Reading Little Women: The History of an American Classic

FAIN: FZ-231734-16

Anne Boyd Rioux
University of New Orleans (New Orleans, LA 70148-0001)

Research and writing of a comprehensive study of Little Women, including elements of memoir, literary criticism, historical context, and literary biography, in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the novel's publication.

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the publication of Little Women, I am writing a "biography of the book"—a variety of literary nonfiction that combines elements of (biblio)memoir, literary criticism, historical context, and literary biography—in order to illuminate for a nonspecialist audience how the novel was written and why it endures. The time is ripe to reassess the novel’s significance, as it appears on the Common Core Standards reading list for grades 6-8, a new film is in the works from Sony Pictures, and we appear to be on the verge of the first viable women's candidacy for president by Hillary Clinton, one of the many women who has declared that Jo March was her greatest influence growing up. (Others include Ruth Bader Ginsberg, J. K. Rowling, and Patti Smith.) This book will examine the novel's significance as a feminist and an American literary classic, examining how much girls may still need it today and arguing that it should be read by men and women of all ages.

Associated Products

Little Women’ is 150 years old, but its impact endures (Article)
Title: Little Women’ is 150 years old, but its impact endures
Author: Charlotte Gordon
Abstract: Back in the 1960s, my friends and I thought we had two choices when we grew up: We could be wives and mothers or career women. Even though there were some women “having it all,” this was before Title IX, back when Women’s Lib was shocking the suburbs and the smoke from bras was only just beginning to filter up to the sky.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/little-women-is-150-years-old-but-its-impact-endures/2018/08/21/be7ab122-9fc3-11e8-8e87-c869fe70a721_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a442df527165
Format: Newspaper
Publisher: Washington Post

After 150 Years, 'Little Women' Still Resonates (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: After 150 Years, 'Little Women' Still Resonates
Writer: ILANA MASAD
Abstract: About once a year I turn to one particularly tattered book, its red cover worn, its two halves taped together after falling apart from frequent use years ago. Like so many others through generations, I return to this book again and again, called to it by some inexplicable yearning for a life I never had, a nostalgia for a time I didn't experience, and a desire to learn and mature with the characters. Though I have never been able to choose a "favorite book," I have always known that if I had to be stuck on a desert island — with only one book to bring with me — it would be this one: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott. Each time I read it, I discover something new and wonderful while simultaneously communing with the familiar and beloved.
Date: 08/23/2018
Primary URL: https://www.npr.org/2018/08/23/641192860/after-150-years-little-women-still-resonates
Format: Web

Why Little Women Endures (Article)
Title: Why Little Women Endures
Author: Sarah Blackwood
Abstract: A new book reveals the powerful frustrations and sharp wit that shaped Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: https://newrepublic.com/article/150579/little-women-endures-louisa-may-alcott-anne-boyd-rioux
Format: Other
Publisher: The New Republic

'Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy' review: Anne Boyd Rioux charts affectionate history of 'Little Women' (Article)
Title: 'Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy' review: Anne Boyd Rioux charts affectionate history of 'Little Women'
Author: Connie Ogle
Abstract: In your memory, Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” may linger as a charming, occasionally heartbreaking story of four sisters growing up in the years during and after America’s Civil War, guided by a generous, loving mother.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/books/anne-boyd-rioux-meg-jo-beth-amy-review-1.20530068
Format: Newspaper
Publisher: Newsday

MEG, JO, BETH, AMY (Article)
Title: MEG, JO, BETH, AMY
Author: Anne Boyd Rioux
Abstract: A history of Little Women coinciding with the 150th anniversary of its original publication.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/anne-boyd-rioux/meg-jo-beth-amy/
Publisher: Kirkus

We may need ‘Little Women’ now more than ever (Article)
Title: We may need ‘Little Women’ now more than ever
Author: Wendy Smith
Abstract: The subtitle of Anne Boyd Rioux’s engaging reassessment of “Little Women” may seem to protest too much. When a 150-year-old novel is the basis for not one but two forthcoming movies — a modern-dress version opening in September and a star-studded period piece in development by screenwriter/director Greta Gerwig — the need to explain “why it still matters” would appear to be minimal.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2018/08/23/may-need-little-women-now-more-than-ever/OwNPMicQRuTZJj8xJ6D89O/story.html
Format: Newspaper
Publisher: Boston Globe

How “Little Women” Got Big (Article)
Title: How “Little Women” Got Big
Author: Joan Acocella
Abstract: From Simone de Beauvoir to Stephenie Meyer, the world that Louisa May Alcott created has been an inspiration for generations of female writers.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/08/27/how-little-women-got-big
Format: Magazine
Publisher: The New Yorker

Why Don’t More Boys Read Little Women? (Article)
Title: Why Don’t More Boys Read Little Women?
Author: Anne Boyd Rioux
Abstract: When I began teaching Little Women in my American literature survey courses, I wondered how many of my students had read the book before. In that first class, only one said she had read it in high school. A few of the women had been given the book to read as girls. None of the men had read it. This was a small sample, admittedly, but I wondered if it was being taught in middle and high schools. Surely if books such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were being taught, their near-contemporary and, shall we say, feminine counterpart, Little Women, was as well. It didn’t take much digging to find out how wrong I was and why Alcott’s classic had not endured as a book for schools while Twain’s tales of boyhood had.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: https://lithub.com/why-dont-more-boys-read-little-women/
Format: Other
Publisher: Lithub

Alcott’s Anniversary (Article)
Title: Alcott’s Anniversary
Author: Joseph Bottum
Abstract: Review: 'Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of "Little Women" and Why It Still Matters' by Anne Boyd Rioux
Year: 2018
Primary URL: https://freebeacon.com/culture/review-meg-jo-beth-amy-by-anne-boyd-rioux/
Format: Magazine
Publisher: The Washington Free Beacon

Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters (Book)
Title: Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters
Author: Anne Boyd Rioux
Year: 2019
Primary URL: https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=393357279
Primary URL Description: WorldCat entry (393357279)
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co.
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 393357279

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