An American classic, the story of beloved matriarch Marmee March and her four daughters -- domestic Meg, headstrong Jo, sensitive Beth, and artistic Amy -- was first published in 1868, and has never lost favor since. Marmee raises the March girls to womanhood while their father is serving as a chaplain in the Union Army during the Civil War. The caring family, mired in poverty but genteel and refined nonetheless, lives in New England and survives through snow and sisterly squabbles, love and laughter, pranks and plays, illnesses and courtships. Before becoming an author, Louisa May Alcott was a nurse during the Civil War. LITTLE WOMEN is her acknowledged masterpiece, with action and dialogue so charming and natural that it lacks any of the stuffiness usually associated with Victorian novels. The heartwarming story has even succeeded on screen, having been made many times into a successful motion picture.