It’s stunning that Louisa May Alcott’s two-part novel, Little Women, is still one of the most widely read works of all time. Almost 150 years old, Alcott’s novel has been an inspiration since day one, and continues to inspire children and adults alike. She wrote the story rather quickly, drawing on her own sisters and family for the book’s characters.
Volume one was published in 1868, with all 2,000 copies
selling out, and the demand for more remaining strong. The publisher just couldn’t print enough to
satisfy the hungry public. In 1869,
volume two followed with the same level of success, as well as two sequels, Little Men and Jo’s Boys. The March family
was very good to Ms. Alcott…
So
why does this story have such a successful longevity? What is it that makes this story such a
timeless classic? Frankly,
we are no different that those folks who grew up and lived a century and a half
ago. People don’t change, only the World
around us does. This classic novel
survives and hangs on because it has satisfied the same story of every
generation, and has done so since its inception.
Little Women can be
considered the first novel that really addressed the issue of feminism and
gender equality in the United States. It
presents a story where girls are equal, and have the same standing as boys…which
is odd, because this story was a catalyst for polarizing novels into
stories for boys, and stories for girls. A strange twist indeed, considering Alcott has been labeled one of the “first ladies” of feminism.
The first editions of both volumes are available from Archive.org: