From the Bookshelf of Never too Late to Read Classics…

Little Women (Little Women, #1)

Louisa May Alcott

Discussion: Lesser Know/Wilderness Classics

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Lesser Know/Wilderness Classics

* 2025 Must Read Lesser Known Classics: Scheduled Reads
By Lesle , Appalachain Bibliophile · 72 posts · 196 views

last updated Sep 06, 2025 07:14AM

Wilderness Classics
By Lesle , Appalachain Bibliophile · 78 posts · 113 views

last updated 21 hours, 2 min ago

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What Members Thought

Jul 04, 2012 Christine rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, historical-fiction, classics, library-books, read-in-2015, best-of-2015, 2025-reading-list

Reading this book was the right decision for a relaxing and sunny Sunday in a deck chair :) I adore the sisters and especially Jo because I can identify with her bookish ways.

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I cared less for Elizabeth's and John's approaching romance but it was nice to see the changes in her while growing up to a woman though. (view spoiler) ...more

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Jul 27, 2024 Shirley (stampartiste) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-classics, published-1899-and-earlier, classics-500-plus-pages, to-read-in-2024, challenge-bingo-2024

[Note: This is one of 7 or 8 reviews that I have failed to write this year! I hope to catch up with writing all of them soon.]

Wanting to start off 2024 with an uplifting reading experience, I chose as my first reads Little Women and Mary Stewart’s The Crystal Cave. Both of these books exceeded my high expectations of them. They were both just what I needed.

What a wonderful, heartwarming story Little Women was! Never having read it or watched a movie version of it, I was able to enjoy this story [Note: This is one of 7 or 8 reviews that I have failed to write this year! I hope to catch up with writing all of them soon.]

Wanting to start off 2024 with an uplifting reading experience, I chose as my first reads Little Women and Mary Stewart’s The Crystal Cave. Both of these books exceeded my high expectations of them. They were both just what I needed.

What a wonderful, heartwarming story Little Women was! Never having read it or watched a movie version of it, I was able to enjoy this story with no pre-conceived notions of what it was about. The story harkened back to a time when family ties were strong, virtues were taught at home, and families played together, grieved together, and stayed together. I felt so uplifted as I read this story.

Little Women consists of two parts. Part One introduces the reader to the March family. The story is set in New England and begins roughly during the early years of the Civil War. The father, Mr. March, is a Chaplain in the Union Army, so he is mostly absent. The story revolves around Mrs. March (Marmee) and her four daughters (Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy). I love how Alcott introduced the four sisters to her readers. Each one was so different that it was easy to find a favorite and a least favorite. Meg (16), the eldest, was responsible, kind, and gentle; Jo (15) was brash, unconventional, and quite the tomboy; Beth (13) was quiet, sought to help others, and loved music; and Amy (12), the baby, was spoiled and could be mean when crossed. Their mother, Marmee, gently guided them through life to find their better selves.

But even with Marmee, Alcott showed that we are not born saints but must work at curbing those traits which stand in the way of a happier life. After an episode when Jo’s hot temper nearly caused the death of Amy, Marmee pulled Jo aside and let her know that she had always fought against anger herself. Marmee told Jo, “I’ve been trying to cure it for forty years, and have only succeeded in controlling it. I am angry nearly every day of my life, Jo; but I have learned not to show it; and I still hope to learn not to feel it, though it may take me another forty years to do so.” For me, this summarized what Alcott was saying throughout her book: We are all human, and life is so much better when we work on those traits that hold us back. And along the way, seek out people who can help you reach that goal.

In Part Two, Alcott wrote separate storylines of the sisters making life choices and becoming “little women.” The second part was my favorite. In Part One, Jo’s unconventional antics endeared her the most to me, where I found Amy to be too spoiled and self-centered. But in Part Two, I loved how Amy had matured and become far more thoughtful of others. I felt Alcott did a wonderful job of showing how people can change over time. But I also love that the sisters’ love for one another remained constant throughout.

In my reading, I always love to come across authors who quoted from the classics. In Little Women, Alcott gave me a feast: The Pilgrim's Progress, Ivanhoe, The Vicar of Wakefield, and The Pickwick Papers, to name a few. I loved it!

This book is a treasure that I am so glad I have finally read! I’m sure it will seem a little too old-fashioned for many people, but I found it to be a breath of fresh air! ...more

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