11 h 28 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 11 h 28 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when the children you nurture grow up to choose lives of their own?
In Louisa May Alcott’s Jo’s Boys, the small school of Little Men has become Plumfield College. Jo Bhaer is a busy mother, teacher and famous author who longs for quiet to write. With Professor Bhaer, she guides a new generation toward adulthood, while the children she once taught face hard choices about work, love and the people they hope to become.
Nan Harding means to become a doctor, whatever others think. Nat Blake hopes to study music abroad, while restless Dan Kean returns to Plumfield longing to belong. Around them, young women and men study side by side. Their ambitions give this warm family story its searching questions: what makes a good life, and who gets to choose it?
What you’ll discover
- Jo beyond Little Women Meet Jo as fame, motherhood and teaching compete with her wish to write.
- Nan chooses her path Follow a determined young woman who refuses to surrender her dream of becoming a doctor.
- Talent needs more than hope Share Nat’s musical ambitions as he learns that a gift also calls for steadiness.
- A home for Dan Encounter a restless young man whose fierce nature meets a deep longing to belong.
- Family beyond blood ties Discover a household where forgiveness and care shape the difficult work of growing up.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who loved Little Women and want to know what came next, and anyone who enjoys warm family stories, lively young people, first love, and a mother figure who guides her children with humor and heart.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Plumfield grows with its children
- Fame leaves Jo little peace
- Jo makes her guidance personal
- A dog bite exposes real courage
- Josie learns to prepare her dream
- Plans change through love and work
- Emil carries duty into danger
- Dan and Nat confront their mistakes
- Steady affection allows room to grow
Who’s who
- Jo BhaerThe famous author and college president's wife, who guards her boys and girls with humor and hates being chased by fans.
- Professor BhaerJo's gentle German husband, who leads the college and gives his sons and students patient, fatherly guidance.
- DanThe wild, powerful wanderer Jo calls her firebrand, who longs to do good and fights his own temper.
- NatA gifted violinist who studies in Leipzig and hopes to earn the right to marry Daisy.
- NanA determined young woman who studies medicine and refuses to give up her career for any suitor.
- JosieMeg's lively daughter, who longs to become a great actress and learns patience from Miss Cameron.
- TedJo's tall, reckless younger son, full of tricks and drama, who is learning to control his will.
- EmilThe cheerful sailor nephew, who carries Jo's advice to sea and is tested by a terrible voyage.
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- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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Jo's Boys in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Jo's Boys
by Louisa May Alcott · 1886
Jo Bhaer hides from fans while her boys and girls at Plumfield head toward love, danger and fame.
Medium level5–10 hours to read16 languages
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In short
What happens to the children of a school when they grow up? Louisa May Alcott answers in Jo's Boys, the last of her March family books, set ten years after Little Men.
Jo's Boys at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 50 min5 h 25 min fast, 8 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 98,000 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1886by Louisa May Alcott
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Ten years on, Plumfield is a college
The story opens with Jo and Meg on the piazza at Plumfield. They look at the hill where kites once flew and see a college built from Mr Laurence's gift. Jo says her three childhood wishes have come true: money, fame and plenty of work she loves.
The old house is full of new life. Professor Bhaer is president, and Mr March is chaplain. Meg mothers the young women, Jo befriends the young men, and Amy welcomes needy students at her grand home, Parnassus.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1886
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7 h 25 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Alcott, Louisa May. Jo's Boys. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/jos-boys.
Alcott, L. M. (2026). Jo's boys. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/jos-boys (Original work published 1886)
Alcott, Louisa May. Jo's Boys. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/jos-boys.
@book{alcott2026jos,
author = {Alcott, Louisa May},
title = {Jo's Boys},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/jos-boys},
note = {First published 1886}
}
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What is Jo's Boys about?
It follows the grown children of Plumfield, now a college, ten years after Little Men. Jo, her family and her many young wards deal with careers, love, danger and fame while trying to become good adults.
Do I need to read Little Women and Little Men first?
It helps, since many characters return, but the book gives short portraits of each person. A new reader can follow the family and enjoy the many separate stories, from a dive for a bracelet to a ship fire.
Who is Dan in Jo's Boys?
Dan is one of Jo's adopted boys, a restless, strong young man who loves wild country and animals. He fights a hot temper and wants to help others, and Jo watches over him with special care.
The author
Louisa May Alcott
1832–1888 · American novelist
Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) was an American novelist born in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She lived mainly in Massachusetts, including Boston and Concord. She wrote Little Women, published in two parts in 1868 and 1869, An Old-Fashioned Girl in 1870, Little Men in 1871, and Work: A Story of Experience in 1873.
More by Louisa May Alcott
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