Little Women

by Louisa May Alcott Narrated by Rebecca Burns

Overview

Generations of people-young and old, male and female-have fallen in love with the March sisters of Louisa May Alcott's most popular and enduring novel, Little Women. Talented tomboy and author-to-be Jo, tragically frail Beth, beautiful Meg, and romantic, spoiled Amy remain united in their devotion to each other and their struggles to survive in New England during the Civil War.



It is no secret that Alcott based Little Women on her own early life. While her father, the free-thinking reformer and abolitionist Bronson Alcott, hobnobbed with such eminent male authors as Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne, Louisa supported herself and her sisters with "woman's work," including sewing, doing laundry, and acting as a domestic servant. But she soon discovered she could make more money writing. Little Women brought her lasting fame and fortune, and far from being the "girl's book" her publisher requested, it explores such timeless themes as love and death, war and peace, the conflict between personal ambition and family responsibilities, and the clash of cultures between Europe and America.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"The American female myth."
—Madelon Bedell

Dr. Jim Stobaugh

I am very impressed with the Classics for Young Readers and Guides. The reader will be inspired by these rediscovered gems and will find himself a better thinker in the bargain. The Christian community needs this material!

Karen Wojahn

Recently I revisited Little Women, a book I’d read perhaps three dozen times in childhood. Reading again from a perspective of adulthood, I saw the profound influence this book has had on my morals, my values, my longing, and my dreams.

Elizabeth Keyser Hollins University

Anne Hiebert Alton's edition for Broadview is unique in supplementing the text with Alcott's sources for and correspondence about the novel, with those of Alcott’s works that she attributes to Jo and her sisters, selections from the text that she alludes to most frequently, such as Pilgrim's Progress, and excerpts that demonstrate Alcott's feminism. A number of these selections are not readily accessible elsewhere, and some will prove unfamiliar even to Alcott scholars. Alton and Broadview are to be commended for bringing them together in a single volume.

Daniel Shealy University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Broadview Press’s Little Women provides a definitive text along with the most comprehensive historical overview yet offered. Alton not only gives us a text based on the first edition, she also presents the genesis and development of Alcott’s most famous novel using the author’s own public and private writings. For the first time in one edition, we now have the complete story of the March family! It is a wonderful scholarly achievement that has long been overdue.

Library Journal - Audio

★ 03/15/2015
One of the most beloved American classics is beautifully and eloquently brought to life in this recording filled with passion and spirit. Four sisters in 19th-century New England grow from little girls to respectable young women. Each sister carries unique hopes for her future, but Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy learn that life often has other plans in store. Their coming-of-age stories are filled with hilarity, humility, friendship, heartbreak, and duty. Characters come alive with unique voices and mannerisms, flawlessly narrated by Susie Berneis. VERDICT This new recording of this time-honored novel is essential listening for fans of American literature.—Erin Cataldi, Johnson Cty. P.L., Franklin, IN

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up—Kate Reading breathes new life into Louisa May Alcott's classic coming-of-age tale about the March sisters growing up in New England during the Civil War. The emotional and physical changes that all of the characters experience are skillfully presented in a narration that draws listeners into the world Alcott created. On just a few occasions the voicing is not entirely distinct and the story momentum slows, but for the most part, the narration is very well done. This version is sure to inspire a new generation of listeners.—Stephanie A. Squicciarini, Fairport Public Library, NY

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170744602
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	08/18/2008
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

Related Subjects

• Kids
• Fiction & Literature - Kids
• Favorite Characters - Kids Fiction
• People, Places & Cultures - Kids Fiction
• Classics for Children - Kids Fiction
• Family Life - Kids Fiction
• General & Miscellaneous - Kids Fiction
• Other Favorite Characters - Kids Fiction
• U. S. People, Places & Cultures - Kids Fiction

Read an Excerpt

Playing Pilgrims

"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents,"grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

"It's so dreadful to be poor!"sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress.

"I don't think it's fair for some girls to have lots of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all," added little Amy, with an injured sniff.

"We've got father and mother, and each other, anyhow,"said Beth, contentedly, from her corner.

The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened at the cheerful words, but darkened again as Jo said sadly?

"We haven't got father, and shall not have him for a long time." She didn't say "perhaps never,"but each silently added it, thinking of father far away, where the fighting was.

Nobody spoke for a minute; then Meg said in an altered tone, "You know the reason mother proposed not having any presents this Christmas, was because it's going to be a hard winter for every one; and she thinks we ought not to spend money for pleasure, when our men are suffering so in the army. We can't do much, but we can make our little sacrifices, and ought to do it gladly. But I am afraid I don't;"and Megshook her head, as she thought regretfully of all the pretty things she wanted.

"But I don't think the little we should spend would do any good. We've each got a dollar, and the army wouldn't be much helped by our giving that. I agree not to expect anything from mother or you, but I do want to buy Undine and Sintram for myself; I've wanted it so long,'said Jo, who was a bookworm.

"I planned to spend mine in new music,"said Beth, with a little sigh, which no one heard but the hearth-brush and kettle-holder.

"I shall get a nice box of Faber's drawing pencils; I really need them," said Amy, decidedly.

"Mother didn't say anything about our money, and she won't wish us to give up everything. Let's each buy what we want, and have a little fun; I'm sure we grub hard enough to earn it,"cried Jo, examining the heels of her boots in a gentlemanly manner.

"I know I do, teaching those dreadful children nearly all day, when I'm longing to enjoy myself at home," began Meg, in the complaining tone again.

"You don't have half such a hard time as I do," said Jo. "How would you like to be shut up for hours with a nervous, fussy old lady, who keeps you trotting, is never satisfied, and worries you till you''e ready to fly out of the window or box her ears?"

"It's naughty to fret, but I do think washing dishes and keeping things tidy is the worst work in the world. It makes me cross; and my hands get so stiff, I can't practise good a bit." And Beth looked at her rough hands with a sigh that any one could hear that time.

"I don't believe any of you suffer as I do," cried Amy; "for you don't have to go to school with impertinent girls, who plague you if you don't know your lessons, and laugh at your dresses, and label your father if he isn't rich, and insult you when your nose isn't nice."

"If you mean libel I'd say so, and not talk about labels, as if pa was a pickle-bottle," advised Jo, laughing.

Videos