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    Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters
    Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters
    Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters
    Audiobook9 hours

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

    Written by Anne Boyd Rioux

    Narrated by Kimberly Farr

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Since its publication on September 30, 1868, Little Women has been one of America's favorite stories. While we now think of it as a girls' book, it was initially read by both boys and girls, men and women of all ages. Professor Anne Boyd Rioux, who read it in her twenties, tells us how Louisa May Alcott came to write the book and drew inspiration for her story from her own life. Its Civil War-era tale of family and community ties resonated through later wars, the Depression, and times of changing opportunities for women, even into the twenty-first century. Rioux sees the novel's beating heart in its honest look at adolescence and its inspiring vision of young women's resilience and hope. In gauging its reception today, she shows why it remains a book with such power that people carry its characters and spirit throughout their lives.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateAug 21, 2018
    ISBN9781684413218
    Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters

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    Reviews for Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy

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    • 5/5
      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 girls’ and boys’ reading choices/experiences (among a host of other issues), this is a book you’ll want to check out.

      I'll write a more detailed review soon.
    • 2/5
      This book was not what I expected based on the title and blurbs. I found "the story of Little Women" to be interesting and educational, especially discussions of why certain publication or editing choices were made and some of the context surrounding the book, but "why it still matters" was lacking and filled with repetitive lists of authors who have spoken about Little Women or alluded to the book in their own work, and not a whole lot about how the story fits into contemporary fiction or the value it has for modern readers.Especially in the last third of the book, the author's expertise in 19th century American literature was really obvious - Rioux expresses disdain and dissatisfaction with nearly every aspect of modern writing for young people without analyzing why young people or educators might find value in these new books. It is a crying shame to Rioux that Little Women isn't in the top list of books that kids read, but discussion of the books replacing it is mostly about how terrible they are. It's true that a lot of books for kids elevate boys and ignore girls, but that isn't the only reason why Little Women has fallen, but that's the only one Rioux gives that doesn't amount to basically "kids these days!" or "back in my time, children were polite and respectful".The middle third of the book felt like an endless list of so-and-so quoted Little Women or so-and-so said they really liked Little Women as a kid. Annotated bibliographies are great, but not what I was hoping to get from this particular book, and especially not when the analysis I looked for is so lacking.Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy would have been much better if the "why it still matters" part were written by someone who specializes in the sociology of childhood, in children's literature, or especially in modern books and children's culture. I can think of so many ways to show how Little Women continues to influence writing for kids other than the 4-sisters set-up or outright fanfiction, but Rioux doesn't do that. I wish she had, but then again, her speciality is 19th century American literature, and for her, there seems to be a clear split: either you get The Gossip Girls or you get Little Women and there's no room to appreciate the value of both for young readers.
    • 4/5
      Rioux provides a brief biography of Louisa May Alcott, traces the history of the writing and publishing of Little Women, then discusses the novel, its many adaptations through the years, and the effect it has had on literature for children. This was fascinating and very readable. I especially enjoyed the section on various adaptations and how they view the story/what they change, as well as the chapter on the influence the novel has had on later literature, especially YA. Recommended, especially if you have any fondness for Little Women.
    • 5/5
      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 her. I always liked Jo because she was a writer and at age nine I had decided I wanted to be an author when I grew up. Meg, Beth, Jo, Amy is more than a nostalgic look at the novel, for Rioux seeks to answer the question of what the novel offers to young readers today. Is it still relevant?But first, she turns her attention to The Making of a Classic, presenting Alcott 's family and personal history, how they were fictionalized in the novel, how she came to write the novel and its early success. Although the novel was inspired by the Alcott's family experiences, it was a very much idealized version of their life. Bronson Alcott held ideals that did not include worldly considerations so that his wife and daughters had to struggle to provide for their daily needs. He may have had episodes of mental instability. Louisa was perhaps a genius, but she also had to write to contribute to the family coffers. Alcott never meant to marry off all the March girls, save Beth who dies. But the publisher insisted. Jo was at least allowed to marry on her own terms, and her husband and she run a school together.This section alone was fascinating for those of us who love the novel.The various printings of the novel, the illustrators (including those by May Alcott) are also presented.In Part II, The Life of a Classic, follows the novel's adaptation for the screen and stage--including a musical and an opera--and their influence. I recently viewed the last adaptation, the BBC/PBS television series on Masterpiece Theater, which I very much enjoyed.Rioux then turns her attention to the novel's Cultural and Literary Influence, including how it has dropped off the literary canon and has been marginalized as a 'girl's book.' And yet the novel had "more influence on women writers as a group than any other single book," Rioux writes, and she quotes dozens of writers extolling its inspiration. Little Women's legacy includes novels such as Anne of Green Gables by L. M Montgomery and Hermonine Granger in the Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling. Is the novel an idealized version of life, or does it reflect reality? G. K. Chesterton thought Alcott "anticipated realism by twenty or thirty years," while many 20th c writers found it preachy and, in short, too feminine. Gloria Steinem and Germaine Greer both loved Little Women, while other feminists rejected the novel.Is Little Women still relevant today, and why should it continue to be read, is probed in Part III: A Classic for Today. In recent years fewer children have read Little Women, and that is in part because educational standards became slanted toward boys and their needs and interests. Even if Teddy Roosevelt liked the book as a boy, today's boys won't pick up a book that is girlish. That's why some writers use initials instead of first names--so the boy readers won't know the books are written by a female! Sadly, few books by women appear on school reading lists.What is lost when boy don't read about family and community? Have we 'hypermasculinized' boys and condoned intolerance of the feminine?Last of all, Rioux looks at the role models girls today have, from Disney princesses to the action heroines and warrior princesses, Rory Gilmore to Girls.As a novel about young girls growing up, the March sisters offer readers images of what it means to be a girl and the choices girls have.The novel, Rioux says, "is about learning to live with and for others," and it is about the compromises we make in life.I highly recommend this book. I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.