13 h 31 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 332 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 332 pagesAbout this book
What does it cost a woman to earn her own bread—and choose her own life?
Christie Devon leaves a New England farm with a plain wish: honest work, her own money, and a purpose she can call hers. In Louisa May Alcott’s Work: A Story of Experience, service, the theatre, and other jobs test that wish against the narrow choices open to women.
Set in the years around the American Civil War, the novel follows Christie through friendships and hard lessons. Rachel, a woman society treats harshly, tests her compassion. Mr. Power connects faith with useful labor, while gardener David Sterling shares her respect for honest work. Each encounter deepens the question of what makes a life worthwhile.
What you’ll discover
- A heroine who tries Follow Christie as she trades the safety of home for the chance to choose.
- The cost of independence See what service and other jobs demand of a woman determined to support herself.
- Friendship beyond social judgment Meet Rachel, whose friendship asks Christie to put loyalty and compassion into practice.
- Work beyond a wage Explore the restless search for purpose that makes earning a living more than a practical task.
- Warmth amid hard lessons Find Alcott’s humor and warmth in episodes shaped by her own experience of working life.
Who will love it
Perfect for readers who love a spirited heroine, warm friendships between women, and stories rich in humor and feeling. Fans of Little Women and of American life in the Civil War years will feel at home.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Christie declares her independence and leaves home
- A servant learns that work has dignity
- The stage brings applause and a hard lesson
- A governess refuses a rich man's proposal
- The Carrol family and their dreadful secret
- Rachel, the seamstress, and a misty wharf
- Mrs. Wilkins, Mr. Power, and the cottage in the lane
- Love grows slowly and is tested by jealousy
- Work, friendship, and the search for purpose
Who’s who
- Christie DevonA spirited young woman who leaves her uncle's farm to earn her own living and find a purposeful life.
- Aunt BetseyChristie's kind, practical aunt, who loves her niece but cannot quite understand her restless longing.
- Uncle EnosA gruff, money-minded farmer who thinks Christie's ideas will lead to failure.
- Hepsey JohnsonA cook who escaped slavery and saves every cent in hope of freeing her mother.
- Mrs. WilkinsA laundress with six children, a warm heart, and plain wisdom, who takes Christie in when she has nowhere to go.
- Mr. PowerA fiery free-church minister who finds Christie work and guides her toward useful service.
- David SterlingA gentle florist who lives with his Quaker mother and carries an old sorrow.
- RachelA skilled seamstress with a hidden past who becomes Christie's dearest friend.
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Work: A Story of Experience
by Louisa May Alcott · 1873
Christie Devon kneads dough, declares her independence at twenty-one, and leaves her uncle's farm to seek her fortune.
Medium level10–20 hours to readEnglish
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In short
What does a young woman do when her uncle's farm has no place for her dreams? In Work, published by Louisa May Alcott, Christie Devon turns twenty-one, kneads her bread, and announces a new Declaration of Independence.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Christie declares her independence and leaves home
Christie Devon tells her Aunt Betsey that she is of age and means to support herself. Her uncle Enos wants her gone, and she would rather leave than wait to be told. She feels like dough that has too much yeast and needs kneading in the wider world.
She explains herself with two logs on the hearth. One smolders sadly, and the other blazes and warms the room. She wants her life to be the blazing log, useful and cheerful while it lasts, and missed when it ends. Her uncle sneers that she will fail as her mother did, and she answers with calm anger.
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Also in the Louisa May Alcott Book Set: Three Novels
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Christie Devon kneads dough, declares her independence at twenty-one, and leaves her uncle's farm to seek her fortune.
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Details
- First published
- 1873
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 8 h 50 min
- Level
- Medium level
- Paperback
- 332 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Hardcover
- 332 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 501 pages · 8.5 × 11 in
- Large print hardcover
- 501 pages · 8.5 × 11 in
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What is Work: A Story of Experience about?
It follows Christie Devon, who leaves her uncle's farm at twenty-one to earn her living. She tries service, acting, governessing, nursing, and sewing, learning about herself and finding friends, love, and purpose.
Is Work by Louisa May Alcott based on a true story?
It is a novel about Christie Devon's search for independence and useful work.
Who are the main characters in Work?
Christie Devon is the heroine. Around her are Hepsey Johnson, Mrs. Wilkins, Rachel, Mr. Power, David Sterling, Mr. Fletcher, and the Carrol family.
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
All 14 booksMore like this
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