Product Description

Best known for the novels Little Women and Little Men, Louisa May Alcott brought the story of her feisty protagonist Jo and the adventures and misadventures of the March family to an entertaining, surprising, and bittersweet conclusion in Jo’s Boys. Beginning ten years after Little Men, Jo’s Boys revisits Plumfield, the New England school still presided over by Jo and her husband, Professor Bhaer. Jo remains at the center of the tale, surrounded by her boys—including rebellious Dan, sailor Emil, and promising musician Nat—as they experience shipwreck and storm, disappointment and even murder.

Popular for over a century, Alcott’s series still holds universal appeal with its powerful and affectionate depiction of family—the haven where the prodigal can always return, adversity is shared, and our dreams of being cherished, despite our flaws, come true. In this edition of Jo’s Boys, readers once again experience a treasured classic by one of America’s best-loved writers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18949 in Books
• Published on: 1995-09-01
• Released on: 1995-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Review

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From the Publisher
Better known for her novels Little Women and Little Men, Louisa May Alcott continued the story of her feisty protagonist Jo in this final novel chronicling the adventures and misadventures of the March family. Entertaining, surprising, and overall a joy to read, Jo's Boys is nevertheless shaded by a bittersweet tone, for with it Alcott brought her wonderful series to an end.

Beginning ten years after Little Men, Jo's Boys revisits Plumfield, the New England school still presided over by Jo and her husband, Professor Bhaer. Jo's boys -- including rebellious Dan, sailor Emil, and promising musicain Nat -- are grown; Jo herself remains at the center of this tale, holding her boys fast through shipwreck and storm, disappointment... and even murder.

Popular for more than a century, the series that began with Little Women continues to hold universal appeal with its powerful and affectionate depiction of family -- the safe haven where the prodigal can always return, adversity is never met alone, and our dreams of being cherished, no matter what our flaws, come true. With this new edition of Jo's Boys, readers once again have access to a treasured classic by one of America's best-loved writers.

From the Inside Flap
Better known for her novels Little  Women and Little Men, Louisa  May Alcott continued the story of her feisty  protagonist Jo in this final novel chronicling the  adventures and misadventures of the March family.  Entertaining, surprising, and overall a joy to read,  Jo's Boys is nevertheless shaded by  a bittersweet tone, for with it Alcott brought her  wonderful series to an end.

Beginning ten  years after Little Men,  Jo's Boys revisits Plumfield, the New  England school still presided over by Jo and her  husband, Professor Bhaer. Jo's boys -- including  rebellious Dan, sailor Emil, and promising musicain  Nat -- are grown; Jo herself remains at the center  of this tale, holding her boys fast through  shipwreck and storm, disappointment... and even  murder.

Popular for more than a century, the series  that began with Little Women  continues to hold universal appeal with its powerful  and affectionate depiction of family -- the safe  haven where the prodigal can always return,  adversity is never met alone, and our dreams of being  cherished, no matter what our flaws, come true. With  this new edition of Jo's Boys,  readers once again have access to a treasured  classic by one of America's best-loved writers.

Customer Reviews

Bittersweet, yet satisfying conclusion
The third book of the series brings closure to Demi, Daisy, Teddy, Rob, Dan, Nat and many other characters as they embark upon their adult lives, ten years after the conclusion of "Little Men."

In addition, Alcott focuses more upon Josie, Bess and others who were mere tots in the previous books, and thus not as interesting as their older family and friends.

Before the novel's conclusion, Emil has faced a harrowing episode at sea, Ted has risked his brother's life, Dan has been confronted by the law, and more. But although Jo still worries over her flock and continues to moralize, she does come to the realization that there is only so much a mother can do, before letting her children go off into the world alone and trust that they will remember everything they've been taught.

While this book brings with it the characteristic bustle and color of the previous two, there is also a certain sadness. It's apparent that Plumfield reached its height during the years the Bhaers' children were small, and a certain emptiness rings throughout the pages. I felt almost as sad as though I were bidding farewell to real friends, never to see them again; but simultaneously, it's a sign of a true writer when someone can make you feel that way.

Little Men Plus Ten Years
If you liked Little Women and Little Men, you'll be rewarded for reading Jo's Boys because you'll find out what happened to Nat, Dan, Nan, Emil, Tom, Demi, Daisy, Bess, Jo, Meg, Amy and Laurie in another ten years.

Jo is transformed into a famous novelist who spends her time trying to hide from her public with little luck. It's quite humorous. Plumfield is now a college. Nat goes abroad for advanced training in music and learns other lessons better. Dan seeks to build a new world in the West and runs into the consequences of his quick temper. Emil has a most remarkable adventure on the high seas that will remind many of classic sailing tales in the 19th century. Nan is interested in medicine and little else. Demi turns out to be spoiled. Daisy is patiently waiting for her love to return.

By this time, Louisa May Alcott had become identified more closely with Women's Rights, and Jo's Boys is in some ways a tract piece to advance the cause of equal opportunity for women. I was struck by how modern many of the views are, although the way they are expressed is definitely from the 19th century.

She also takes herself more seriously as a writer and enriches the text with references that may not be familiar to many readers. That effect makes the book seem much less accessible.

But the same loving heart underlies this reunion. You just have to look past more language to find it.

Half entertaining, half irritating.
I have to agree with the reviewer who complained about the sermons. This book is even more littered with preaching than Little Men and Little Women, and that's saying something. Probably a good 20% of this book is skip-worthy for that reason.

Alcott was always prone to littering her works with literary and artistic references (calling Amy "Raphael," and whatnot), but she seems to have gone dramatically overboard in this book, with references to almost all of Goethe's various fictional characters, George Eliot, Charlotte Bronte, Florence Nightingale, "Miss Cobbe" and "Miss Phelps" [?], and more, and more, and more. There are a lot of currently-understandable Shakespearean references, but a lot of the references are to obscure or long-forgotten people. It seems more like active name-dropping or literary snobbery [i.e., "Look how many literary references I can pack into my books!"] than actually adding to the story.

Otherwise, the followups are good; it's interesting to learn about how she perceived her characters at ten years older...though Teddy, and his cousin Jo (Baby Josie in "Little Men"), have turned out to be clones of the original Jo, practically. Overall, this book is not really a worthy effort. But read it if you need continuity and closure.