I knew that this collection of stories would be vastly different than the world of the Marches. I was right, and while I give credit to Alcott for writing these and things such as A Long, Fatal Love Chase, her strength was in the story of a strongly bonded family ( )

Were there any girls who fell in love with Little Women who didn't want to be Jo? As I grew older I came to realize that Jo was not just my favorite character but that she was the strongest, most well rounded, well thought out character. Jo was Louisa May Alcott in at least several significant ways. I have not yet read a biography, but did enjoy the Introduction in this book by M. Stern. I have to admit that as I'm reading I don't find the short stories to be quite as shocking as she claimed them to be, but times have changed. Here are the wild stories that Jo squeezed out of her pen - the writing of which stopped with the completion and success of Little Women after which she turned to more civilized tales. ( )