Little Women in English

Louisa May Alcott

originalC1.8American English · Civil War and Reconstruction · 1868genreClassicsvibeTenderFamilyComing of ageaudioUS

Four sisters grow up in a poor but loving New England family while their father is away at war. Each wants a different life, and the book follows what they do with it.

The book falls into two halves. The first follows the March sisters as children and teenagers over a year, the second follows them as young women, and there are shorter episodes in each. It is made of small domestic scenes: plays, quarrels, parties, letters, a home-made newspaper, songs and poems. A warm narrator speaks to the reader and often draws a moral from what has just happened. The sisters' games are built on Pilgrim's Progress, and there are scattered Bible references. The language is everyday American English of the 1860s, with lots of dialogue and a few characters who speak with accents.

What kind of book“Little Women” is

Versions of “Little Women” in English: B1

Same book, adapted to a level you can read without stopping

levelA1–A2B1–B2C1–C2pagesaudiobook

Vocabulary by level

A1 63%
A2 16%
B1 8%
B2 6%
not in dictionary 4%

A sample from “Little Women” in English

One passage, the way each version writes it.

Tap any word — we will show the translation

B2.9167 words

That put Jo at her ease, and she laughed too. She said, in her friendliest way—

“We did have such a good time over your nice Christmas present.”

“Grandpa sent it.”

“But you put it into his head, didn’t you, now?”

“How is your cat, Miss March?” asked the boy, trying to look serious, while his black eyes shone with fun.

“Nicely, thank you, Mr. Laurence; but I am not Miss March, I’m only Jo,” returned the young lady.

“I’m not Mr. Laurence, I’m only Laurie.”

“Laurie Laurence—what an odd name!”

“My first name is Theodore, but I don’t like it, for the fellows called me Dora, so I made them say Laurie instead.”

“I hate my name, too—so sentimental! I wish everyone would say Jo, instead of Josephine. How did you make the boys stop calling you Dora?”

“I beat ’em up.”

“I can’t beat up Aunt March, so I suppose I shall have to bear it.” And Jo accepted it with a sigh.

B1.6177 words

That made Jo feel comfortable. She laughed too, and she spoke in her warmest way.

“We had such a good time over your nice Christmas present.”

“Grandpa sent it.”

“But you gave him the idea, didn’t you, now?”

“How is your cat, Miss March?” asked the boy. He tried to look serious, but his black eyes shone with fun.

“Very well, thank you, Mr. Laurence. But I am not Miss March, I’m only Jo,” answered the young lady.

“I’m not Mr. Laurence, I’m only Laurie.”

“Laurie Laurence—what a strange name!”

“My first name is Theodore, but I don’t like it. The boys called me Dora, so I made them say Laurie instead.”

“I hate my name, too—it is so sentimental (full of soft, romantic feelings)! I wish everyone would say Jo instead of Josephine. How did you make the boys stop calling you Dora?”

“I thrashed (beat in a fight) them.”

“I can’t thrash Aunt March, so I suppose I must bear it.” Jo gave a sigh (long, deep breath of sadness) and accepted it.

The same passage at different levelsContinue in the reader

The original language of “Little Women” and what it gives you

How hard the language is C1.8

The words are mostly simple: about four in five fall in the A1–A2 bands, and only 4% are archaic, dialect or invented. The measurement still puts the original at a high C1. The reasons are the sentence length, which averages nearly 22 words and runs longer in the narrator's comments, the old-fashioned expressions, the accents in speech and the sheer size of the book. It is a long read in plain words, not a short one in hard words.

What this means in practice: Easy words, long book: a good one for steady reading if you can handle old-fashioned phrasing and a few accents.

What to be ready for

Period family prose. The English is mid-nineteenth-century American, with a warm and sometimes moralising narrator and lively everyday talk full of period slang such as 'jolly', 'capital' and 'Christopher Columbus!'.

Hannah's speech. Hannah speaks plain rural New England English ('mum', 'ain't', 'Sakes alive'), a moderate departure from standard English.

Professor Bhaer. Professor Bhaer speaks German-accented English with German words and word order, while Mrs Hummel and Lotty speak simpler, broken or German-flavoured English.

French and Irish touches. Belle Moffat and the maid Hortense use French words and phrases, and Kitty, the Irish cook, has touches of Irish English such as 'aisy'.

Mixed texts. The story includes letters, a home-made newspaper, songs and poems, some Bible and Pilgrim's Progress language, and Amy's comic wrong long words.

How to read it and not quit

Do not copy Hannah's 'ain't' or Professor Bhaer's word order as standard English: they are character voices, and Amy's long wrong words are jokes.
Words like 'jolly' and 'capital' are old-fashioned slang for 'very good' and nobody says them today, but they are easy to guess from context.
Long sentences with commas and semicolons are easier if you stop at each semicolon and read the parts as separate statements.
Skip over the French and German phrases if you do not know them: the meaning is usually clear from the next line.

Contents of “Little Women” · 48 chapters

Epigraphpage 1
I: Playing Pilgrimspage 1
I: Playing Pilgrims (continued)page 9
II: A Merry Christmaspage 18
II: A Merry Christmas (continued)page 27
III: The Laurence Boypage 35

All 48 chapters

III: The Laurence Boy (continued)page 43
IV: Burdenspage 51
IV: Burdens (continued)page 61
V: Being Neighborlypage 71
V: Being Neighborly (continued)page 79
VI: Beth Finds the Palace Beautifulpage 88
VII: Amy’s Valley of Humiliationpage 98
VIII: Jo Meets Apollyonpage 109
VIII: Jo Meets Apollyon (continued)page 118
IX: Meg Goes to Vanity Fairpage 126
IX: Meg Goes to Vanity Fair (continued)page 139
X: The P.C. and P.O.page 152
XI: Experimentspage 166
XI: Experiments (continued)page 175
XII: Camp Laurencepage 184
XII: Camp Laurence (continued)page 195
XII: Camp Laurence (continued)page 205
XIII: Castles in the Airpage 215
XIII: Castles in the Air (continued)page 222
XIV: Secretspage 229
XV: A Telegrampage 242
XVI: Letterspage 255
XVII: Little Faithfulpage 266
XVIII: Dark Dayspage 277
XIX: Amy’s Willpage 289
XX: Confidentialpage 303
XXI: Laurie Makes Mischief, and Jo Makes Peacepage 314
XXI: Laurie Makes Mischief, and Jo Makes Peace (continued)page 323
XXII: Pleasant Meadowspage 331
XXIII: Aunt March Settles the Questionpage 342
XXIII: Aunt March Settles the Question (continued)page 350
XXIV: Gossippage 358
XXIV: Gossip (continued)page 367
XXV: The First Weddingpage 376
XXVI: Artistic Attemptspage 386
XXVI: Artistic Attempts (continued)page 394
XXVII: Literary Lessonspage 402
XXVIII: Domestic Experiencespage 414
XXVIII: Domestic Experiences (continued)page 426
XXIX: Callspage 436
XXIX: Calls (continued)page 446
XXX: Consequencespage 456
XXX: Consequences (continued)page 464
XXXI: Our Foreign Correspondentpage 473
XXXI: Our Foreign Correspondent (continued)page 483
XXXII: Tender Troublespage 489
XXXII: Tender Troubles (continued)page 498
XXXIII: Jo’s Journalpage 506
XXXIII: Jo’s Journal (continued)page 517
XXXIV: A Friendpage 526
XXXIV: A Friend (continued)page 538
XXXV: Heartachepage 550
XXXV: Heartache (continued)page 558
XXXVI: Beth’s Secretpage 565
XXXVII: New Impressionspage 574
XXXVII: New Impressions (continued)page 582
XXXVIII: On the Shelfpage 590
XXXVIII: On the Shelf (continued)page 599
XXXIX: Lazy Laurencepage 608
XXXIX: Lazy Laurence (continued)page 618
XL: The Valley of the Shadowpage 628
XLI: Learning to Forgetpage 636
XLI: Learning to Forget (continued)page 647
XLII: All Alonepage 655
XLIII: Surprisespage 667
XLIII: Surprises (continued)page 679
XLIV: My Lord and Ladypage 691
XLV: Daisy and Demipage 699
XLVI: Under the Umbrellapage 708
XLVI: Under the Umbrella (continued)page 718
XLVII: Harvest Timepage 728
XLVII: Harvest Time (continued)page 737

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The story of “Little Women”

1868
Publicación del primer volumen
Roberts Brothers publicó la primera parte de Mujercitas en septiembre de 1868; se agotó casi de inmediato.
Louisa May Alcott, letters and publisher records
1869
Publicación del segundo volumen
La secuela, a menudo llamada Aquellas mujercitas, apareció en 1869 y más tarde se encuadernó con la primera parte como una sola novela.
Roberts Brothers edition
1880
Primera edición británica
Mujercitas se publicó en Gran Bretaña, donde se convirtió en un favorito perdurable.
1933
Primera adaptación cinematográfica sonora
La película de George Cukor con Katharine Hepburn como Jo fue una importante versión de Hollywood.
RKO Pictures
2018
150 aniversario
El sesquicentenario de la novela se celebró con nuevas ediciones, exposiciones y lecturas públicas.

In culture “Little Women”

10 adaptations and mentions, 1868–2019

1868
Art Ilustraciones originales
May Alcott, la hermana de la autora, proporcionó las ilustraciones para la primera edición.
Roberts Brothers edition
1933
Film Mujercitas (película de 1933)
La adaptación de George Cukor ganó un Premio de la Academia al Mejor Guion Adaptado.
RKO Pictures
1949
Film Mujercitas (película de 1949)
La versión en Technicolor de Mervyn LeRoy estuvo protagonizada por June Allyson y Elizabeth Taylor.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
1994
Film Mujercitas (película de 1994)
La película de Gillian Armstrong con Winona Ryder acercó la historia a una nueva generación.
Columbia Pictures
2005
Stage Mujercitas (ópera)
La ópera Mujercitas de Mark Adamo se estrenó en la Houston Grand Opera y se ha representado ampliamente.
Houston Grand Opera
2005
Music Mujercitas (musical)
Un musical de Broadway con música de Jason Howland y letras de Mindi Dickstein se estrenó en 2005.
Broadway production
2017
Series Mujercitas (serie de televisión de 2017)
Una miniserie de BBC One adaptó la novela para televisión.
BBC
2019
Film Mujercitas (película de 2019)
La adaptación de Greta Gerwig obtuvo seis nominaciones a los Premios de la Academia y ganó el de Mejor Diseño de Vestuario.
Sony Pictures
In the language Mujercitas
El título se convirtió en sinónimo de hermandad y de la historia de iniciación doméstica, a menudo utilizado para grupos de hermanas o amigas íntimas.
In the language Jo March
El nombre se convirtió en sinónimo de la escritora ambiciosa e independiente y de la chica poco convencional.

Questions and answers about “Little Women” in English

Is Little Women based on a true story?

Partly. Louisa May Alcott drew on her own family and had three sisters, and Jo is generally seen as a version of Alcott herself. The events are not an exact record of her life, but the family, the poverty and the writing ambitions come from experience.

Who are the four March sisters?

Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, from oldest to youngest. Meg is the eldest and cares about home and comfort, Jo is the writer with a temper, Beth is shy and musical, and Amy is the youngest and wants to be an artist.

Did Alcott want Jo to get married?

She meant to keep Jo single and said so. Readers and her publisher wanted weddings, and the second half is shaped by that pressure. What Jo does in the end is still something readers argue about.

Is Little Women one book or two? Do I need to read the sequels?

It stands alone as a complete story. The second half was first published separately and is sometimes sold as Good Wives. Alcott later wrote Little Men and Jo's Boys about the same family, but you do not need them.

How different are the Little Women films from the book?

The 1994 film follows the book's order of events quite closely. Greta Gerwig's 2019 film keeps the main story but tells it in two time periods and jumps between them, while the book runs in order. All the films cut scenes to fit the length.

What is the Pilgrim's Progress part in Little Women?

The girls play at Pilgrim's Progress, the seventeenth-century story of a journey to the Celestial City, and their mother uses it to teach them to carry their burdens. The first chapter is even called 'Playing Pilgrims'. Knowing the outline helps, but you can follow the book without it.

Is Little Women a Christmas book?

It begins at Christmas and Christmas returns later, but it is not only a Christmas story. The book covers years of the sisters' lives, so Christmas is one of several important occasions.

Why do some characters talk strangely in Little Women?

Because they come from different backgrounds. Hannah, the family's servant, speaks rural New England English, Professor Bhaer is a German in America, and some other characters speak German- or French-flavoured English. The odd grammar is written on purpose to show who they are.

Is Little Women boring?

It depends on what you want, but it is slow by modern standards. There is no mystery or large plot: the interest is in small events, the sisters' arguments and the way they change. The narrator also preaches from time to time, and some readers skip those parts.

Is Little Women sad?

It has serious moments, including illness and loss, but the tone stays warm and the book is mostly about family life and everyday pleasures. It is not a bleak book.

In brief about “Little Women”

17 fields of imprint data and measured text characteristics. All of it checkable.

Original title: Little Women
Author: Louisa May Alcott
First published: 1868
Original language: English
Genre: Classics · Romance · Memoir
Mood: Tender
Themes: Family · Coming of age · Society · Love
Setting: A New England town in the United States, mainly the March family's home, with stays in New York and Europe · The American Civil War years and just after, the 1860s
Distinct words: 10,578

Words per sentence: 22 words
Level of the original: C1.8
Versions: C1.8, B2.9, B1.6
Length of the original: 75 ch. · 186,333 words
Reading time: ~17 h 20 min
Source text: Standard Ebooks
Rights: CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication)
Download: EPUB