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2019’s gorgeous retelling on film of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women has so many of us who grew up with the story of the March family giddy for her novels all over again. One long winter’s reading of Little Women satisfies us just as it did the first time, but if you are at the end of the book and hoping for more, you’re in good company.
4 Books to Read After Little Women
Little Men and Jo’s Boys, Louisa May Alcott
Thankfully, Louisa May Alcott had so many contemporary fans pressing her to keep writing about the Marches that she actually produced two more novels that followed their lives. I’m not sure if it’s because I have more sons than daughters or was the only girl in a family of boys, but I’ve actually enjoyed Little Men slightly (ever so slightly) more than Little Women.
Little Men continues the histories of the March sisters, and in particular follows the lives of Jo and her husband, Professor Bhaer. The Bhaers run Plumfield Estate School, an unconventional, hands-on, unschool sort of school environment, where the children are encouraged to be individuals and to better themselves. There is plenty of fun and nurturing (and weekly pillow fights!), and readers should feel satisfied to read the continuing events in the lives of their favorite characters.
Jo’s Boys follows suit and was actually published as a sequel to Little Men.
One of the most compelling reasons to read more of Alcott’s writings is that she brings an accurate historical perspective on the lives of women in the 19th Century. Any time we can wrap our heads around how a society was operating in the centuries before ours, we gain an understanding that transcends and lends insight into our own. How equal are women to men really in our world today? How do the attitudes about and opportunities afforded to women during eras that preceded our own show our progress, or lack thereof? Does it matter?
To that end, there are two more books that are excellent adjuncts to Alcott’s writing:
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
Another 19th Century female writer published in 1847 what became her most beloved novel. Jane Eyre follows the life of orphaned Jane from childhood to young adulthood, with twists and turns befitting a classic gothic novel of the Romantic and Victorian periods.
What seems to be a tale of woe at the outset becomes a triumphant account of a young life taking wing, and as such, Bronte was illustrating a female existence that would have been scandalous for its time.
If you read only one Bronte work in your lifetime, let it be the spirited Jane Eyre.
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
Out of the 19th Century comes yet another female force, Mary Shelley. If you are tempted to equate a book called Frankenstein with the green monster of silly 20th Century movies and cereal boxes, please note that Shelley’s work is nothing resembling those renditions.
Frankenstein is far more about relationships (and yes, even romantic love), the balance of good and evil in the world, and the greater question of whether or not we should create or develop technology just because we can.
When both my oldest son and oldest daughter (now in their 20’s) told me individually that Frankenstein was their favorite high school read, I decided I needed to read it for myself. I am not a huge fan of science fiction, and on that association alone, I was skeptical that my kids could convince me I’d end up loving it as much as they did. I stand overwhelmingly corrected, and I can tell you that Frankenstein is not only one of my favorite novels, too, it has become an absolute joy for me to teach through the text with my high school students.
Little Women, Little Men, Jo’s Boys, Jane Eyre, Frankenstein—each is a testament to its brave and capable author, and all are worth a read in this century and centuries to come. I hope you’ll jump in and see for yourself!
If you’re interested in reading and studying any of these books with others, I teach live literature classes like Little Women, Jane Eyre, and Frankenstein, and I love to give a hand to learners around the world by doing so. Find out more about my courses here.
