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Zusatztext "The American female myth." —Madelon Bedell Informationen zum Autor Louisa May Alcott, born on November 29, 1832, in Germantown, Pennsylvania, grew up in a family deeply engaged in social reform and education. Her father, Bronson Alcott, was a transcendentalist and educator, influencing Louisa's ideals despite the family's financial struggles. Surrounded by notable thinkers like Emerson and Thoreau, she developed a passion for writing early in life.Alcott worked various jobs to support her family, but her time as a Civil War nurse profoundly impacted her. This experience inspired Hospital Sketches, bringing her public attention and fueling her literary career. Her greatest success came with Little Women (1868), a semi-autobiographical novel that captured the lives of the March sisters.Despite health challenges later in life, Alcott continued to write and advocate for social causes, including women's suffrage and abolition. She never married, choosing instead a life focused on family and literature. Louisa May Alcott passed away on March 6, 1888, leaving a legacy as one of America's most beloved authors. Klappentext Introduction by Susan Cheever Commentary by G. K. Chesterton, Katherine Fullerton Gerould, and Madeleine B. Stern Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read It is no surprise that Little Women, the adored classic of four devoted sisters, was loosely based on Louisa May Alcott's own life. In fact, Alcott drew from her own personality to create a heroine unlike any seen before: Jo, willful, headstrong, and undoubtedly the backbone of the March family. Follow the sisters from innocent adolescence to sage adulthood, with all the joy and sorrow of life in between, and fall in love with them and this endearing story. Praised by Madeleine Stern as "a book on the American home, and hence universal in its appeal," Little Women has been an avidly read tale for generations. This Modern Library edition includes notes that offer more description and insight than those of previous editions. Includes a Modern Library Reading Group Guide Playing Pilgrims "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents,"grumbled Jo, lying on the rug. "It's so dreadful to be poor!"sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress. "I don't think it's fair for some girls to have lots of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all," added little Amy, with an injured sniff. "We've got father and mother, and each other, anyhow,"said Beth, contentedly, from her corner. The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened at the cheerful words, but darkened again as Jo said sadly? "We haven't got father, and shall not have him for a long time." She didn't say "perhaps never,"but each silently added it, thinking of father far away, where the fighting was. Nobody spoke for a minute; then Meg said in an altered tone, "You know the reason mother proposed not having any presents this Christmas, was because it's going to be a hard winter for every one; and she thinks we ought not to spend money for pleasure, when our men are suffering so in the army. We can't do much, but we can make our little sacrifices, and ought to do it gladly. But I am afraid I don't;"and Megshook her head, as she thought regretfully of all the pretty things she wanted. "But I don't think the little we should spend would do any good. We've each got a dollar, and the army wouldn't be much helped by our giving that. I agree not to expect anything from mother or you, but I do want to buy Undine and Sintram for myself; I've wanted it so long,'said Jo, who was a bookworm. "I planned to spend mine in new music,"said Beth, with a little sigh, which no one heard but the hearth-brush and kettle-holder. "I shall get a nice box of Faber's drawing pencils; I really need them," said Amy, deci...
