Little Women

The timeless classic of four devoted sisters, treasured by children and adults alike—with an Afterword by Nina Auerbach

The basis for the Academy Award–winning film directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, and Saoirse Ronan

Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read

Little Women is one of the best-loved books of all time. Lovely Meg, talented Jo, frail Beth, spoiled Amy: these are the four March sisters, who learn the hard lessons of poverty and of growing up in New England during the Civil War. Through their dreams, plays, pranks, letters, illnesses, and courtships, women of all ages have become a part of this remarkable family and have felt deep sadness when Meg leaves the circle of sisters to be married at the end of Part I. Part II chronicles Meg’s joys and mishaps as a young wife and mother, Jo’s struggle to become a writer, Beth’s tragedy, and Amy’s artistic pursuits and unexpected romance.

Based on Louisa May Alcott’s childhood, this lively portrait of nineteenth-century family life possesses a lasting vitality that has endeared it to generations of readers.

This Bantam Classics edition contains Parts I and II in their entirety.