Little Women

Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) was a beloved author of children’s literature. Clara M. Burd (1873–1933) was a stained-glass designer and illustrator. Her work appeared in numerous magazines and children’s books, including Alcott’s Little Men and Jo’s Boys. Alice A. Carter is professor emeritus of animation and illustration at San Jose State University, and former co-director of education at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. Her illustrations have been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the country, and her publications include The Art of National Geographic: One Hundred Years of Illustration and Cecilia Beaux: A Modern Painter in the Gilded Age.

• In troduction: Picturing Little WomenBy Alice A. Carter . . . . . . . . . . 9Part II. Playing Pilgrims . . . . . . . . . . . 25II . A Merry Christmas . . . . . . . . . . 35III . The Laurence Boy . . . . . . . . . . 45IV. Burdens . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55V. Being Neighborly . . . . . . . . . . 66VI. Beth Finds the Palace Beautiful. . . . . . . 78VII . Amy’s Valley of Humiliation . . . . . . . 85VIII . Jo Meets Apollyon . . . . . . . . . . 92IX . Meg Goes to Vanity Fair. . . . . . . . 103X . The P. C. and P. O.. . . . . . . . . . 118XI. Experiments. . . . . . . . . . . . 127XII . Camp Laurence . . . . . . . . . . . 137XIII . Castles in the Air. . . . . . . . . . . 155XIV. Secrets. . . . . . . . . . . . . 165XV. A Telegram . . . . . . . . . . . . 174XVI. Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183XVII . Little Faithful. . . . . . . . . . . . 191XVIII . Dark Days . . . . . . . . . . . . 198XIX . Amy’s Will . . . . . . . . . . . . 206XX . Confidential. . . . . . . . . . . . 214XXI. Laurie Makes Mischief, and Jo Makes Peace. . . 222XXII . Pleasant Meadows . . . . . . . . . . 233XXIII . Aunt March Settles the Question. . . . . . 240Part III. Gossip . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253II . The First Wedding . . . . . . . . . . 264III . Artistic Attempts . . . . . . . . . . 270IV. Literary Lessons . . . . . . . . . . 280V. Domestic Experiences . . . . . . . . . 287VI. Calls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301VII . Consequences . . . . . . . . . . . 313VIII . Our Foreign Correspondent . . . . . . . 323IX . Tender Troubles . . . . . . . . . . 332X . Jo’s Journal. . . . . . . . . . . . 343XI. A Friend . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355XII . Heartache . . . . . . . . . . . . 369XIII . Beth’s Secret . . . . . . . . . . . 379XIV. New Impressions . . . . . . . . . . 385XV. On the Shelf. . . . . . . . . . . . 396XVI. Lazy Laurence . . . . . . . . . . . 408XVII . The Valley of the Shadow . . . . . . . . 421XVIII . Learning to Forget. . . . . . . . . . 427XIX . All Alone. . . . . . . . . . . . 438XX . Surprises . . . . . . . . . . . . 446XXI. My Lord and Lady. . . . . . . . . . 462XXII . Daisy and Demi . . . . . . . . . . . 467XXIII . Under the Umbrella. . . . . . . . . 473XXIV. Harvest Time . . . . . . . . . . . 487ILLUSTRATIONSBeth had a way of softly touching the yellow key. . . . . FrontispieceThe old gentleman turned up her face. . . . . . . . . 73Jo leaned over her sister . . . . . . . . . . . 99Jo threw open the door of the closet and displayed Laurie . . . . . 125The sisters sat together in the shady nook . . . . . . . . 157Jo assumed an indifferent air as she rumpled up the brown bush . . . . 181Amy told Marmee all her trials. . . . . . . . . . 217Aunt March came hobbling in at the interesting minute. . . . . . 245Jo appeared, proudly bearing a small flannel bundle. . . . . . 299The Professor caught Tina up with a laugh . . . . . . . . 347Beth lay on the warm rocks with her head in Jo’s lap. . . . . . 383Jo laid her head down and cried. . . . . . . . . . 443There stood a stout, bearded gentleman . . . . . . . . 457