Little Women is recognized as one of the best-loved classic children's stories, transcending the boundaries of time and age, making it as popular with adults as it is with young listeners. The beloved story of the March girls is a classic American feminist novel, reflecting the tension between cultural obligation and artistic and personal freedom.

But which of the four March sisters to love best? For every listener must have their favorite. Independent, tomboyish Jo; delicate, loving Beth; pretty, kind Meg; or precocious and beautiful Amy, the baby of the family?

The charming story of these four "little women" and their wise and patient mother, Marmee, enduring hardships and enjoying adventures in Civil War-era New England was an instant success when first published in 1868 and has been adored for generations.

Public Domain (P)2012 Penguin Audio

Listening Length

19 hours and 2 minutes
Author

Jane Smiley - introduction, see all
Narrator

Christina Ricci
Audible release date

23 October 2012
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Audio
ASIN

B00NAXFBH6
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	19 hours and 2 minutes
Author	Jane Smiley - introduction, Louisa May Alcott
Narrator	Christina Ricci
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	23 October 2012
Publisher	Penguin Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B00NAXFBH6
Best Sellers Rank	39,894 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 243 in Fiction Classics for Children 949 in Classics for Children

Customer reviews

5 star		72%
4 star		15%
3 star		7%
2 star		2%
1 star		4%

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Top reviews from Australia

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DianneA

What is going on?

Reviewed in Australia on 11 January 2021

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This edition is almost impossible to read by a fluent English reader.
It feels like it is a translation of a translation, and knows nothing of word-play, and humour, let alone the vernacular or colloquial expressions ...
It even has "ebook" as part of the text - definitely an anachronism for LM Alcott.

2 people found this helpful

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Sylvia

Don't buy this edition!

Reviewed in Australia on 17 October 2019

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We all know and love this wonderful story. However, in this ebook version, from Part 2, Chapter 34, it is totally unreadable. It is written in prose nothing like Louisa M. Alcott used, seemingly a translation into English (sic) . This does not appear to have been edited - or even read. Very strange as Part 1 and the beginning of Part 2 are fine.
I would like this book replaced, please, and this edition correctly edited.

3 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Don't buy this edition on KIndle

Reviewed in Australia on 4 August 2020

Verified Purchase

As per the other reviews. I was enjoying this book until the last part of the book and all of a sudden the language changed. It just doesnt make sense and you can't read it. The transaction is way off. Not happy with my purchase. I am going to have to purchase another version to complete the book. :(

Helpful

Carmen Conway

A good read!

Reviewed in Australia on 21 January 2020

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I read the book as a child and it was great to revisit it. Some of the language is a little archaic and dated but on the whole I thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt very nostalgic that these values are not up held in todays world.

Helpful

Alicia

Great read

Reviewed in Australia on 14 August 2021

Verified Purchase

Definitely worth delving into the world of Little Women. If you love the movie, the novel simply enhances it.

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ReaderGina

Poor translation

Reviewed in Australia on 1 January 2020

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This version appears to be a poor translation? The writing is different from the original and often doesn't make sense

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Good quality book

Reviewed in Australia on 13 April 2020

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Good quality and packaged well for transit.

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Juan L

A Great read

Reviewed in Australia on 9 February 2020

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A great read, a slightly unsatisfactory ending. Still worth reading though.

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Top reviews from other countries

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T. Wrycraft

Don’t re read this if you loved it as a child.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 November 2019

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I LOVED this book as a girl. Now, with an English degree and a job as a teacher I’m forced to re-read it to help a student with coursework. What a mistake. The writing style is florid and mawkish, the characters (always wanted to be Jo) suddenly took on two dimensional saintliness rivalled only by Jane Eyre in it’s goody two shoes delivery. It’s flipping awful and the 10 year old me is crying in the corner right now.

24 people found this helpful

Claire R

books were often my best friends. The odd-one-out in family order

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 April 2016

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As a child, books were often my best friends. The odd-one-out in family order, living the life of a military brat, moving frequently, real life allies were harder to find. So the characters of my favourite books, whether What Katy Did, Mallory Towers, The Chalet School or Little Women became like friends who I could always turn to, and always rely on. As an adult I still enjoy those books, but for me the first third are childhood favourites, whereas the latter is a great book, full stop. The four March sisters and their family and friends are truly part of me, and I've learned countless lessons about life and about myself through the gentle pages of Louisa May Alcott's masterpiece. This book often makes me smile, always makes me cry, and never fails to make me think. It is truly a work of beauty.

62 people found this helpful

Karolina

Leider schlecht gealterter, dröger Klassiker

Reviewed in Germany on 30 May 2020

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Das Buch ist ein Klassiker der amerikanischen Literatur aus der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jhd.. Es wird auch heute noch für Erwachsene empfohlen, obwohl es die Autorin damals vor allem für Mädchen und junge Frauen geschrieben hat. Und die vielen Adaption in Filmen und im Fernsehen weisen ein bißchen in Richtung englischer Klassiker aus dem 19. Jhd, wie Austen, Bronte oder Dickens. Leider ist es die Lektüre sehr enttäuschend - im Gegensatz zu den englischen Klassikern fällt es deutlich ab und ist schlecht gealtert.
Das Buch, das die beiden ursprünglichen Bücher Little Women und Little Wives umfasst, erzählt von den vier March-Schwestern Meg, Jo, Beth und Amy. Am Anfang sind sie zwischen 12 und 18 Jahre alt. Der erste Band spielt im Bürgerkrieg in einer größeren Stadt der Nordstaaten. Der Vater ist im Krieg, die Familie gehört zur guten Gesellschaft, ist aber verarmt und die Mutter sowie die beiden älteren Töchter müssen selbst Geld verdienen. Der erste Teil begleitet die vier Mädchen durch ein Jahr der Jugend, der zweite Teil beginnt drei Jahre später und schildert ihren den Übergang in die Ehe. Viele kleine Episoden, die nicht immer gut verbunden sind, schildern wie aus eher sorglosen Kindern vernünftige und gottesfürchtige Frauen werden.
Das Buch ist für heutige Leser*innen langweilige und dröge und ärgert einen mit einer unangenehm puritanischen Spießigkeit. Dafür gibt es mehrere Gründe:
1. Das Buch ist sehr tief in der Moral und den Sitten seiner Zeit verwurzelt. Die Gesellschaft, von der Alcott erzählt, ist spießig und prüde. Es gibt sehr feste Vorgaben, wie man zu sein hat. Familie March lebt eine frommes Ideal der Mäßigung und ruhigen Heiterkeit. Überschwang, Individualität oder Eigennutz dürfen nicht sein. Ein junges Mädchen muss ruhig, bescheiden, häuslich und freundlich sein. Alles, was über ein sehr bescheidenes Auskommen raus geht, ist schlecht. Deshalb ist ein deutliches Streben nach Geld, Schönheit, Genie oder Stellung zu unterdrücken. Jede der Mädchen wird im Laufe des Buchs deutlich zurecht gestutzt, sie verlieren ihre Lebhaftigkeit, ihre Besonderheit und ihre Eigenständigkeit - außer Beth, die von Anfang an nur aus "Nichts wollen, aber alles für andere geben" besteht. Dieses Ideal ist nicht (mehr) überzeugend, weil es die Persönlichkeitsentwicklung der Mädchen so beschränkt und recht freudlos wirkt.
2. Die Autorin hat ein pädagogisches Jugendbuch geschrieben, das offenbar junge Mädchen zu einem gottgefälligen und bescheidenen Leben erziehen soll. Auch wenn man akzeptiert, dass Bücher nicht nur unterhalten, sondern moralisch bilden sollen, ist es eines der unangenehmen Beispiele für diese Art pädagogischer Werke. Denn es ist nie subtil oder regt zum Nachdenken an. Sondern es stellt in einfach konstruierten Episoden die Moral vor, häufig sogar noch durch eine Art von "Die Moral von der Geschicht'" am Kapitelende unterstützt. Das macht es natürlich langatmig, aber vor allem hat man dauernd das Gefühl einer Lektion in der Kirchenschule zu lauschen.
3. Und Alcott ist keine gute Autorin. Vergleiche mit Austen usw. sind absolut verfehlt, da dieses Niveau meilenweit entfernt ist. Die Charaktere sind platt und grob, jedem Mädchen wird eine Eigenschaft zugeordnet ohne Tiefe oder Ambivalenz. Die Entwicklung vollzieht sich nicht permanent und organisch, sondern es gibt immer einen Vorfall, der eines der Mädchen zu einer Änderung bringt. Ein Streit mit ihrer Schwester Amy bringt Jo dazu ihr stürmisches Temperament zu zügeln, ein Besuch bei einer (natürlich eitlen und dummen) Freundin treibt Meg das Streben nach einer höheren Stellung aus usw. Man hat nicht das Gefühl, dass hier jemand anfängt zu denken und daraus eine Verhaltensänderung ableitet (wie es z.B. Austen es in Stolz und Vorurteil oder Sinn und Sinnlichkeit macht). Zudem sind die Episoden meistens einfach langweilig. Bei vielen fragt man sich, wo eigentlich das Problem lag und warum es irgend jemand interessiert. Und die Autorin verrät ihre Figuren. Sie mißbilligt ganz offensichtlich das burschikose Benehmen von Jo (es wird ihr natürlich fast völlig ausgetrieben) oder sie verspottet Amys Bemühungen eine bildende Künstlerin zu werden und lässt sie als kleines Dummchen dastehen. Das berührt unangenehm und wirkt, als ob man mit einem Holzhammer auf den Kern der Geschichtchen hingewiesen wird.
Das alles zusammen macht das Buch nur noch als historisches Dokument interessant und sicher als Filmvorlage, weil der Plot an sich (4 Mädchen werden in der hübschen Kulisse des 19. Jhd. erwachsen) unkaputtbar ist. Aber ein guter Roman, den man lesen sollte, ist es nicht!

38 people found this helpful

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The Cats Mother

UTTERLY BORING

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 February 2020

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I felt that I had to read this book as it is described as a classic . Now , I’ve read most of what I would consider to be novels in a similar vein but almost without exception , these books have been better conceived ,written written and without the nauseatingly sentimental prose .
Louisa May Alcott May have been considered a good writer amongst her peers but it’s writing that’s of its time and more importantly, it’s very American . For example , no young English lady would have been allowed to be in the company of a young man ( as the March sisters often were with Laurie Laurence ) without a chaperone as to do so would have been ruinous to the reputation of any young woman - so I found it peculiar that an American novelist writing at this time would not have known that the March sisters from the age of around 14 onwards , would never have been allowed to be in the company of any young man, never mind walk and talk alone with him, unless they were chaperoned or engaged to the young man in question.

The one episode in the two books that could have and indeed should have been written with sentimentality and sympathy, was the death of Beth , and yet this was barely mentioned - Beth died “ off screen” was buried without any honours or even a funeral and there wasn’t even a grave marker to mark her final resting place .......so much for Beth then.

Meg and Amy are shallow beyond belief and the only decent thing Jo does is sell her hair so her “ Marmee” ( I know, it’s nauseating isn’t it ?) gets enough money to travel to see her husband when he’s ill. Poor Mr March ( are Reverends Mr’s in 1860’s America ?) barely gets any worthwhile mentions throughout and is therefore a poorly drawn character with no light and shade who might as well have died in the war for all the influence he has ).

How Laurie Laurence could transfer his affections from one sister to the other so swiftly and without drawing breath, is a mystery to me - and yet people will condemn modern girls and boys are shallow and promiscuous - but as these people function only to marry well or marry , I suppose it’s better than being left on a shelf - after all , to be a man and not be married by 25 must have been scandalous .

The writer’s prose is astonishing and I’m not sure what all this “ petting” of one another was about at all - does it mean stroke ? If so, I again refer back to English women of similar class and age and it makes all the petting sound ludicrous - as to the scene where a 25 year old Amy is being cradled in her mother’s lap , well, words failed me as they did when the table was “ promiscuously laid” - what on earth can that mean ???

All in all, I’m glad that I have read it , listening to it didn’t work except as a means of falling asleep , the narrator was English and kept talking about “ mischieve-ee- ousness “ Laurie and Jo in stream of mischievousness - I hate it when spoken English is mangled , especially when the person in question speaks otherwise as though they have a rather large plum in the mouth they simply cannot move - well done to her though for reading 10 hours of meaningless pap out loud .

It’s an awful yawn of a novel - poorly written, poorly drawn characters not one of whom I’d want to sit down to a lively dinner with and yet, it’s a classic with 87% of people who read it ,loving it .

I should think there is a bit of pretension about claiming to live “ Little Women “ , maybe people are just too frightened to ‘dis’ a classic American novel written by a woman .

I would think I’m not the only non-feminist, feminist who has read this novel whilst grinding their teeth down to stumps .

Have I read worse books that are considered “ classical “ ? Err, no , this is by far the dullest of the lot and I kept going only to see how the death of Beth was swept under the March’s shabby carpet whereas an English writer would have reveled in every grave detail , right down to the mourning cards and letters of condolence ( think Mrs Gaskell or the Bronte Sisters ) .

It was one long yawn of a book that I’m relieved to see the end of . I won’t be reading Little Men , that’s for sure .

Disagree if you wish, I’m sure 87% of you have equally valid reasons for adoring this book, my late Mum, God bless, her , adored it and tried to make me read it when she was alive - I have a 1:1 English degree with honours - if I’d been made to read this by my tutors , I wouldn’t have hung around long enough to graduate .........( sorry celestial Mum, I hated it with a passion .x)

11 people found this helpful

Jack Galtress.

Little Women review

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 May 2018

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Wonderful novel. In the same way that novels by Charles Dickens offer an insight into Victorian life in England and London. So does Louisa May Alcott`s Little Women offer an insight into what America was like for women, in the pre and post civil war period.

The four principal characters of Jo, Amy, Meg, and Beth are very different. Which is one of the novels great strengths, a fantastic coming of age story with all the trials, tribulations, tragedies, joy, happiness, and surprises of growing up. I think that anyone who reads this novel will find places that really tug on heart strings, and find a character that they identify with the most.

I'd recommend this well deserved classic of the English language to anyone from children read to by their parents to teenagers to adults. Just like any great book of the English language.

10 people found this helpful

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Little Women: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

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