Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy : the story of Little Women and why it still matters

Title:

Author:

Rioux, Anne Boyd, author.

ISBN:

9780393254730

Personal Author:

Rioux, Anne Boyd, author.

Edition:

First edition.

Publication Information:

New York : W.W. Norton & Company, 2018.

Physical Description:

xiv, 273 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Contents:

Prologue: "Our book" -- The making of a classic -- "Pegging away": the road to Little Women -- "We really lived most of it": making up Little Women -- "Fresh, sparkling,...full of soul": the phenomenon of Little Women -- The life of a classic -- "See her...living...the immortal Jo!": Little Women on stage and screen -- "The mother of us all": Little Women's cultural and literary influence -- "A divided house of a book": reading Little Women -- A classic for today -- "A private book for girls": can boys read Little Women? -- "Being someone": growing up female with Little Women -- "Wanting to be Rory, but better": Little Women and girls' stories today.

Abstract:

A 150th anniversary tribute describes the cultural significance of Louisa May Alcott's classic, exploring how its relatable themes and depictions of family resilience, community, and female resourcefulness have inspired generations of writers.

Language:

English

Personal Subject:

Alcott, Louisa May, 1832-1888. Little women.

Subject Term:

Girls in literature.

Girls -- Books and reading -- History.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Call Number	Status
Searching... Downtown Branch at Slover	Hardback Book	0118616116273	813.4 ALCOTT	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Mary D. Pretlow Anchor Branch	Hardback Book	0118616116281	813.4 ALCOTT	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Soon after its publication on September 30, 1868, Little Women became an enormous bestseller and one of America's favorite novels. It quickly traveled the world and since has become an international classic. When Anne Boyd Rioux read it in her twenties, it had a singularly powerful effect on her. Through teaching it, she has seen its effect on many others.

In Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy, she recounts how Louisa May Alcott came to write the book, drawing inspiration for it from her own life. She also examines why this tale of family and community ties, set while the Civil War tore the country apart, has resonated through later wars, the Great Depression, and times of changing opportunities for women.

Alcott's novel has moved generations of women, among them many writers. Simone de Beauvoir, J. K. Rowling, bell hooks, Cynthia Ozick, Jane Smiley, Margo Jefferson, and Ursula K. Le Guin were all inspired by Little Women, particularly its portrait of the iconoclastic young writer, Jo. Many women writers have felt as Anna Quindlen has declared, "Little Women changed my life."

Today, Rioux sees the novel's beating heart in its portrayal of family resilience and its honest look at the struggles of girls growing into women. In gauging its current status, she shows why it remains a book with such power that people carry its characters and spirit throughout their lives.

Reviews (1)

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* Louisa May Alcott intended to write in the mode of her Transcendentalist neighbors Hawthorne, Emerson, and Thoreau, but, instead, she wrote what she called ""blood and thunder tales"" to support her overly idealistic father, brilliant mother, and three sisters. Unconventional and independent, Alcott was less than enthusiastic about her editor's suggestion that she write a girls' story, yet from that seed flowered one of the most beloved books on the planet, Little Women. Award-winning Rioux (Constance Fenimore Woolson: Portrait of a Lady Novelist, 2016) marks the 150th anniversary of this irresistible, profoundly influential novel by telling its story whole. Noting the power of its authenticity, Rioux illuminates the parallels between the Alcotts and the fictional March family and marks just how intent war nurse and suffragette Louisa was on challenging gender roles. Rioux tracks the novel's fascinating publishing history; incisively critiques its many stage and screen adaptations; takes measure of the darker undercurrents in its inquiry into how girls learn to become women or perform gender ; and lists a dazzling array of writers inspired by Jo March, the character associated with Alcott herself, from bell hooks to Cynthia Ozick, Barbara Kingsolver, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Zadie Smith. Rioux's deeply informed, multifaceted, ardently argued, and mind-expanding celebration of Little Women affirms its pleasures and significance as a tale ripe for reconsideration and recommendation to YA and adult readers across the gender spectrum.--Donna Seaman Copyright 2018 Booklist