Today in History: First Volume of Little Women Is Published

It was a rather pretty little picture, for the sisters sat together in the shady nook, with sun and shadow flickering over them, the aromatic wind lifting their hair and cooling their hot cheeks, and all the little wood people going on with their affairs as if these were no strangers but old friends. Meg sat upon the cushion, sewing daintily with her white hands, and looking as frresh and sweer as a rose, in her pink dress, among the green. Beth was sorting the cones that lay thick under the hemlock near by, for she made pretty things of them. Amy was ketching a group of ferns, and Jo knitting as she read aloud."  (Chapter 13, "Castles in the Air").

Little Women: Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy (Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1868), is Louisa May Alcott's first bestseller, beloved children's classic, and semi-autobiographical account of her childhood in Concord, Massachusetts. The first volume of Alcott's novel was published on September 30, 1868, with a run of 2,0000 copies, and its immediate success prompted Alcott to write the second volume, Good Wives (1869), which was afterwards published together with Little Women. Sequels to Little Women successfully followed: Little Men: Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys (1871) and Jo's Boys: And How They Turned Out: A Sequel to "Little Men" (1886) .

Louisa May Alcott (November 29, 1832 - March 6, 1888), was the second-eldest daughter of Amos Bronson Alcott, a transendentalist and educator, and Abby May, a social worker. She had three sisters -- Anna, Elizabeth, and Abigail. Their father established a transcendentalist school in Boston where Louisa received an influential education, studying under prominent New England writers , like Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Margaret Fuller. From an early age, she worked as a teacher, seamstress, governess, domestic helper, and writer, as her sisters also took on work to help support the Alcott family. 

This newspaper exhibit showcases the life and literary career of one of America's best-known authors, Louisa May Alcott, known by her nom de plume, A. M. Barnard, and very much like the character Jo (Jospehine) March, the protagonist of Little Women, who is boyish, smart, creative, and daring. The articles are drawn from Proquest Historical Newspapers, which informs and inspires classroom teaching and learning.

• Miss Alcott's Books. (1888, Jul 15). Daily American (1875-1894) 
• Payne, E. (1930, Apr 27). When Med, Jo, Beth and Amy Of "Little Women" Lived on Beacon Hill: In a Garrett on Pinckney St Louisa M. Alcott Began the Literary Career That Brought Her Fame and Brought Her "Pathetic Family" Riches. Daily Boston Globe (1928-1960) 
• Rand, E. (1932, Feb 07). Jo and Ever-Recuring Little Women: Louisa May Alcott Story Seems to Remain in Favor Constantly. The Sun (1837-) 
• Robbins. L.S. (1932, Nov 27). Honor to Louisa Alcott: On Her 100th Anniversary the Author Of "Little Women" Is a Greater Heroine Than Any That She Portrayed. New York Times (1923-) 
• Payne, E. (1942, Sep 20). Louisa May Alcott, Who Lived Alone and Liked It. Daily Boston Globe (1928-1960) 
• James, P. W. (1968, Nov 03). A Century Ago, She Wrote a Book Called 'Little Women". Chicago Tribune (1963-1996) 
• Little Women Still Has Big Fans. (1994, Dec 18). The Washington Post (1974-) 
• Lippman, L. (1994, Dec 23). 'Little Women' Marches On: Young Women Want to Be Jo, Feisty Heroine for 125 Years. The Sun (1837-) 
• Dunlap, C. (1995, Feb 16). All-American Archetype in 'Little Women'. Los Angeles Times (1923-1995) 
• Lyall, S. (2018, Sep 14). An Eternal Companion, 'Little Women' Turns 150: A Classic Novel Marches On, Still Inspiring an Army of Admirers. New York Times (1923-) 

Tips:

• Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women (Legend Classics). London: Legend Press, 2018. e-book
• Clark, Beverly Lyon. The Afterlife of Little Women. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014.  e-book
• Porter, Eleanor H. et al. Charming Novels of Classic Heroines : Pollyanna, the Secret Garden, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. Newburyport: Open Road Integrated Media, Inc., 2017. e-book
• Shealy, Daniel. Alcott in Her Own Time a Biographical Chronicle of Her Life, Drawn from Recollections, Interviews, and Memoirs by Family, Friends, and Associates. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2005. e-book
  

Images:

• Book Cover Illustration by Louis Jambor, Little Women (Grosset and Dunlap, c1947)
• Special News Slide, Courtesy of the Gottesman Libraries

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