Little Women and Good Wives: Louisa May Alcott

Little Women: Alcott's 'little women' - talented tomboy and aspiring author Jo, tragically frail Beth, beautiful Meg and romantic, spoiled Amy are united by their devotion to each other, their struggles to survive in New England during the Civil War and in their support of their beloved and charitable Marmee. Jo and Meg each make a small wage: Jo as companion to crotchety, elderly Aunt March, and Meg as governess to the small children of a wealthy family. Jo yearns for independence and Meg longs for the beautiful things she sees at the wealthy home. Amy is at school, quite a pet and favourite; and Beth is shy and timid, happy with her kittens, dolls and household tasks. Based on Alcott's own early life, Louisa supported herself and her sisters by sewing, washing and taking a job 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 divide that existed then between the rich and poor.  Good Wives:  The second book in the Little Women series.  Meg marries her John Brooke, despite dire threats of disinheritance from Aunt March; Jo tries her wings, hopping from the family nest to New York to see if she really has the talent to write; Amy is invited to tour Europe with Aunt March and Beth is slowly recuperating from scarlet fever. New experiences come to the girls: Meg is tempted beyond her proud husband's means, and must learn some valuable life lessons; Jo escapes Laurie's courtship, falls into the trap of writing sensation stories, knowing that her family would not approve and meets the best friend she will ever have; Amy gets some bewildering lessons in love and Beth has a secret - and not even her family know what that secret is. Illustrated in colour and black and white by Louis Jambor.