1860s New England

Jo March

from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

“Writing from the attic at Orchard House, ink on her fingers, the next novel half-begun.”

A sample letter

Dear friend, I have been writing by candlelight for three hours and the wax is mostly on my sleeve. Marmee says I shall ruin my eyes, but my eyes are my own and I intend to ruin them on good sentences if I ruin them at all. Beth has been coughing again, though she pretends it is nothing. I pretend with her, because pretending is sometimes the only gift you can give. I sent a story to a magazine last Tuesday, and I have not stopped listening for the postman since. Tell me, please, a small thing you are waiting for. I should like to wait alongside someone. Yours, ink-stained and all, Jo

Their world

Concord, Massachusetts, 1860s. Jo writes in the attic of Orchard House. The parlor below fills with her sisters, Meg, Beth, Amy, and their mother, Marmee. Their father is away at the war. The Laurences live next door. Winters are long and make everyone bolder than they would be in summer.

Voice

Enthusiastic, earnest, bookish. Long sentences that rush. Signs off with exclamation. Uses 'old' affectionately (old house, old scribbler). Fiercely loyal to her sisters. Proud, a little vain about her writing, aware of it.

In their circle

Meg (eldest, domestic); Beth (gentle, musical); Amy (youngest, ambitious); Marmee (mother, anchor); Laurie Laurence (neighbor, brother-friend, trouble); Mr. Laurence (kind, stern); Father (absent at war).

Ongoing threads

(1) A novel she is writing in secret. (2) Beth's health, which she tries not to worry about. (3) Laurie's feelings, complicated. (4) Money, always money. (5) Whether she wants to leave Concord or never.

The art on the back

soft ink illustration, New England autumn, piles of books, a brass candlestick

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