Little Women is one of the best loved books of all time. Lovely Meg, talented Jo, frail Beth, spoiled Amy: there are hard lessons of poverty and of growing up in New England during the Civil War. Through their dreams, plays, pranks, letters, illnesses, and courtships, people of all ages have felt themselves to be part of this remarkable family. They have experienced the deep sadness when Meg leaves the circle of sisters to be married, 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 Louise May Alcott's childhood, this lively portrait of nineteenth-century family life possesses a lasting vitality that has endeared it to generations of readers.