Louisa May Alcott

November 30, 2009
To give readers a broader understanding of classic writers, books in this ongoing series include adaptations of several varied stories. In this case, a highly abridged version of Alcott's most famous work, Little Women
, shares the volume with her lesser known tales of bizarre passion and revenge. The March sisters in Little Women
enjoy play-acting melodramas, and the stories Jo March begins writing are over-the-top gothics; however, generations of readers have loved the novel for its picture of a warm, supportive family, and that's largely lost in this rushed condensation. Other stories focus on the consequences of frustrated isolation. A lonely girl gushes love for her pet fly. An aging operatic diva takes ghastly revenge on the rival who's supplanted her while also stealing her lover. And in what the atmospheric art by Arnold Arre makes the most impressive of all, in “Whisper in the Dark” a young heiress is locked away in an insane asylum so that her dastardly guardian can steal her fortune after she is driven mad. Despite uneven quality in scripts and art—contributors include Trina Robbins, Anne Timmons, Molly Crabapple, and Shary Flenniken—the collection succeeds in giving a wider view of Alcott's output.

November 15, 2009
The "Graphic Classics" series is known for artful if concise adaptations of the great Anglo-American action/adventure writers like Poe, Doyle, Stevenson, and Twain. This appears to be the first on a woman writer, and high time, too. Alcott is best remembered for the 186869 "Little Women", but she also wrote florid gothic tales. Somewhat sappy by modern tastes, her work gains verve through these lively, full-color renderings. Certainly in Trina Robbins's skillful version, "Little Women"'s pretty Jo March comes through as a modern gal ahead of her time, seeking a writing career and choosing an older, scholarly man instead of the lad Laurie. Of the gothics, the standout is "A Whisper in the Dark." Saucy, young heiress Sybil hovers between a father and a son, both courting her, until her desire to control her destinyand the son's desire to control hissweep them both under the control of the father, with a near tragic outcome. Here, Arnold Arre's art shines with style and coloring. VERDICT Graphic treatment modernizes Alcott well, showing off her early feminist sensibilities. This attractive anthology is recommended for teens and up.M.C.

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2010
Gr 7 Up-An abridged novel, poetry, and a handful of Alcott's short stories are interpreted by various adapters and illustrators. The most interesting elements of the collection introduce readers to some of Alcott's less-familiar works: melodramatic, gothic horror written primarily for adults. "The Rival Prima Donnas" tells of revenge and betrayal between an opera diva and her understudy as both vie for the romantic attentions of a fickle portrait artist. The illustrator uses a palette of gold, brown, and black with lurid touches of red roses and blood for excellent dramatic effect. In contrast, the illustrator of "Lost in the Pyramid," also known as "The Mummy's Curse," uses heavily blackened shadows to impose an eerie atmosphere and create a heightened sense of the impending doom awaiting the tomb-robbers. One luckless adventurer's decision to pocket a memento will bring a curse to his future wedding day. "The Piggy Girl" and "Buzz" were obviously written for younger readers and provide a refreshing change of pace. "Little Women" has been significantly abridged to 46 comic pages. Major characters and plotlines are only briefly sketched. Individuals appear one-dimensional with the delightful stories and personalities of the original work eliminated. Devotees of this classic will probably be disappointed, and those who would like an overview of "Little Women" might be better served by viewing a film adaptation. Like Alcott's "Aunt Jo's Scrapbag", this "bundle" of "odds and ends" offers a mixed bag of "stories, old and new.""Barbara M. Moon, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2009
Grades 7-9 In this entry in the Graphic Classics series, editor Pompluns choices for artists and retellers skew heavily toward women, including Trina Robbins and Mary Fleener. In addition, the selections range widely across the Alcott oeuvre to include not just Little Women but also poems and short stories for more sophisticated audiences. The full-color artwork should help draw in readers who think of nineteenth-century classics as being perennially gray. An excellent addition to both school and public library collections, whether this series is already a mainstay or will be a new discovery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

February 4, 1991
One of the most prolific authors of her day, Alcott (1832-1888) is popularly identified with Little Women. Compiled by the editors of her journals, letters and A Double Life: Newly Discovered Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott , this anthology displays the range of her fiction. Raised in an impoverished, fiercely intellectual New England home according to transcendentalist principles, Alcott vented a fertile imagination and satisfied a need for money by producing romances, often under a pseudonym, for a ready audience. One of these, ``The Rival Prima Donnas,'' though staid by contemporary norms, bespeaks Alcott's storyteller's passion. Alcott's later, realistic narratives, often with macabre themes, are represented in ``Hope's Debut,'' with its shadow of incest and a curiously modern note in its theatrical background. Readers view the evolution of a thoughtful, expressive woman who wrote about war, race relations and the state of being single as well as about family.

October 4, 1993
Written when Alcott was between the ages of 10 and 13, these lucid diary entries in essence provide a behind-the-scenes look at her classic novel, Little Women . Quotes from that novel, as well as Ryan's insightful annotations, reinforce the parallel between Alcott's fiction and her childhood years. Born in 1832, Alcott and her three sisters had a regimented upbringing on Fruitlands, the experimental Massachusetts farm begun by their father and a friend. After the farm failed, the family moved into the Concord home that became the model for the setting of Little Women . Here, Alcott ``at last got the little room I have wanted so long,'' in which she continued to sharpen her writing skills. According to Ryan, Alcott's father nurtured in her ``what she needed to become a writer: a love and mastery of language and a freedom and power of expression.'' On the basis of this volume--which contains a sampling of her heartfelt, strikingly sophisticated poetry--Alcott achieved these goals at an impressively young age. Polished, period paintings by Graham ( Roommates ; Lottie's Dream ) present affecting portraits of the girl who so eloquently expresses herself on these pages. Ages 10-up.

May 29, 2000
Diary entries and Ryan's "insightful annotations," said PW, ``provide a behind-the-scenes look at... Little Women." Ages 10-up.