Based on her own experiences growing up as a young women with three other sisters.
Alcott's story centers around the March demesne of Orchard House in Concord, Mass.
With her husband away
fighting in the Civil War, Marmee is left alone to care for her four
daughters: the volatile and imaginative Jo,
the sophisticated Meg, the compassionate Beth,
and the romantic Amy. The girls share a bond that no outsider
can penetrate, although there
are some willing to make the attempt -- most of whom are men.
There's Laurie, a neighbor
with a passion for the piano who becomes a friend to all the Marches; John Brooke, a
poor
tutor who is smitten with Meg; and Professor Bhaer, a German immigrant who develops a friendship
with Jo.
Follows the adventures of Jo March and her husband, Professor Bhaer, as they try to make their school for
Rose in Bloom is about Rose, her friend Phebe and the eight male cousins that make
up her family.
These gruesome, passionate stories reveal a darker side of Alcott. Yet, in their mastery of suspense
When friends Jack and Jill are injured in a sledding accident, their family and friends rally around them
boys a happy, comfortable, and stimulating place. In Little Men, the characters from Little Women grow up
and begin new adventures at Plumfield, a progressive school founded by Jo and her husband, Professor Bhaer.
All the inhabitants of Plumfield, including the disheveled orphan Nat, the spoiled Stuffy and the naughty Nan,
will entice readers with the love and happiness they indulge in as they seek their education.
Rose In Bloom
Rose is about 18 years old and has just returned from traveling around the world with her uncle and
becoming educated. She learns how to apply her intellectual education to her actual life, figuring out
to what degree she
wants to take part in "society", how she wants to manage her fortune, and whether
she wants to marry, and if so, who. As a contrast, we see Phebe making many of the same choices,
but from the perspective of a young women who has been educated but doesn't have any family or
fortune to rely on. The cousins have also grown up(mostly) and are used to show examples of the
various paths that people take in growing up.
Finally, tragedy strikes Rose and her family, but the sun appeared and brought light back into their
lives with a wonderful ending. Behind A Mask
and psychological drama, they attest to the multifaceted genius of their creator. The four long novellas
in "Behind a Mask" also belongs to Alcott's blood-and-thunder oeuvre. We find here"Behind a Mask",
or A Women's Power,"Pauline's Passion and Punishment", "The Mysterious Key and What It Opened"
and "Abbot's Ghost, or Maurice Treherne's Temptation". "Pauline's Passion and Punishment" is
probably the best-known of the four and revolves around a typical Alcott femme fatale who has been scorned
by her lover, Gilbert Redmond, and plots her dreadful revenge. "Behind a Mask" is a fascinating and revealing
self-portrait of the author. By day, the protagonist is a sweet young governess; at night she becomes a bitter,
worldly woman who bewitches every male member of her household, wreaking havoc and destruction in the
family.Jack and Jill
to help in their recovery. Two inseparable friends, Jack and Jill's bond is tested by a serious accident.
But with the encouragement of friends and family, they resolve not to let the misfortune ruin the holiday season.
