels – the first four books of the New Testament of the Bible – before attempting the unabridged version, as Pilgrim’s Progress would be rather baffling otherwise. Even perusing a brief overview of the Bible would help to make sense of seemingly cryptic passages such as, “God be merciful to me a sinner, and make me to know and believe in Jesus Christ, for I see that if His righteousness had not been, or if I have not faith in that righteousness, I am utterly cast away…Show Thy grace in the salvation of my soul, through Thy Son Jesus Christ.”)

There are two parts to the Pilgrim’s Progress. In the first, a man called Christian goes alone on pilgrimage; in the second, his wife and children, after his passing, attempt to undertake the same journey. Mercy, as referred to in the preface to Little Women, appears in the second part as a companion to Christian’s family. They have a great many adventures that do not neatly correspond to the Little Women narrative, but certainly help illuminate the worldview of the March family.

“Better, though difficult, the right way to go; than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe.” This is in essence what Mrs March consistently teaches her girls – that there is sweetness in doing right, though it might seem unnoticed and unrewarded.

“You must own Religion in his rags, as well as when in his silver slippers; and stand by him too, when bound in irons, as well as when he walketh the streets with applause.” I am reminded of Mr March upon reading this – we’re told that at some point in the past, the Marches had been wealthy. Mr March seems to have kept his faith throughout plenty and want.

“I do these things that I may be rich in good works, laying up in store for myself a good foundation, against the time to come, that I may lay hold of eternal life.” Oh, who else would come to mind here but Beth! She who tirelessly gave herself to the service of others, who had in mind another home “that could neither by length of days nor decays of nature be destroyed.”

“Unless I could obtain the righteousness of a Man that never had sinned, neither mine own nor all the righteousness of the world could save me.” I cannot help but think of Jo when I read this, her struggles with her tempestuous temper and quick tongue (I can relate…), feelings of doubt and inadequacy, and yet her resolve to have the virtue for which she longs.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare (first performed in 1606)

“I don’t see how you can write and act such splendid things, Jo. You’re a regular Shakespeare!” exclaimed Beth, who firmly believed that her sisters were gifted with wonderful genius in all things.

“Not quite,” replied Jo modestly. “I do think The Witches Curse, an Operatic Tragedy is rather a nice thing, but I’d like to try Macbeth, if we only had a trapdoor for Banquo. I always wanted to do the killing part. ‘Is that a dagger that I see before me?”  The girls practice their Christmas play, Playing Pilgrims

It would have been quite a sight to see Jo act out a scene involving a blade of some sort and waxing dramatic the life-or-death soliloquys! (I wonder whether there’s such a scene in one of the dramatizations of the novel…) Other than that I much prefer Shakespeare’s comedies, and will leave analysis of this classic play to others more passionate about the subject.

The Bible

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Book of Kells (illuminated Gospels in Latin), Canon Table, circa 800

“Jo was the first to wake in the gray dawn of Christmas morning…she remembered her mother’s promise and, slipping her hand under her pillow, drew out a little crimson-covered book. She knew it very well, for it was that beautiful old story of the best life ever lived, and Jo felt that it was a true guidebook for any pilgrim going on a long journey.” A Merry Christmas

There remains debate as to whether this reference alludes to Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, the New Testament of the Bible or the entire Bible. I’m inclined to think it refers to the Bible as a whole. Samuel Joseph May, Louisa’s beloved uncle who had a profound influence on her life, was known to refer to Jesus using similar language to her eloquently yet simply expressed, “the best life ever lived.” Both the Old and New Testaments are full of references if not direct narrative or poetry relating to the life of Jesus, particularly in the books of Isaiah, Matthew, Luke, Mark and John – hence my thinking the “little crimson-covered book” given by Marmee to each of her girls contained the whole text.

Essays, Philosophical, Historical, and Literary by William Belsham (1789-91)

The dim, dusty room, with the busts staring down from the tall book cases, the cosy chairs, the globes, and best of all, the wilderness of books, in which she could wander where she liked, made the library a region of bliss to [Jo]…As sure as she had reached the heart of the story, the sweetest verse of the song, or the most perilous adventure of her traveller, a shrill voice called, ‘Josy-phine! Josy-phine!’ and she had to leave her paradise to wind yarn, wash the poodle, or read Belsham’s essays, by the hour together. Of Jo’s work with Aunt March, Burdens

Written by an English political writer and historian who was opposed to war, this collection was Aunt March’s avowed favorite reading material – or at least, what she would instruct Jo to read aloud to her as part of her work as her companion.

An excerpt from one of Belsham’s essays On liberty and necessity, articulates ideas that appear throughout Little Women, particularly in relation to the sisters’ work and ‘burdens.’

“In the multifarious and eventual business of life it perpetually happens, that the mind is agitated and perplexed by a conflict of opposite and contending motives; and we too frequently find virtue and reason ranged on one side, passion and inclination on the other.

In this unhappy situation what is to be done? Are men quietly and passively to submit to the strong and violent impulse of passion, and refuse to listen to the still and feeble call of reason? No; they must exert their own inherent power of self-determination, and form their resolutions in spite of the superior force of those inclinations which they know to be highly culpable and unworthy.”

The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith (1766)

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“The minute her (Aunt March) cap began to bob, like a top-heavy dahlia, I whipped the Vicar of Wakefield out of my pocket, and read away, with one eye on him, and one on aunt. I’d just got to where they all tumbled into the water, when I forgot, and laughed out loud.” Jo, recounting the day’s work with Aunt March to her sisters, Burdens.

A compelling story, at turns hilarious, scandalous and moralistic. There are nobles disguised as commoners, commoners disguised as nobles, mistaken identities, pride and prejudice, faithfulness and perseverance, betrayal and reconciliation. Shakespearean in its dialogue and dramatic irony – even the retorts and barbs are poetic. “Would you have me applaud to the world what my heart must internally condemn?”

And finally, Austenesque in its happy ending – those who mean well end well, those who are content to look to their heavenly prize nevertheless find the rewards of a just and generous God even in this world. No wonder Jo eagerly reads this book in her spare moments, even though it’s a hundred years old by the time she gets to it!

(If Laurie had ever gotten hold of a copy of the Vicar, I can imagine his quoting this to Jo during a bout of sentimentality, “What is genius or courage without a heart?” whilst professing he would not quail in his devotion “whether vanquished or victorious.”)

Quotes from the novel that really remind me of the Marches…

Jo: “This is not neatness, but frippery.” “I armed her against the censures of the world, showed her that books were sweet, irreproachable companions to the miserable, and that if they could not bring us to enjoy life, they would at least teach us to endure it.”

Beth: “The separation of friends and families is, perhaps, one of the most distressful circumstances attendant on penury.”

Meg: “Surely that must be an excellent market, where we are told what we want, and supplied with it when wanting.”

Amy: “Adulation ever follows the ambitious.”

Laurie: “Although we seldom followed advice, we were all ready to ask it.”

Meg & John Brooke: “He praised her taste, and she commended his understanding; an age could not have made them better acquainted.”

Jo & Laurie: “…by amusing the imagination, contributed to ease the heart.”

Mrs March: “That virtue which requires to be ever guarded is scarcely worth the sentinel.”

Mr March: “The heart that is buried in a dungeon is as precious as that seated upon a throne.”

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1852)

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“We needed that lesson, and we won’t forget it. If we do, you just say to us as Old Chloe did in Uncle Tom, ‘Tink ob yar marcies, chillen, tink o byer marcies,’” added Jo, who could not for the life of her help getting a morsel of fun out of the little sermon, though she took it to heart as much as any of them. Of Mrs March’s advising her daughters to enjoy their blessings, Burdens.

Although Little Women is set in the midst of the civil war – during which the issue of abolition was no small matter – there is little said about the actual subject. This is perhaps the one place where slavery is alluded to; it is not surprising that it is Jo who does so.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin traces the journey of a Christian slave, Tom, who becomes separated from his family upon being sold to another to pay his master’s debts. Despite this, Tom continues to live by his faith at great personal cost. The novel presents a sobering picture of the lives of “the lowly,” the difficulty of being a slave while attempting to live by one’s conscience and not simply another’s will.

Previously published in short instalments in an abolitionist periodical, Uncle Tom’s Cabin went on to become the best-selling book in the United States in the nineteenth century next to the Bible.

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott (1820)

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“What in the world are you going to do now, Jo?” asked Meg, one snowy afternoon…

“Going out for exercise,” answered Jo, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes…

Meg went back to toast her feet and read Ivanhoe, and Jo began to dig paths with great energy. The day Jo went to visit Laurie, Being Neighborly

I fell in love with the language of this novel. The prose is simply exquisite – the epic battle scene of Torquilstone, the anguish of Rebecca before the Templars, the inner struggles of Brian Bois-Guilbert, the appearances of Richard the Lionheart…

Love is written of passionately, “But I will tear this folly from my heart, though every fibre bleed as I rend it away!” Reproofs are given elegantly, “If thou readest the Scripture and the lives of the saints, only to justify thine own licence and profligacy, thy crime is like that of him who extracts poison from the most healthful and necessary herbs.” Even injustice is described poetically, “The finest and fattest is for their board, the loveliest is for their couch, the best and bravest supply their foreign masters with soldiers, and whiten distant lands with their bones.”

Ivanhoe is actually less about Ivanhoe and more about the travails of Rebecca. I felt it was she who actually shone as the hero of the piece, the character with whom one could connect and sympathize with (maybe a male reader would judge differently!).

One of my favorite parts of the novel is when Brian approaches Rebecca and tells her that he will save her from certain death if she would give herself to him. He would give up the Order of the Templars, the certainty of holding the office of Grand Master, if she would run away with him, “This greatness I will sacrifice, this fame will I renounce, this power I will forego, even now when it is half within my grasp, if thou wilt say, ‘Bois-Guilbert, I receive thee for my lover.’”

How I admire her eventual reply! “Be a man, be a Christian! If indeed thy faith recommends that mercy which rather your tongue than your actions pretend, save me from this dreadful death, without seeking a requital which would change thy magnanimity into base barter…Put not a price on my deliverance, Sir Knight – sell not a deed of generosity – protect the oppressed for the sake of charity, and not for a selfish advantage.”

What challenging words, yet how humbly, gently, and respectfully spoken! I thought, if he does not yield to such an appeal, he will yield to none. There is a palpable tension and struggle throughout the novel between good and evil, courage and cowardice, wisdom and foolishness, generosity and selfishness – only one can be chosen and once it is, the other must give way.

The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens (1837)*

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As secret societies were the fashion, it was thought proper to have one; and, as all of the girls admired Dickens, they called themselves the Pickwick Club…And the weekly newspaper, called The Pickwick Portfolio, to which all contributed something while Jo, who revelled in pens and ink, was the editor…Meg, as the eldest, was Samuel Pickwick; Jo, being of a literary turn, Augustus Snodgrass; Beth, because she was round and rosy, Tracy Tupman; and Amy, who was always trying to do what she couldn’t, was Nathaniel Winkle…No one ever regretted the admittance of Sam Weller, for a more devoted, well-behaved and jovial member no club could have. The PC and PO

I used to wonder why this chapter appears at all in Little Women and who on earth Pickwick and his crew were. Years after that first reading I realized that the entire chapter is a tribute to Charles Dickens’ first novel, the Pickwick Papers – and that this seminal work of the young Dickens is the source of familiar phrases still in use today such as, “Capital, capital!”

The Pickwickians aren’t much like the Marches in terms of character – but that is exactly the appeal of adopting such alter-egos! It is simply hilarious to read of these four middle-aged gentlemen having ridiculous ‘adventures,’ and imagining the sensible March sisters acting out such roles during the lifetime of their secret society. (I suspect Louisa May Alcott had great satisfaction writing this section in what was meant to be ‘a novel for girls’!)

The Wide Wide World by Susan Bogert Warner, aka Elizabeth Wetherell (1852)

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Jo spent the morning on the river, with Laurie, and the afternoon reading and crying over The Wide Wide World up in the apple-tree. The first day of ‘all play,’ Experiments

What sort of book could possibly make Jo March cry, she who said so defiantly that she never cried unless for some great affliction? The Wide Wide World is credited with being the United States’ first bestseller, and for that reason alone it is no surprise that someone of Jo’s literary turn would have picked it up sometime, if only to see what everybody else seemed to be reading. Her response to it is telling. This is the only book we see Jo having such an emotional reaction to (and by extension I wonder if it had affected Louisa May Alcott in a similar way).

I like my novels with just endings, my favorite characters travelling with admirable friends, and a book diverging too far from this pattern would probably not find favor. This novel certainly promises both – men and women of integrity living faithful lives, tending to the needs of the forgotten, befriending the lonely. But the story also features those who are the opposite – once beloved family, trusted, privileged, who ought to have been the most loving and generous, yet are the most neglectful and abusive. I haven’t yet turned a page, and already I could cry.

The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (first performed 1775)

“If one could have a fine house, full of nice girls, or go travelling, the summer would be delightful; but to stay at home with three selfish sisters, and a grown up boy, was enough to try the patience of a Boaz,” complained Miss Malaprop, after several days devoted to pleasure fretting, and ennui. Of Amy’s experiences during the ‘all play and no work,’ Experiments

This reference to Mrs Malaprop in relation to Amy… I now cannot read this section in Little Women without smirking at this sisterly jest. In this eighteenth century play, Mrs Malaprop is aunt to the wealthy Lydia Languish. She keeps her niece under house arrest after discovering Lydia consented to elope with the penniless Ensign Beverley (or so they all think).

Like Amy’s misadventures with spelling and grammar, Mrs Malaprop “has an amazing propensity for garbling the English language.” She instructs her love-struck niece to “illiterate” Beverley from her thoughts (who called Mrs Malaprop “a weather-beaten she-dragon” in what was meant to be a secret letter to Lydia, which did not exactly raise him in her graces), not knowing he is actually a captain, son to the titled Sir Anthony, and the very same young man Mrs Malaprop had described as “the very pineapple of politeness.”

In a second reference to Mrs Malaprop, Jo attends a masquerade on New Year’s Eve dressed as this intelligent amiable lady and proceeds to stun everyone with her acting behind a mask (did Louisa May Alcott ever do the same? That would have been quite a party…).

The Sea Lions by James Fenimore Cooper (1849)

“Let’s give it to him,” whispered Laurie to Jo, who nodded, and asked at once, “Didn’t you cheat at croquet?”

“Well, yes, a little bit.”

“Good! Didn’t you take your story out of The Sea Lion?” said Laurie.

“Rather.” Jo and Laurie grill Fred Vaughn during the game of Truth, Camp Laurence

I couldn’t find another novel exactly titled The Sea Lion and have assumed Laurie was referring to this nineteenth century novel. It is essentially about two sealers who are stranded in the Antarctic, and may have been inspired by Charles Wilkes’s Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition of the Years 1838-1842. I wasn’t particularly scintillated by Fred’s apparent excerpt of the story and so haven’t read this, but it may appeal to those who enjoy turbulent nautical adventures.

Evelina by Frances Burney (1778)

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“Tell us about it.” “When did it come?” “How much did you get for it?” What will father say?” “Won’t Laurie laugh?” cried the family, all in one breath, as they clustered about Jo; for these foolish, affectionate people made a jubilee of every little household joy.

“Stop jabbering, girls, and I’ll tell you everything,” said Jo, wondering if Miss Burney felt any grander over her Evelina than she did over her Rival Painters. Upon the successful publication of Jo’s first story in a newspaper, Secrets.

This is a love story in the line of Jane Austen. Evelina is raised in “the country” until she is seventeen – the daughter of an English aristocrat, but as this fact is unacknowledged her prospects for marriage are not high. As she is also quite ignorant of city social etiquette, her visit to London inevitably results in a series of comical faux pax. Nevertheless, she manages to attract a couple of titled men – the handsome Lord Orville, a “pattern-card of modest, becoming behaviour,” and Sir Clement Willoughby, “a baronet with duplicitous intentions.”

Evelina prefers Lord Orville, but feels their difference in status is too great to hope for him (especially when her embarrassing relatives arrive); Lord Orville doesn’t think this an issue, but does think that Evelina’s apparent affection for the poet Mr Macartney is; and Sir Willoughby (is it coincidence that Jane Austen names her knave from Sense in Sensibility Willoughby…?) attempts to disengage Evelina’s affections for Sir Orville with an untruthful letter disparaging his rival. All’s well that ends well in a series of weddings – but not without a whole lot of misunderstanding, mistaken identities, and romantic angst.

by Maria Edgeworth (1814)

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Portrait of Maria Edgeworth by Adam Buck (1790)

“I only said I was too young to do anything about it yet; that I didn’t wish to have secrets from you, and he must speak to father. I was very grateful for his kindness, and would be his friend, but nothing more, for a long while.”

Mrs March smiled, as if well pleased, and Jo clapped her hands, exclaiming, with a laugh, “You are almost equal to Caroline Percy, who was a pattern of prudence!” Meg tells her mother and Jo about the exchange of letters, Laurie Makes Mischief

Published a year after Pride and Prejudice, Patronage’s “sprawling narrative offers plenty of scope for Colin Firth to turn up in a wet shirt and beget an Edgeworth revival.” (I love this description by Helen Zaltzman of The Guardian. Is there a phrase better calculated to prompt female readers to look more closely into a four volume two hundred year old novel?)

This is a novel similar in theme and morality to the Vicar of Wakefield in many respects, with the Percy family being afflicted by a series of unfortunate events in rapid succession – shipwreck, fire, and eviction from their home (the sort of suffering that can only be inflicted by an exploitative and unscrupulous relation). Their cousins the Falconers are shown to be rather devious and scheming, a contrast to the Percys’ stalwart moral fiber.

Everyone is attempting to secure suitable partners (who of course must possess that desirable combination of character, beauty and wealth), and through these pursuits, Edgeworth explores the various aspects of patronage. Despite all the complications, exploitations and injustice, like in the Vicar, “there’s that satisfying feeling that by the end, no ends will be left untied, and right will reign.” 

This reference is one of my favorites because I suspect Louisa May Alcott had a bit of a kindred spirit in Maria Edgeworth. Both seem to have had romances with men to whom they had an astounding intellectual and emotional connection which ended for reasons lost to history; both went on to successful writing careers.

Edgeworth wrote of the proposal of poet and inventor Abraham Niclas Edelcrantz (who developed a telegraph system twice as fast as the French), “a Swedish gentleman…of superior understanding and mild manners: he came to offer me his hand and heart!” She refused, ostensibly because “nothing could tempt me to leave my own dear friends and my own country to live in Sweden.”

It has been speculated that Caroline Percy’s attempts to control her love for Count Altenberg in Patronage corresponds to Edgeworth’s personal resolve to conquer her enduring affection for Edelcrantz. (Caroline does reject quite a number of proposals in the novel, and even refuses a lord out of love for Altenberg.) In contrast to Caroline and Altenberg’s eventual marriage, Maria remained single – though she did form a lasting friendship with fellow writer Sir Walter Scott.

The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell (1791)

“It’s only me, sir, come to return a book,” [Jo] said blandly, as she entered.

“Want any more?” asked the old gentleman, looking grim and vexed, but trying not to show it.

“Yes, please, I like old Sam so well, I think I’ll try the second volume,” returned Jo, hoping to propitiate him by accepting a second dose of Boswell’s Johnson, as he had recommended that lively work. Jo restores the peace, Laurie Makes Mischief.

I confess I had assumed from this excerpt that this book would be composed of dry essays by a cleric or military official James Laurence might have admired as a youth. But ‘Boswell’s Johnson’ is actually about the life of writer, editor, lexicographer and moralist Samuel Johnson, who published A Dictionary of the English Language in 1755 after dedicating nine years to the work.

A precursor to modern biography and one of the first works of its kind, The Life of Samuel Johnson has become “perhaps the most famous biography in English literature.” Johnson met the 22-year-old Boswell for the first time in a friend’s bookshop, and thus began a long friendship. The latter kept detailed journals and wrote such copious notes that Johnson once joked, “One would think the man had been hired to spy upon me.” 

Nevertheless, despite the literary value of this book, it is not Jo’s usual fare; when Aunt March falls asleep and Jo curls up to read, it is “poetry, romance, history, travels, and pictures” that she devours. She seems to have started reading the book at least partially out of her esteem for James Laurence – and then to finish it partially to help restore his relationship with his grandson.

The Complete Poems by John Keats (1817)

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Keats-Shelley house from the Spanish steps, Rome

“Not being a genius, like Keats, it won’t kill me,” [Jo] said stoutly, “and I’ve got the joke on my side, after all, for the parts that were taken straight out of real life are denounced as impossible and absurd, and the scenes that I made up out of my own silly head are pronounced ‘charmingly natural, tender, and true’. So I’ll comfort myself with that, and when I’m ready, I’ll up again and take another.” On the mixed reception of Jo’s first published novel, Literary Lessons.

Part of the genius of Keats was that he was not only a writer, but a doctor – he enrolled as a medical student, got promoted, undertook expensive medical training to become a surgeon… Then, to the disappointment of his family, abandoned this lucrative profession to dedicate himself wholeheartedly to poetry.

The other part of his genius was his sheer perseverance at his craft, which I suspect is at the heart of what Jo is referring to here – and which Louisa May Alcott rewards in the course of the narrative, as Jo goes on to continue writing and win eventual fame like her hero. After much trial and rejection, including his collection of poems containing the famous Eve of St Agnes, Keats lived to see their publication in 1820 – and their recognition as one of the most important poetic works ever published.

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare (play first performed 1605)

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“Yes, you did, it was a bargain between us. I was to finish the crayon of Beth for you, and you were to go properly with me, and return our neighbors’ visits.”

“If it was fair, that was in the bond, and I stand to the letter of my bond, Shylock. There is a pile of clouds in the east, it’s not fair, and I don’t go.”

Amy attempts to persuade Jo to visit their family and friends, Calls.

Shylock being one of the most notorious characters in the world of Shakespeare, this is quite a sharp indictment on Jo’s part to call Amy such a name. For tied up in the name of Shylock are connotations of at best jealousy and competition, at worst revenge and exploitation.

At first this reference seems rather out of place. Perhaps it is foreshadowing what’s to come later in the chapter – Jo finds many of the words that fall from her lips are either somewhat untimely or ungracious, and she rues the unruliness of her tongue for the loss of the trip to Europe. What might have been, had it been otherwise!

If you happen to find references to other books/novels within Little Women, please mention them in the comments, I’d love to hear about them!

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Trix Wilkins is the author of The Courtship of Jo March: a variation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, available from Kobo, Apple, Barnes & Noble and Angus & Robertson.

While you were sleeping in Washington: The Little Women trail #7

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By Trix Wilkins, author of The Courtship of Jo March

In the opening chapter of Little Women, we discover that Mr March is away from his family whilst serving as an army chaplain. During the civil war, Washington became a repository for the wounded – a fact that is driven close to home for the March family when Mrs March receives a telegram urging, “Come at once.” For their daughters it seemed “the day darkened outside and how suddenly the whole world seemed to change.”

John Brooke is sent to Washington to escort Mrs March under the pretext of tending to James Laurence’s business affairs – and when Laurie is reprimanded by his grandfather for his prank on Meg, he impetuously suggests to Jo that they run off to visit her father. His conversation with Jo reflects how little either knew of the reality of life in the nation’s capital at the time.

“I’ll go to Washington and see Brooke; it’s gay there, and I’ll enjoy myself after the troubles.”

“What fun you’d have! I wish I could run off too!” said Jo, forgetting her part of Mentor in lively visions of martial life at the capital.

“Come on, then! Why not? You go and surprise your father, and I’ll stir up old Brooke. It would be a glorious joke; let’s do it, Jo! We’ll leave a letter saying we are all right, and trot off at once. I’ve got money enough; it will do you good, and be no harm, as you go to your father.”

For a moment Jo looked as if she would agree; for, wild as the plan was, it just suited her. She was tired of care and confinement, longed for change, and thoughts of her father blended temptingly with the novel charms of camps and hospitals, liberty and fun.

While Louisa May Alcott did go to Washington and write dispatches of her experiences in Hospital Sketches as a nurse named Tribulation Periwinkle, Jo does not in any shape or form run off with or without Laurie. On one hand this is a relief, for Jo shows a steadiness of character by refusing to act against her conscience, even when – especially when – the request comes from such a dear friend and so pointedly suited to her own desires for travel and adventure.

On the other hand this is disappointing – I suspect had Louisa written such an adjunct into Little Women, Jo would have taken on the brilliant name of Tribulation Periwinkle. She would not have been content merely to see the sights in the midst of war, rather partaking in the making of history and the care of souls.

Louisa’s description of Washington in Hospital Sketches might have fit seamlessly into the narrative of Little Women had Jo ventured to the bustling capital. “The Capitol was so like the pictures…that it did not impress me, except to recall the time when I was sure that Cinderella went housekeeping in just such a place, after she had married the inflammable Prince, though, even at that early period, I had my doubts as to the wisdom of a match whose foundation was of glass.”

Had Jo and Laurie run off to Washington in the midst of war, what might have been their trail?

The Armory Square Hospital

“Earnest, brave and faithful; fighting for liberty and justice with both heart and hand, true soldiers of the Lord.” LMA, Hospital Sketches.

This was the hospital Louisa May Alcott had in mind when she sought to serve as a nurse during the war. One of the largest civil war hospitals, the 1,000-bed hospital complex was frequently visited by President Abraham Lincoln, who took care to shake hands with soldiers and offer a warm “God bless you,” and made the practical suggestion that flower beds be placed between the wards using plants from the government gardens.

Poet Walt Whitman also frequented the wards where the most severely wounded received treatment – Armory Square received some of the worst soldier casualties and recorded an unprecedented number of soldier deaths, “it contains by far the worst cases, most repulsive wounds…and most need of consolation.” While working as an unpaid delegate of the Christian Commission in early 1863 Whitman raised money to buy extra food and supplies.

I can imagine Jo and Laurie being incredibly moved by a visit to this hospital – and inevitably, repeated returns, driven by compassion to direct their combined energy and means to assist in the convalescence of the suffering.

The Union Hotel General Hospital, Georgetown

Louisa had not been placed at the Armory Square Hospital as she had hoped, but at the Union Hotel Hospital in Georgetown – which at one point had been in such poor condition that it was abandoned in 1861 and only reopened a year later due to high union casualties. Tiny windows bolted shut for fear of possible attack, narrow hallways, broken toilets and sinks, a lack of ventilation, decaying woodwork, shabby carpets and wallpaper were conditions through which Louisa pressed on to do the work she considered her privilege and duty.

It was at this hospital while she served as a nurse that she met a young soldier named John, who she described in Hospital Sketches as “bashful and brave, yet full of excellencies and fine aspirations, which, having no power to express themselves in words, seemed to have bloomed into his character and made him what he was.” Might he have partially served as an inspiration for Laurie – like Laurie, though John was unmarried, he wore a plain ring. Another soldier Louisa writes of, Sergeant B, also sounds suspiciously similar to the way Jo describes Laurie, “anything more irresistibly wheedlesome I never saw.”

I do wonder about the conversations that might have been, had Louisa chosen to have Jo and Laurie meet these men in Little Women!

The Freedmen’s Hospital (now known as Howard University Hospital)
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Jo and Laurie might have had their pick of hospitals to volunteer in and visit in Washington – another being the Freedmen’s Hospital, established in 1862 for the thousands of African Americans who came to Washington during the civil war. It was the first hospital of its kind to provide medical treatment for former slaves. Had Louisa chosen to cross Laurie’s path with such a place, would he have thrown his hand to the work or merely his money? With Jo alongside him, I daresay he would have been compelled to do both!

Ford’s Theater

After all the grueling work of the day, I’m just about certain Jo and Laurie would have sought some sort of respite in the theater. Ford’s was the theater in which President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865 – but at the time of Laurie’s proposed jaunt to Washington, this had not yet occurred. They might have attended a comedy here as Lincoln had on that fateful Good Friday.

Botanic Garden Conservatory, Capitol Hill

Conservatories were the preserve of Meg, but I doubt Jo and Laurie would have been dulled to the charms of a national garden. During the late 18th century George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison shared the dream of a national botanic garden – a garden was eventually established in 1820, and significantly expanded in the 1840s, when the Wilkes Expedition brought a collection of living plants from around the world to Washington. By the time of their potential visit in the 1860s, the garden had been moved into a new structure for viewing.

The “Palatial residence of Mrs Columbia” – The Capitol Dome and Rotunda
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“I struggled through the State House, getting into all of the wrong rooms and none of the right.” LMA, Hospital Sketches.

The rotunda had been used as a military hospital for Union soldiers – but to its northeast, the Old Senate Chamber had been used by the Supreme Court. It was in this room that in 1856, Representative Preston Brooks beat Senator Charles Sumner (a strident abolitionist) with a cane – three days after the latter attacked pro-slavery politicians in a speech. The beating was so terrible that Sumner was absent from the Senate for nearly three years as he recovered. It would have been the sort of place to have fired Jo’s literary imagination with scenes of passionate politics and courageous morality.

What might have been

I cannot imagine Jo and Laurie returning from a Washington “adventure” unchanged, unmoved by all that they would have seen. Had Jo simply visited her own father in hospital, she would have been exposed to such wounds, suffering and death – I doubt that she could have left Washington without seeking to lend a hand for as long as her strength would hold, as long as she could see the need. The course of the entire novel would have followed an incredibly different trajectory – and would their health have survived such a journey, or been devastated as Louisa’s had?

As I’ve read more of what had actually occurred in history throughout the time they might have travelled, I look back at this episode in Little Women with mixed feelings – relief that Jo and Laurie were kept safe, and regret that both missed the opportunity to serve.

“Sometimes I stopped to watch the passers in the street, the moonlight shining on the spire opposite, or the gleam of some vessel floating, like a white-winged seagull, down the broad Potomac, whose fullest flow can never wash away the red stain of the land.” LMA, Hospital Sketches.

The worth of a prize: accepting the Liebster Award

Woke up to a surprise from writer and book coach Andrea Lundgren, who nominated Much Ado about Little Women to receive the Liebster Award. Much appreciated Andrea, what a great way to end the week!

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For those who aren’t familiar with the Liebster, it is an award given by bloggers to fellow bloggers and from what I can work out, ultimately designed to help us encourage each other in our writing endeavors – a thing well worth the effort. The rules for the Liebster Award are as follows:

Thank the person who has nominated you for the award
Answer the 11 questions the person has asked you
Nominate 11 people for the award (comment on their blog to let them know)
Ask the people you have nominated 11 questions

So without further ado…

The 11 questions

What is your favorite book, or if you prefer, your favorite author?

Persuasion by Jane Austen and Little Women (Part 1) by Louisa May Alcott.

Is there a country you have always wanted to visit, and if so, where?

Scotland, especially the Shetland Islands to see the northern lights.

What do you enjoy about blogging, and how has your blog changed in unexpected ways since you started it?

Being obliged to learn about new things! Practicing writing and having an excuse to do so, and hopefully sharing ideas that are helpful for others. The Little Women Trail series for the blog was unexpected, and was only conceived because I had an itch over the summer to travel to Europe.

What is your favorite time period to read or write in, and why?

The nineteenth century – I love the language, the poetic and exploratory dialogue, the lengthy descriptions of places, thoughts, ideas, people.

What is your favorite time period to watch on film or television, and why?

Futuristic/alternative universe/past with an epic back story (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, the Marvel universe etc). There’s so much imagination involved in dreaming up what could be, a whole world that needs to be invented – a lot of work translating that into something visually spectacular and yet believable and relatable.

How do you find inspiration?

Real life, talking to people and asking them about their own personal histories, reading books.

What started you down the road of writing and blogging?

Being on holidays – I got started doodling an alternate proposal scene in Little Women between Jo and Laurie, and then I just couldn’t stop writing…

How do you keep yourself motivated?

Remembering that my children will copy me, and so I can’t just quit! Talking through ideas with my husband. Going ice skating if I’m all wound up with ideas and going for a walk to muse over ideas.

What is your favorite kind of weather?

Cold but sunny. Perfect for walking and running about with the kids.

If you could have any pet, real or fictional, what would it be?

I’m not into pets, but I love the idea of having a pet dragon who would look after themselves, be really independent, and yet was a friend. It would be awesome to have some telepathic connection so we could converse too (like out of Anne MacCaffrey’s Dragonquest series, without the confinements of that social structure).

What four people would you invite to a dinner party (contemporary, historical, or fictional)?

Louisa May Alcott and Ladislas Wisniewski, Jane Austen and Tom LeFroy. I’d love to observe the dynamics and pick their brains as to what actually happened with those apparent romances!

 

The 11 blog nominees

I’ve included snippets to give you a hint as to what they – and their writers! – are about.

Forgotten Finds by Andrew Shaw – “…Created with one simple purpose in mind – to reach into the depths of the past, snatch up the most interesting, lesser-known bits and heave them into the 21st century.”

Literary Flits by Stephanie Jane – “I plan to suggest a book a day for your consideration and look forward to promoting a wide variety of literature from all corners of the world in the ongoing project that is Literary Flits.”

Not Quite Home by Steve John – “It’s easy to desire to be a vivid and vibrant flower that people admire, but how can we make a lasting impact on people’s lives?…How do we stop focusing on the flower, rather than the seed?”

The Traveller’s Path by L.A. Smith – “I love speculative fiction, because I think that stories about other worlds and impossible things give us new perspectives on our own lives.”

Storyteller Christine by Christine Dillon – “What was the ‘myth’ I believed about being an author? That it was a solitary task. In one sense it is – for large stretches of time BUT it is also a huge TEAM effort. Really that shouldn’t have been a surprise for isn’t that how God works?”

The History & Art Girl by Lizzie – “I’m hoping to share some of the interesting stories from my research here alongside other history, art, literature, travel and film that fills my head.”

Echoes of the past by Lynne –  “Where we live we have the most wonderful church locations and some just a few miles from our home, but we have only just found them, now that we are looking, before we just never saw them.”

Inklings Press by Ashley – “I chose ‘inklings’ first because that’s the name of the club formed by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and a few of their writing friends explicitly for the purpose of talking about the things they were writing.”

Stories from the past by Rose Fairbanks – “Rose proudly admits her Darcy obsession…her life-long interest in history and research with her love for Jane Austen and the Regency Era consumes all of her professional time.”

Put it in writing by Anne Stormont – “I’m part subversive old bat and part kind-hearted grandma. I write novels for the thinking, mature woman.”

Trail stained fingers by Ankita and Mohit – “We’re Ankita and Mohit, an Indian couple who just can’t seem to get enough of airports…We dig everything from food and wine to luxury resorts, travel gadgets, beauty, nature, wildlife and cultural/historical tourism.”

 

The 11 questions for the 11 nominees

If you could rename a city in the world, which one, what would you name it and why?

What is your favorite novel?

If you could rewrite the ending of a book, which one and how would it end?

Is there a country you have always wanted to visit, and if so, where?

What is one of your favorite quotes from a book?

If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

What’s your preferred writing space?

What do you like to do for fun when you need a break from writing (or from your blog)?

If you could travel to only one point in time in the past (without any space-time continuum complications for observing history ;)), where would you go?

What started you down the road of writing and/or blogging – and what helps to keep you going?

What four people would you invite to a dinner party – contemporary, historical, or fictional?

 

Many thanks again to Andrea for the timely encouragement, and all the best to my fellow bloggers in your writing aspirations! 

Trix Wilkins

“Pleasant Meadows” in Massachusetts: The Little Women trail #6

By Trix Wilkins

When in search for somewhere scenic to walk, talk, think, draw, picnic, row, and skate…it’s hard to go past the places the March sisters in Little Women might have been. This trail follows some of the picturesque reserves between Concord and Boston, Massachusetts.

Walden Pond

A lake in Concord, Massachusetts, Walden Pond was made famous by the writings of Louisa May Alcott’s teacher Henry David Thoreau. He described a portion of this natural beauty thus, “It was completely surrounded by thick and lofty pine and oak woods, and in some of its coves grapevines had run over the trees…it had the appearance of an amphitheater for some kind of sylvan spectacle.” (The Ponds, 1854.)

In winter it would freeze, its ice so thick that portions of the lake were harvested for export as far as India and the Caribbean. The Pond would have been a lovely setting for Jo’s frequent walks and perhaps her skates with Laurie.

Boston Public Garden

America’s oldest botanical garden, this 24-acre reserve features a variety of plants as well as Victorian-style monuments and statues, including an equestrian statue of George Washington. In 1850, an Act of the Legislature and vote of the city dedicated the land for public use. The garden features a lake in its centre – home of the Swan Boats, first launched in the 1870s.

In winter the lake freezes and is open to skaters. Bring your best friend for a skate and imagine the races Jo and Laurie must have had.

The Sudbury, Assabet and Concord Rivers

Walking trails wind through the woods and open meadows alongside these slow flowing rivers. Perfect for hiking and boating – and in winter, ice skating. Some sections are more reliable than others (the ice under bridges notoriously not).

The variable nature of these frozen rivers might have served as inspiration for the scene in which Amy fell through the ice as she attempted to follow Jo and Laurie. Skating on rivers is not for the faint-hearted – take great care and check the ice twice, even if in the company of fellow prolific skaters!

Fairhaven Bay

For over a hundred years, Fairhaven was a popular spot for “a Sunday walk or autumnal holiday trip, as no better view can be had of the waving tree-tops and gentle river.” (George Bradford Bartlett, 1895)

One can imagine the scenes of Camp Laurence here: the picnic set up under a tent with Jo making coffee, Jo and Laurie eating out of one plate, shy Beth befriending the injured Frank, Fred cheating Jo at croquet, John teaching Meg German, the hilarious games of Truth and Authors, and the rowboats tethered by the shore ready for a leisurely float down the river.

Middlesex Fells Reservation

Described by the US Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs as “a welcome retreat for city dwellers and a suitable terrain for hikers, mountain bikers, horseback riders, rock climbers, cross-country skiers and picnickers as well as natural and cultural history buffs,” Middlesex Fells features a place called Lawrence Woods, as well as The Sheepfold, Bellevue Pond, and Wright’s Tower.

The Sheepfold is an open field frequented by picnickers; Bellevue Pond is surrounded by trails leading up to Wright’s Tower which looks out over the Boston Basin; Lawrence Woods boasts views and ephemeral pools.

Take along a copy of Little Women and read about the Marches and Laurie discussing their castles in the air as you make your way through the Fells.