Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy

April 9, 2018
To coincide with the 150th anniversary of the publication of Little Women, Rioux (Constance Fenimore Woolson: Portrait of a Lady Novelist) offers a solid and well-illustrated history of the novel’s publication, reception, and adaptations. Rioux lays out biographical background on author Louisa May Alcott and traces her unlikely move from gothic potboiler author to girls’ literature phenom as a result of the book’s wild popularity. Rioux also examines the novel’s many stage and screen adaptations, argues it is as appropriate for boys as girls (a section that could be condensed), and discusses contemporary YA fiction directly influenced by this seminal work. In one section, Rioux explores the many women writers, from Susan Sontag to J.K. Rowling, inspired by the example of Jo March, one of the only early literary models of female authorship. She also successfully highlights important points in Little Women’s history, such as the publisher’s altered 1880 edition (still commonly read) that cleans up Alcott’s lively slang. Throughout, Rioux offers enough detail to entertain and inform without overwhelming the reader. While she notes the novel’s readership has fallen off in recent years, one hopes her well-crafted work will help revive interest in a work she rightfully argues should be placed beside Tom Sawyer as an enduring American classic.

June 15, 2018
A history of Little Women coinciding with the 150th anniversary of its original publication.When it was published in 1868, Louisa May Alcott's novel became an immediate bestseller. Encouraged by her publishers to write a "novel for girls," Alcott set her coming-of-age-story of four sisters during the Civil War and loosely based their struggles and aspirations on her own experiences with her three sisters. For countless generations of young readers, it has remained a beloved favorite as well as an influential touchstone to scores of aspiring writers. Yet this quietly groundbreaking novel has had more than its share of lukewarm responses from literary scholars, and it appears less frequently on high school reading lists compared to classics by noted male authors. Rioux (English/Univ. of New Orleans; Constance Fenimore Woolson: Portrait of a Lady Novelist, 2006, etc.) writes, "in spite of Little Women's elevation to canonical status, scholars still do not sufficiently acknowledge how key Little Women has been to the development of women's literary traditions in the United States and abroad. It has been a foundational text not only in the history of women's literature but also in individual writers' very conception of themselves as writers and artists." The author devotes the first few chapters to Alcott's family history and early writing career, touching on the similarities--as well as the striking differences--between Alcott's family and the characters in Little Women. Alcott endured considerably more challenging hardships than those depicted in the novel, which continued to fascinate in its many forms. Rioux provides an overview of the various film, stage, and TV incarnations, from the 1933 classic with Katharine Hepburn as Jo to the 1994 version by Australian director Gillian Armstrong (Rioux's favorite). From the 1970s onward, the novel continued to draw closer ties to the evolving women's movement, and its themes of ambition and empowerment have influenced such contemporary TV series as The Gilmore Girls and HBO's Girls.An enlightening, well-documented argument for why this novel is essential--will inspire readers to become acquainted or reacquainted with this influential classic.

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 1, 2018

Rioux (English, Univ. of New Orleans; Constance Fenimore Woolson) commemorates the 150th anniversary of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women with this volume examining the novel's enduring influence. Providing a brief biography of Alcott (1832-88), who faced many hardships yet also saw fame and fortune owing to the work's immediate popularity, Rioux reports ten million copies of the book sold globally since 1868. Moreover, the story has inspired three motion pictures, a play, radio broadcasts, numerous television miniseries, a musical, and an opera, with a new miniseries and film release coming this year. Yet despite its success, critics (especially in the 20th century) have often dismissed the work and schools have ceased teaching what Rioux considers "a core text in the development of feminist literary criticism." Nevertheless, Little Women continues to influence writers and popular media such as television's Gilmore Girls, supporting Rioux's argument for the book to be taught more regularly as it continues to challenge readers. VERDICT Highly recommended for all readers interested in Alcott and her masterpiece's legacy.--Erica Swenson Danowitz, Delaware Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Media, PA

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2018

Rioux (English, University of New Orleans; Constance Fenimore Woolson) commemorates the 150th anniversary of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women with this volume examining the novel's enduring influence. Providing a brief biography of Alcott (1832-88), who faced many hardships yet also saw fame and fortune owing to the work's immediate popularity, Rioux reports ten million copies of the book sold globally since 1868. Moreover, the story has inspired three motion pictures, a play, radio broadcasts, numerous television miniseries, a musical, and an opera, with a new miniseries and film release coming this year. Yet despite its success, critics (especially in the 20th century) have often dismissed the work and schools have ceased teaching what Rioux considers "a core text in the development of feminist literary criticism." Nevertheless, Little Women continues to influence writers and popular media such as television's Gilmore Girls, supporting Rioux's argument for the book to be taught more regularly as it continues to challenge readers. VERDICT Highly recommended for all readers interested in Alcott and her masterpiece's legacy.-Erica Swenson Danowitz, Delaware County Community College Library, Media, PA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.