Little Women

Generations of readers 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. Here are talented tomboy and author-to-be Jo, tragically frail Beth, beautiful Meg, and romantic, spoiled Amy, 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 freethinking 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.

Американская писательница Луиза Мэй Олкотт в одночасье стала знаменитой благодаря роману "Маленькие женщины", в основу которого легли ее собственные детские воспоминания, что сделало произведение частично автобиографическим.

История повествует о четырех сестрах Марч: своенравной и талантливой Джо, хрупкой и мягкосердечной Бэт, красивой и кокетливой Мэг, а также романтичной и избалованной Эми. Вместе они справляются с потерями и невзгодами, узнают, что такое настоящая дружба, влюбляются, постигают нелегкую науку взросления и находят свое место в этом мире.

Текст произведения дан в оригинале в неизменном виде.