11 Captivating Details About Louisa May Alcott’s Timeless ‘Little Women’

Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women remains a globally adored novel, continuing to enchant readers over 150 years since its first release. Whether you’ve recently revisited it or it’s been years, here are 11 lesser-known facts about Alcott’s enduring story of kinship and camaraderie.

Louisa May Alcott initially had no desire to pen Little Women.

Before penning her famous works, Louisa May Alcott was crafting both literary pieces and sensational pulp fiction, such as Pauline's Passion and Punishment. Thomas Niles, an editor at Roberts Brothers Publishing, approached her to write a book aimed at young girls. Reluctantly, Alcott agreed, though she dismissed such projects as 'moral pap for the young.'

Seeing Alcott's hesitation, Niles offered her father, Bronson Alcott, a publishing deal. Despite Bronson's reputation as a thinker and his connections with luminaries like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, his works had never gained significant recognition. Realizing her father's chance to publish hinged on her writing a girls' story, Alcott finally gave in.

Little Women was completed in just 10 weeks.

Alcott started writing the novel in May 1868, dedicating herself to it relentlessly. She often neglected meals and sleep, fully immersed in the process. By July 15, she had submitted all 402 pages to her editor. Remarkably, just four months after beginning, Little Women was published in September, quickly becoming a bestseller and catapulting Alcott to wealth and fame.

The characters Meg, Beth, and Amy March were inspired by Alcott’s own sisters.

Meg’s character was modeled after Louisa’s sister Anna, who developed a romance with her future husband, John Bridge Pratt, during a theatrical performance. The depiction of Meg’s wedding in the novel is believed to mirror Anna’s actual wedding.

Beth was inspired by Elizabeth (Lizzie), who contracted scarlet fever in 1856. Although she survived, her health never fully recovered. Lizzie died in her sleep from a wasting condition on March 14, 1858, just before turning 23. Similar to Beth, Lizzie contracted the illness from a needy family her mother was assisting.

Amy’s character was inspired by May (note that Amy is an anagram of May), an accomplished artist who resided in Europe and had her works exhibited at the Paris Salon.

Jo’s character is a reflection of Alcott herself.

Little Women was initially released in two separate volumes.

The first volume, titled Little Women: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. The Story Of Their Lives. A Girl’s Book, was published in 1868 and concluded with John Brooke proposing to Meg. The second volume followed in 1869, written by Alcott in just a few months.

Alcott firmly decided against having Jo marry Laurie.

Alcott, who remained unmarried, intended for Jo to stay single as well. However, while writing the second part of Little Women, fans insisted that Jo should marry Laurie, the charming neighbor. Alcott noted in her journal, “Girls write to ask who the little women marry, as if that’s the sole purpose of a woman’s life. I won’t marry Jo to Laurie just to satisfy others.”

As a middle ground—or perhaps to defy her fans—Alcott paired Jo with the unromantic Professor Bhaer. (“Jo should have stayed a literary spinster,” Alcott confessed to a friend, “but countless young readers demanded she marry Laurie or someone else, so I reluctantly created an unconventional match for her.”) Laurie, in turn, ends up with Amy.

There are numerous speculations about the real-life inspiration for Laurie.

Some believe Laurie was modeled after figures like Henry David Thoreau or Nathaniel Hawthorne’s son Julian, but evidence suggests otherwise. In 1865, during her time in Europe, Alcott met a Polish musician named Ladislas Wisniewski, whom she affectionately called Laddie. Their flirtation peaked with a two-week stay in Paris, just the two of them. Biographer Harriet Reisen claims Alcott later based Laurie on Laddie.

The extent of their relationship remains unclear, as Alcott later redacted the diary entries detailing the romance. In the margin, she scribbled, “couldn’t be.”

Little Women has two follow-up novels.

Little Men: Life at Plumfield With Jo’s Boys debuted in May 1871, coinciding with Alcott’s return from a year-long European journey. In her journal, she wrote, “Father and T. N. greeted me with a large red placard of ‘Little Men’ displayed in the carriage. The book was released the day I arrived, and 50,000 copies were sold even before its official launch.”

Jo’s Boys and How They Turned Out, published in 1886, took Alcott seven years to complete. In the preface, she admitted, “This story is more flawed than its predecessors, but the need to make up for an unavoidable delay and to satisfy my loyal young readers compelled me to release it without further postponement.” Amy and Marmee were omitted because their real-life inspirations had passed away and could no longer “offer suggestions, critiques, or laughter over their fictional counterparts.” However, Alcott added, “For those who knew and loved them, their memory lives on in the cheerful, truthful, and uplifting moments within these pages.”

Orchard House, where Alcott penned Little Women, remains open for visitors.

Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, served as the Alcott family residence. In 1868, Louisa reluctantly moved from her Boston apartment to write Little Women there. (The book’s success drew fans to the house, hoping to see her; Alcott sometimes disguised herself as a servant to avoid attention.) Today, visitors can tour the home, view May’s artwork on the walls, and see the small desk Bronson crafted for Louisa.

Similar to the March family, the Alcotts experienced financial hardship.

Bronson Alcott’s philosophical beliefs often hindered his ability to secure work—as a socialist, he refused to accept wages—forcing the family to rely on the generosity of friends and neighbors. “Louisa described him as a man in a balloon, with his family struggling to keep him grounded,” Alcott expert Harriet Reisen told NPR. “He seemed to live in the clouds, unconcerned about providing for his family, even as they faced starvation.” During Louisa’s childhood, meals often consisted of nothing more than bread, water, and the occasional apple.

As she grew older, Alcott worked as a governess and companion, much like Jo in the novel, and sold sensational stories to support her family. She also took on low-paying jobs, including sewing, laundry, and domestic service. From a young age, Alcott was determined to lift her family out of poverty, a goal she achieved through the success of Little Women.

Little Women has seen numerous adaptations over the years.

Beyond a 1958 TV series, Broadway productions, a musical, a ballet, and an opera, Little Women has been transformed into more than half a dozen films. Notable adaptations include the 1933 version featuring Katharine Hepburn, the 1949 film with June Allyson (and Elizabeth Taylor as Amy), the 1994 rendition starring Winona Ryder, and Greta Gerwig’s 2019 Oscar-nominated adaptation, with Saoirse Ronan as Jo and Timothée Chalamet as Laurie. It has also been adapted for television multiple times, most recently in 2018 for PBS's Masterpiece, helmed by Call the Midwife creator Heidi Thomas.

During the 1980s, a Japanese anime adaptation of Little Women was produced.

In 1987, Japan released an anime version of Little Women, spanning 48 half-hour episodes.