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The Greenwich Meridian is the imaginary line that is exactly at 0° longitude: every place on Earth is measured from this line, known as the Prime Meridian. Here, east and west meet.
Just as the Greenwich Meridian is the meeting place between space and time, the eliGreenwich series is the meeting place of all those readers who immerse themselves in different times and spaces in these pages, discovering characters, stories, and real or imaginary worlds. It is a journey that crosses civilizations, seas, and known or unexplored lands, on its ideal route from the North Pole to the South Pole. A journey that is an adventure: the adventure of reading, of losing yourself in the pages of a book.
Welcome to Little Women
Information about the author, the story and the historical period.
Brief descriptions of the main characters.
Pre-reading activities.
A final test to check what you remember.
The text with cultural details, brief summaries and glossary.
A wide variety of activities covering Cambridge Exam Certificates, State exams, 21st Century Skills and 2030 Agenda topics.
A transcript of one of the most important scenes from the story to act out together in class.
eliGreenwich
Louisa May Alcott
Little Women
Retold by Elizabeth Ferretti
Illustrated by Vittoria Sagrati
Legenda
PRELIMINARY
INVALSI
Esame di Stato
Costituzione e Cittadinanza
21st Century Skills Agenda 2030
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Sign of the Four
Glossario Drama
E. Gaskell, K. Chopin, K. Mansfield, V. Woolf, E. Wharton Portraits of Women
Robert Louis Stevenson The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Geoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury Tales
Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice
Lewis Carroll Alice in Wonderland
Oscar Wilde The Canterville Ghost
H.G. Wells, G. Orwell, E.A. Poe, S.O. Jewett, V. Woolf One Planet, One Goal
Mary Shelley Frankenstein
George Orwell Animal Farm
K. Mansfield, J. Joyce, O. Wilde, R. Tagore, M. Twain Tales of Friendship
Charlotte Brontë Jane Eyre
Oscar Wilde The Picture of Dorian Gray
H.G. Wells The Time Machine
C. Dickens, E. Wharton, E.M. Forster, W. Sibert Cather, J. London Life is a Journey
Printed in Italy by Tecnostampa - Pigini Group Printing Division, Loreto-Trevi 24.83.153.0
ENG020.01
ISBN 978-88-536-4660-6 www.gruppoeli.it
Her father and mother encouraged Louisa and her sisters to keep a journal, or diary. Louisa‘s parents believed that self-discovery and reflection were important.
Life Before
Little Women
Louisa May Alcott is one of the world’s best-loved authors of stories for children and young adults. Born in Germantown, now part of Philadelphia, USA, on November 29, 1832, the young Louisa loved adventure, and always had with her a pencil and notebook to write about what she saw around her.
From around 1500 for nearly 400 years, at least 12 million men, women and children from Africa were taken and sold as slaves (people who are not free). Most ended up in the USA and the Caribbean.
A Forward-Looking Family
Louisa was the second daughter of Amos Bronson Alcott and Abigail May, known as Abba. Her parents had modern ideas about education, women’s freedoms, and fought for the abolition of slavery – to make it illegal to own, buy and sell human beings.
“Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations [dreams]. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.”
“I want to do […] something heroic or wonderful that won’t be forgotten after I’m dead. I don’t know what, but I’m on the watch for it and mean to astonish [surprise] you all someday.”
From an early age, Louisa May Alcott wanted to be remembered for doing something special – particularly unusual at a time when women had so few opportunities.
A Free Spirit
Louisa wrote:
“Running away was one of the delights [pleasures] of my early days”. One time, when she was six, she spent the day with some Irish children. As it got dark, her friends left and she “felt that home was a nice place after all, and tried to find it.”
Years later, Louisa wrote: “I still enjoy sudden flights [journeys] out of the nest [home] to look about this very interesting world, and then go back to report.”
Hours later she was found asleep with a dog on some steps, and next day “was tied to the arm of the sofa” to learn her lesson!
“My greatest pride is in the fact that I lived to know the brave men and women who did so much [to stop slavery].”
Louisa the Abolitionist
Following her parents, Louisa “became an Abolitionist at a very early age.” When she was four, she and her parents visited British abolitionist George Thompson in prison in Boston. She was later saved by “a colored boy” after she fell into a pond – both events had a strong effect on her.
Several European countries, but between 1660 and 1807 mostly Britain, were involved in buying and selling slaves. In 1806, Britain made a law to stop slavery, but some slavery continued until the 1870s.
slavery.
Abolitionists fought to stop
When Louisa received only $4, her parents were very angry and sent the money back to the place where she had worked.
The Problem of Money
Louisa May Alcott worried about money. Her family was full of love and warmth, but her parents were not good at making money. When she was nineteen, she went to work in the house of a rich family. She was badly paid, receiving only 4 dollars for seven weeks’ work.
In 1854, Louisa published her first book of short stories, Flower Fables. These were stories she had written for Emerson’s daughter.
Louisa used her bad experiences in stories published in a newspaper and a monthly magazine. She was beginning her career as a writer.
Louisa May Alcott born, Philadelphia, November 29, 1832 older sister Anna, born 1831; younger sisters, Elizabeth, born 1835, and Abigail, born 1840. Louisa was 26 when the family moved to Orchard House, Concord in 1858. Little Women is set in this old house built around 1700.
A Time of Sadness
Louisa’s older sister Anna was the model for Meg March, while Elizabeth was Beth and Abigail was Amy in the famous novel.
Louisa used stories from her life in her writing, but changed many details. When we meet the four March sisters at Orchard House in the novel, they are still children.
A few weeks before the family moved to Orchard House, Elizabeth died aged 22. That same year, Louisa couldn’t find a job and became depressed. Then two years later, her sister Anna got married, leaving only two sisters at home. It was a difficult time, but Louisa was starting to earn money from her writing.
For Christians, the soul is the part of a person that never dies. Here, Louisa uses it to mean “person”.
“Be comforted, dear soul! There is always light behind the clouds.”
Famous Friends
Orchard House became a lovely home for the Alcotts. Living near them were the famous writers Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau. Emerson read Louisa’s work and encouraged her.
Louisa was starting to earn good money for her stories.
The Civil War
On April 12, 1861, the Union, states known as “the North” and including Louisa’s state of Massachusetts, went to war with 11 southern states, “the Confederacy”, to stop them increasing slavery. Louisa went to Washington to work as an army nurse, but had to come home after six weeks after she got very ill.
“Emerson remained my ‘Master’ while he lived, doing more for me […] than he knew, by the simple beauty of his life, the truth and wisdom [intelligence] of his books, the example of a great, good man […]”
The Civil War (April 1861–May 1865) began after Abraham Lincoln, who was against increasing slavery, became president in 1860. Over seven hundred thousand men died during the war.
Louisa wrote about her time as a nurse in letters home. These were published in a book in 1863 under a different name. She was paid $200. The book was a big success.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) was an American writer and philosopher. He wrote “To be yourself in a world that is [always] trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment [success].”
Characters
MEG MARCH
is sixteen. She is pretty and gentle. She likes getting attention, is proud of her lovely hands, and has lots of rich friends.
JO MARCH
is fifteen and would rather be out having adventures than going to parties. She always has her nose in a book and likes playing jokes on her family and friends.
AMY MARCH
BETH MARCH
is 13. She is shy and thoughtful, and always puts others before herself. She works hard to keep the house clean and tidy, and loves to play the piano.
is 12 and sad not to be as rich as her friends. She doesn’t like to be left at home by her older sisters, but she loves her family and is a good artist.
MARMEE MARCH
is the March girls’ kind, clever mother. Her husband is away helping in the war that is dividing their country. She works to help the soldiers and their families.
HANNAH originally from Ireland, is paid to work in the March’s house. She cooks and cleans every day, but also gives love and support to the family.
LAURIE lives with his grandfather next door to the March family. He is fifteen and recently moved to America from Europe after his parents died. He is rarely serious.
MR. LAURENCE is Laurie’s rich grandfather. Mr. Laurence, is a mystery to his neighbors who see only an angry old man, but he has many good qualities once you get to know him. is hard-working and and recently moved
MR. JOHN BROOKE is young and handsome, and works as a private teacher to Laurie. He knows a lot and speaks German, is hard-working and is happy to help others.
AUNT MARCH
Rich Aunt March has strong opinions, usually negative, about her family. She is not very patient and is often in a bad mood, but maybe under it all she has a soft heart?
Reading and Vocabulary
1 Read this paragraph, then fill in the gaps with the correct words.
living room dining room parlor study kitchen entrance
Little Women is set in a small town called Concord, near Boston in Massachusetts, USA during the early 1860s. The March family lives in Orchard House. This has an entrance, and to the left a large living room, behind that is a room for studying. On the right as you enter is a parlor for receiving guests, behind that is where the family eats their meals, and off that is where food is prepared. Their neighbor, Mr. Laurence, lives in a big house next door.
Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary
2 In this book we get to know the four March sisters. Read this description, then fill in the table.
Margaret, known as Meg, was sixteen and very pretty, with large eyes, soft brown hair, and hands that she loved. Fifteen-year-old Jo was very tall, and thin. She had a funny nose, and gray eyes. Her long, thick hair was her one beauty. She looked like a girl who was fast becoming a woman and didn’t like it. Beth was a sweet, shy girl of thirteen, who lived in a happy world of her own. Amy, was the youngest, and in her opinion the most important. She had blue eyes, and yellow hair and thought she was a fine lady.
3a Decide what each of the four girls does during the day. Meg Jo Beth Amy
1 Goes to school but is not happy there; she says the other girls laugh at her.
2 Stays at home; helps with washing dishes and keeping things tidy.
3 Is paid to spend time with a nervous old aunt who is never happy with anything she does, but the aunt has a lot of books that this person loves to read.
4 Works as a teacher, called a governess at this time, for the young children of a rich family called King.
