Little Women

by Louisa May Alcott

Now When Did That Happen?
Shmoop has provided a very detailed summary of the book, chapter by chapter. If you're like us, you'll want your students citing text evidence all over the place, but if you're like us, you probably also can't remember exactly what happened in each chapter without a little help (the book is enormous, after all).

The March Sisters and Jane
Just a few decades before the March sisters came around, Jane Eyre was published across the pond. While the March sisters lived quiet and happy lives, Jane's life was one heart wrenching drama after another. So what could they have in common? Well, for starters both were written by women about the largely uncelebrated struggles of women's lives—the difficulties of finding a living wage, the tedium of domestic duties, the annoying marriage market. Both draw on experiences of the authors, and have autobiographical elements. If you are fortunate enough to have a class that has read both, comparing and contrasting the two novels would make a great essay topic.