Alcott's novels

After Little Women ALcott wrote two more books, Little Men which is about the school at Plumfield and focusses on the boys, particularly a young lad called Dan who is scarred by an unhappy childhood and is rough and dangerous. John Brooke dies, and in the next book Jo's Boys, the focus is on the boys and the March grandchildren as they grow to addulthood. There is now a college at Plumfield which takes women students as well as men. Demi Brooke Megs son, has become a journalist, which amuses Jo, though as a famous writer she is often pestered by reporters and fans wanting to see her or get her autograph. Daisy is housewifely, and wants to marry Nat Blake, one of the boys from the school who is now studying music. Emil, Professor Bhaer's younger nephew has gone to sea, and Franz, the elder one is working in business in Germany. Josie, the youngest Brooke wants to become an actress and Meg does not like the idea of her daughter taking up such a louche profession. Dan gets into trouble, when prospecting in the west. He sympathises with Indians, but he ends up in a row with a chard sharp and hits him and kills him. He goes to prison for manslaughter, and only comes home when he is injured saving children in a train crash. While he is recovering from his injuries, he falls in love with Bess, Amy's daughter and Jo tells him that he could never marry her. He never marries, and dies young, killed defending some Indians. Daisy marries Nat Blake and Demi marries a college girl Alice Heath. The novels are directed at young people and are very moralistic. Alcott's family were against drinking, and womanising, and very strict in their views - even disapproving of the Opera -so the books tend to portray most of the characters as rather improbably virtuous. But within the limits of the genre, they have their faults and have to struggle to follow the right way... and the story is lively enough to make them readable