Mini-Review

Another book about books! Rioux writes well about Louisa May Alcott’s personal context and how this influenced Little Women, as well as fascinating details about how it was commissioned and published, and how rapturously the book was received by children and young adults (and others!). It was a publishing phenomenon, like Harry Potter. I also loved the comparison with other books of the period, which shows how fresh and innovative it was to hear authentic dialogue in children’s books—something that’s hard for young contemporary readers to appreciate.

Rioux quotes the first sentence of Faith Gartney’s Girlhood (1863) by Adeline D. T. Whitney, to which, she says, Little Women was often compared:

Wow. That is so not a narrative hook.

Then she contrasts it with the directness of the famous opening scene of Little Women: the first sentence is:

“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

If you love Little Women and books of that era, I highly recommend this book!

(Also, the cover is BEAUTIFUL.)

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Boyd Rioux, A. (2018). Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The story of Little Women and why it still matters. W. W. Norton.

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