Good Wives (Little Women, Book 1, Part 2)

by Louisa May Alcott

The second story about the March family.

Three years on from Little Women, the March girls and their friend Laurie are young adults with their futures ahead of them. Although they all face painful trials along the way - from Meg's sad lesson in housekeeping to Laurie's disappointment in love and a tragedy which touches them all - each of the girls finally finds happiness, if not always in the way they expect.

• ISBN10: 0140366954
• ISBN13: 9780140366952
• Publish Date: 25 May 1995 (first published December 1960)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 29 June 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Children's UK
• Imprint: Puffin Classics
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[abookishblether]

Little Women ★★★★
Good Wives ★★★★

This is the second part of the story from Little Women, published sometimes in two volumes and sometimes published together in one. As I read the series originally thinking they were separate books I will continue on this way, and I do find each part is a full bodied story with its own arc.

In Good Wives, Meg has married and established a home of her own. She struggles with her love of material things and becoming a new mother. Beth has been ill for a long time, and feels as though her condition will keep her weak forever. Amy discovers life abroad, and Jo discovers her independence.

A couple of my favourite characters are introduced in this volume, and we are well set up for the next few books. It is those books that I remember being particularly special.