Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters

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Soon after publication on September 30, 1868, Little Women became an enormous bestseller and one of America s favorite novels Its popularity quickly spread throughout the world, and the book has become an international classic When Anne Boyd Rioux read the novel in her twenties, she had a powerful reaction to the story Through teaching the book, she has seen the same effect on many others.In Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy, Rioux recounts how Louisa May Alcott came to write Little Women, drawing inspiration for it from her own life Rioux also examines why this tale of family and community ties, set while the Civil War tore America apart, has resonated through later wars, the Depression, and times of changing opportunities for women.Alcott s novel has moved generations of women, many of them writers Simone de Beauvoir, J K Rowling, bell hooks, Cynthia Ozick, Jane Smiley, Margo Jefferson, and Ursula K Le Guin were inspired by Little Women, particularly its portrait of the iconoclastic young writer, Jo Many have felt, as Anna Quindlen has declared, Little Women changed my life Today, Rioux sees the novel s beating heart in Alcott s portrayal of family resilience and her honest look at the struggles of girls growing into women In gauging its current status, Rioux shows why Little Women remains a book with such power that people carry its characters and spirit throughout their lives. New Read Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters Author Anne Boyd Rioux For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr This was a joy to read and I hated to see it end Even if you re not a Little Women aficionado, there s a lot to learn here about societal, educational and cultural trends just to name a few topics of the past 150 years 150 years It s hard to believe that a book I started loving as a child and that s still relevant today was written that long ago The first section, The Making of a Classic , gives a brief history of how and why Little Woman came to be and of its instant fame I didn t This was a joy to read and I hated to see it end Even if you re not a Little Women aficionado, there s a lot to learn here about societal, educational and cultural trends just to name a few topics of the past 150 years 150 years It s hard to believe that a book I started loving as a child and that s still relevant today was written that long ago The first section, The Making of a Classic , gives a brief history of how and why Little Woman came to be and of its instant fame I didn t think I d learn anything new in this section, but that was not the case at all I also appreciated the discussion of the various illustrators the work has had, as well as a few examples of some of their art In the next section, The Life of a Classic , Rioux delves into the afterlife of Little Woman, its adaptations to stage the first of an earlier date than I expected and screen and how the novel made its way from being considered...A well written, interesting and well thought out book about the novel and what it meant to the girls of yesterday, and the new readers of today Also a surprising mini biography of Alcott s own life and how closely it mirrored the c...2018 marks the 150th anniversary of Louisa May Alcott s Little Women, a novel which became a trendsetter best seller, influencing generations of girls Anne Boyd Rioux s new book Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy the Story of Little Women and Why They Still Matter celebrates the novel s history, legacy, and influence I don t recall when I first read Little Women I was given a copy of Alcott s later novel Eight Cousins when I was in elementary school Madame Alexander created Little Women dolls, and in 1960 2018 marks the 150th anniversary of Louisa May Alcott s Little Women, a novel which became a trendsetter best seller, influencing generations of girls Anne Boyd Rioux s new book Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy the Story of Little Women and Why They Still Matter celebrates the novel s history, legacy, and influence I don t recall when I first read Little Women I was given a copy of Alcott s later novel Eight Cousins when I was in elementary school Madame Alexander created Little Women dolls, and in 1960 to 1962 my great grandmother gifted me Marmee, Beth, Amy and Meg I never got a Jo doll for sadly she passed away in 1963 By then, I must have read the book or seen the movie, because I recall thinking that Amy was spoiled and I did not like he...Professor Anne Boyd Rioux makes some bold claims for Little Women, including that it is arguably the most influential book ever written by an American woman This is not so much a work of literary criticism although Rioux does cite what various literary critics have had to say about the novel butan examination of the work s origins, a study of its relevance and popularity during the past 150 years, and an appraisal of its current status within the canon Throughout, but particularly Professor Anne Boyd Rioux makes some bold claims for Little Women, including that it is arguably the most influential book...This was rather fun, but I enjoyed the first half, about Alcott s life and the immediate reception of her most famous book, a great dealthan the second, which peters out into an examination of pretty much any contemporary work in any medium in which girls are the the main characters Katniss and the Gil Girls get a lot of attention, apparently being literary descendants of Jo March I was unconvinced None the less, any fan of Little Women will want to read this, and should I was This was rather fun, but I enjoyed the first half, about Alcott s life and the immediate reception of her most famous book, a great dealthan the second, which peters out into an examination of pretty much any contemporary work in any medium in which girls are the the main characters Katniss and th...One of the best books about a book books that I ve read This is engaging literary scholarship for a popular audience if you have the slightest interest in Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, 19th century American literature, film adaptations, literary history, reading pop culture, or young...See my Literary Hub article on rereading Little Women in its 150th anniversary year and watching the new BBC PBS miniseries adaptation Rioux s book unearths Little Women s origins in Alcott family history, but also traces its influence through to the present day Multiple generations of heroines, she believes, owe an obvious debt to Alcott s pathbreaking portrayal of a spunky young heroine with a literary bent everyone from Anne Shirley in L.M Montgomery s Anne of Green Gables series to See my Literary Hub article on rereading Little Women in its 150th anniversary year and watching the new BBC PBS miniseries adaptation Rioux s book unearths Little Women s origins in Alcott family history, but also traces its influence through to the present day Multiple generations of heroines, she believes, owe an obvious debt to Alcott s pathbreaking portrayal of a spunky young heroine with a literary bent everyone from Anne Shirley in L.M Montgomery s Anne of Green Gables series to Hermione in the Harry Potter books Rioux also compares the dozens of Little Women adaptations, ranging from silent...Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters by Anne Boyd Rioux is a wonderful look at Louisa May Alcott s novel, including its context, history, meaning, contemporary significance, andI loved Little Women and read it multiple times as a kid and teenager and should read it again as an adult , so Rioux s book was particularly fun for me, although I think anyone who is interested in literary history would get a lot out of it even if they weren t an Alcott fan It Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters by Anne Boyd Rioux is a wonderful look at Louisa May Alcott s novel, including its context, history, meaning, contemporary significance, andI loved Little Women and read it multiple times as a kid and teenager and should read it again as an adult , so Rioux s book was particularly fun for me, although I think anyone who is interested in literary history would get a lot out of it even if they weren t an Alcott fan It s not a terribly long book less than 300 pages but it packs a ton in Rioux gives a biographical sketch of the Alcott family in the first section, and then mov...Very enjoyable I would have given itstars if it had been longer anddeveloped.I am a guy who loved Little Women when I first read it I love it now, and have directed the musical based upon it twice I have seen virtually every iteration of it on the silver screen and Rioux is dead on the money in her estimation of Hepburn s performance as Jo with a special fondness for the Winona Ryder version, with Sarandon s take no prisoners Marmee In Rioux s universe, I am a unicorn Very enjoyable I would have given itstars if it had been longer anddeveloped.I am a guy who loved Little Women when I first read it I love it now, and have directed the musical based upon it twice I have seen virtually every iteration of it on the silver screen and Rioux is dead on the money in her estimation of Hepburn s performance as Jo with a special fondness for the Winona Ryder version, with Sarandon s take no prisoners Marmee In Rioux s universe, I am a unicorn Boys just don t read the book Why the hell not It is hard for me to believe that Little Women is not taught as part of the Academy What book...This book spoils endings for Little Women, the Harry Potter series, The Hunger Games trilogy and the TV shows Gil Girls and Girls.The first half disappointed me, but I enjoyed the second half quite a bit The book begins with a brief biography of Louisa May Alcott, then continues to describe and analyze the various movie adaptations It then lists books inspired by Little Women, books in which the characters read Little Women, writers who have found Little Women to be incredibly influential This book spoils endings for Little Women, the Harry Potter series, The Hunger Games trilogy and the TV shows Gil Girls and Girls.The first half disappointed me, but I enjoyed the second half quite a bit The book begins with a brief biography of Louisa May Alcott, then continues to describe and analyze the various movie adaptations It then lists books inspired by Little Women, books in which the characters read Little Women, writers who have found Little Women to be incredibly influential for them, and people for whom Jo March is a major role model These lists, while providing proof of Little Women s enduring influence, were tedious to read However, the second half, which deals with the feminist interpretations of Little Women and questions of whether Little Women is still relevant for today s readers, was what I wanted this entire book to be Overall this bo...

Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters
  • 06 November 2018
  • Hardcover
  • 288 pages
  • 0393254739
  • Anne Boyd Rioux
  • Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters