A talented, ambitious, restless tomboy with a wild imagination, Jo bridles against ladylike conventions. She has no interest in becoming a lady; she will become a writer. Fortunately for Jo, her family supports her ambitions and understands her eccentricities. With their father serving as a chaplain in the Union Army and little money coming in, Jo and her three sisters work hard to help their mother keep the household afloat.
Rarely has a novel had as large an impact on society as Little Women, while generating virtually no controversy. Immensely popular from the day it was published, it struck a chord with generations of young American women, supporting traditional Protestant values while demonstrating that women could pursue their dreams freely without compromising their virtue.
Louisa May Alcott (18321888) was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, the second of four daughters of Abigail May Alcott and Bronson Alcott, the prominent Transcendentalist thinker and social reformer. Raised in Concord, Massachusetts, Alcott based Little Women (1868, 1869) on the childhood adventures of her three sisters.
