Little Women

With the popularity of the recent movie, interest in Little Women among girls has soared. Interest among scholars and adults, however, never abated.

Most people don't think of Little Women as a series, but in actuality it is. Little Women is itself two books. Louisa wrote two more sequels.

Little Women was a fictionalized autobiography of sorts. The characters were based, some tightly, others more loosely, on real people.

Marmee
Dear, sweet, loving and helpful, Marmee was much like Louisa' mother
Mr. March
Louisa found Mr. March difficult to portray, so she sent him off to war.
Meg
Meg was based on Anna, the oldest, who was pretty, domestic and sometimes envious of riches
Jo
Jo, of course, was based on Louisa herself, independent, sometimes brash and often tempestious
Beth
Beth was herself, Beth
Amy
Amy was based on May, an aspiring artist
John Brooke
Anna's husband, John Pratt, was given the name Brooke because the Pratt's were from Brook Farm
Laurie
Laurie was actually two boys, Ladislas Wisniewski, a Polish boy she met in Europe, and Alf Whitman, a dependable friend. She had called Ladislas Laurie, and Alf was from Lawrence, Kansas; ergo Theodore "Laurie" Lawrence. His character was essentially fiction.
Mr. Lawrence
Laurie's grandfather was based on Louisa's own grandfather, Colonel Joseph May, and her uncle, the Reverand Sam May. His character was essentially fiction.
Aunt March
Aunt March, with her dour disposition, was essentially fiction but also loosely drawn from stories of her generous but haughty Great-Aunt Hancock.
Prof. Friedrich "Fritz" Bhaer
No Prof. Bhaer existed, but he did have some similarities with Louisa's friend and encourager, Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Plumfield, the school in Little Men, was based on Louisa's father's early German-town school, his Boston Temple School and Frank Sanborn's Concord Academy.

Return to Girls' Series

Return to Booklover's Den

Page created November 1995 and maintained by Sharon Reid
biblioholc@aol.com