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 By Louisa May Alcott, Ebook Made by Planet PDF
Little Women is a novel by Louisa May Alcott published on September 30, 1868, concerning the lives and loves of four sisters growing up during the American Civil War. It was based on Alcott's own experiences as a child in Concord, Massachusetts. After much demand, Louisa May Alcott wrote a sequel, Good Wives, which was published in 1869 and is often published together with Little Women as if it were a single work. Good Wives picks up three years after the events in the last chapter of Little Women ("Aunt March Settles The Question"), and includes characters and events often felt by fans to be essential to the Little Women story.
Alcott later wrote Little Men and Jo's Boys and How They Turned Out, which followed the lives of the girls' children.
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Louisa May Alcott (November 29, 1832 – March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, best known for the novel Little Women, which she wrote in 1868.
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Characters:
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
- Josephine or "Jo": the protagonist of the novel, is a tomboy and the second-oldest sister. She is very outspoken and has a passion for writing. Jo cuts off her long hair (her best feature) and sells it to a wig shop to get money for her mother to visit their father, a wounded Civil War chaplain. She refuses the family friend Theodore Laurence's (Laurie's) proposal of marriage, and later marries professor Fritz Bhaer.
- Margaret or "Meg": the eldest sister. She is
described as being very pretty, with smooth hair and small, white
hands. She is the most responsible and helps run the household in her
mother's absence. While working as a governess for wealthy friends, she
falls in love with Mr. John Brooke, Laurie's poor tutor. She eventually marries Mr. Brooke and bears twin children, Margaret ("Daisy") and John, Jr. ("Demi", short for "Demi-John").
- Elizabeth or "Beth": the second-youngest sister, is a quiet young woman who loves playing the piano. She is shy and docile and engages with charity; while her mother is nursing their father, she contracts scarlet fever
from a poor family and nearly dies. Beth never fully recovers her
health and dies young. She is described as having a round face, and
appearing younger than her years.
- Amy: the youngest sister and a talented artist,
Amy is described as a beautiful young girl with blonde hair and blue
eyes. She cares about her family, but is also quite self-centered and vain.
In her youth she is slightly spoiled and is inclined to throw tantrums
when things do not go her way. She eventually travels abroad thanks to
her aunt, and finally marries Laurie.
- "Marmee": the girls' mother and head of household while
her husband is away. She engages in charitable works and attempts to
guide her girls' moral characters. (Her name is also Margaret.)
- Theodore "Laurie" Laurence: a charming and rich young man who lives next door to the March family with his stern grandfather. After Jo refuses to marry him he flees to Europe to study art. While there, he falls in love and marries Amy.
- Hannah Mullet: The maid of the March family, an older
woman, who (from a letter written in the first person in the text) is
described as kind and loyal, if lacking in formal education.
- Aunt March: a rich widow. She lives alone in her mansion.
Actually Mr. March's aunt, she disapproves of his family's charitable
work and loss of wealth, while throwing weight around with hers. Amy is
sent to be Aunt March's "companion" when Beth is ill. Though at first
she is dismayed, her tenure there does the spoiled little girl good,
and Aunt March eventually pays for her to got to Europe.
- Mrs. Kirke: A friend of Marmee's who runs a boarding house in New York. She employs Jo as governess for a time.
- Professor Friedrich (Fritz) Bhaer: A poor, German immigrant,
living in Mrs. Kirke's boarding house and tutoring her children. He and
Jo become friends and he critiques Jo's work, encouraging her to become
a serious writer instead of writing "sensation" stories for weekly
tabloids. The two eventually marry.
- Mr. March: Formerly wealthy, it is implied that he
helped unscrupulous friends who did not repay the debt, resulting in
the family's poverty. A great scholar and a minister, he serves as a
chaplain for the Union Army.
- Mr. Laurence, a wealthy neighbor to the Marches. Lonely
in his mansion, and often at odds with his high-spirited grandson,
Laurie, he finds comfort in becoming a benefactor to the Marches. He
admires their charity, and develops a special friendship with Beth, who
reminds him of his dead granddaughter.
- John Brooke: tutor to Laurie, a naturalized citizen (he is English).
He falls in love with Meg; she initially denies him until Aunt March
prohibits the match, at which point she realizes she is in love as
well. He serves in the Union Army after late 1861, and marries Meg
after the war.
(From Answers.com)
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