21 h 57 minAudiobook16 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 539 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 539 pagesAbout this book
Four sisters dream of different futures, but how do they grow without growing apart?
In a cold New England living room, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March complain about Christmas without presents. Their family has lost its money, and their father serves as a chaplain with the Union army. With Marmee guiding them, the sisters face small disappointments and hard choices that test their kindness.
Louisa May Alcott gives each sister a wish of her own. Meg loves pretty things, Jo wants to write, Beth treasures music and home, and Amy dreams of becoming an artist. As they quarrel, work, and fall in love, they must decide what matters most—and what they are willing to change.
What you’ll discover
- Four distinct sisters Meet girls whose clashing tempers and shared affection make family life feel warm and real.
- Jo's restless ambition Follow a fiery young writer as she wrestles with temper, independence, and the desire for fame.
- Kindness put to work A Christmas breakfast given away turns generosity from a fine idea into a concrete choice.
- Friendship next door Discover Laurie, the lonely neighbor whose lively spirit finds friendship among the March sisters.
- Goodness without dullness Explore how pride, vanity, and anger test people who genuinely want to do better.
Is it for you?
This summary suits anyone who wants the heart of a family story, whether you are meeting the Marches for the first time or returning to them. It is also good for writers and sisters. If you want fast plots and big surprises, you may find it gentle.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Four sisters face a poor Christmas
- Marmee teaches them to play pilgrims
- Laurie and Mr. Laurence open new doors
- Pride, temper and vanity must be mastered
- A telegram calls the family to crisis
- Growing up means love, work and choice
- Home is the book's moral center
- Women's lives and the cost of goodness
- A plain voice and a pilgrim's structure
Who’s who
- Meg MarchThe eldest sister, kind and responsible, who loves pretty things and must learn what matters more than wealth and show.
- Jo MarchThe second sister, a fiery, boyish writer who wants independence and fame and must learn to master her temper.
- Beth MarchThe shy, musical third sister, who loves home, her piano and her poor neighbors, and who wants only to keep the family close.
- Amy MarchThe youngest, an artistic girl who wants refinement and success and must learn to put others before her own vanity.
- MarmeeThe girls' mother, who guides them with patience and honesty while running the household and quietly mastering her own temper.
- LaurieThe lively, lonely boy next door, who becomes the sisters' friend and longs to belong to their family.
- Mr. LaurenceLaurie's stern, kind grandfather, a rich neighbor who loves music and comes to care for the March girls.
- Aunt MarchThe girls' wealthy, sharp-tongued great aunt, who gives advice freely and help only on her own terms.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 21 h 57 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 16 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in, 539 pages: USD 16.95 when you start free, USD 22.95 on its own.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in, 539 pages: USD 23.95 when you start free, USD 29.95 on its own.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
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Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy
by Louisa May Alcott· 1868
Four sisters face growing up with little money and different hopes.
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Language: English
“In the preface to "Little Women," the most charming of her books, she tells us herself that the most improbable incidents are the least imaginary.”
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
Four sisters face a poor Christmas
The story opens in the March family living room in a town in Massachusetts, a few days before Christmas. The girls are grumbling. Jo says, from the rug, that Christmas will not be Christmas without presents. Meg sighs over her old dresses and the work she must do. Amy complains that other girls have so much more. Only Beth, who never complains, points out that they still have father and mother and each other.
The family was once comfortable, but the father lost his money helping a friend. Now Meg works as a governess for a neighboring family, and Jo reads aloud to their rich and sharp-tongued Aunt March. Beth keeps house and plays an old piano that is badly out of tune. Amy still goes to school. They are not starving, but they feel the limits of a small budget, and they feel them most when they look at richer girls.
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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.
“Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents, grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.”
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Questions about Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy
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What is Little Women about?
It follows four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March, growing up in Massachusetts during and after the Civil War. They learn to master their faults, face hardship and choose their paths in life.
Is Little Women based on a true story?
It is fiction, but Alcott drew heavily on her own family. Jo is closely modeled on Alcott herself, and the sisters resemble her real sisters. The first part came out in 1868 and the second in 1869.
Why is it called Little Women?
The title refers to the four sisters as girls who are growing into women. The full title also names Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, and the book follows them from their early teens into adulthood.
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