Little Women was first published in 1868, in a time when very few literary works were being published by women in this country, or anywhere for that matter. So now the book has been around for over a 150 years. I was 8 years old the 1st time I read...More
Little Women was first published in 1868, in a time when very few literary works were being published by women in this country, or anywhere for that matter. So now the book has been around for over a 150 years. I was 8 years old the 1st time I read it and that was in the early 1980s. I bought my paperback copy at a weekly reader book fair, as did most kids who liked reading. I read the book and thought it was wonderful because it was so different from other books from that time period. I Little Women was really the 1st time that I began to notice that book's published after the Civil War were different from books published before the war. There was just a different voice in the writings that were being published. Especially especially female characters. I don't know what the war had to do with it, and I know that women still had a long way to go But the female characters in books published after the Civil War seemed stronger than the ones and characters be published before. I also believed then, as I still do, that we all have much to learn from the lives of the March sisters. If you take the time to read the book and really reflect upon it's themes, you will understand why It has endured throughout the ages. There have been 5 film versions,With the earliest being made in 1917 as a silent film. I think my favorite is the 1949 version with Oscar winners katherine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor.But as recently as the last 10 years there has been a new film version with Winona Ryder connect with this timeless tale. What makes it timeless? The theme running through the story of the 4 March sisters and their lives period from childhood to adulthood commalthough their lives change dramatically, the one that binds them together Is love. In a world that was ever changing and torn apart by war, Love was the one thing they could hold on to that they knew would not change. The musical version I saw today was absolutely and congratulations to SIU on another fantastic production. And if you haven't read the story of Little Women, you've really missed out. Pick up the audio book If you don't want to pick up a book. I'm actually looking for a good audiobook version myself. If you know of one let me know.
