Here, in one authoritative Library of America volume, are all three of the beloved ''Little Woman'' books as Louisa May Alcott wrote them, with original engravings.

Excerpts from the girlhood diary of Louisa May Alcott, describing her family life, lessons, and experiences on a communal farm in the 1840s. Includes sidebars, activities, and a timeline related to this era.

Louisa May Alcott ended Little Women (1868) with the words "So the curtain falls upon Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. Whether it ever rises again, depends upon the reception given the first act of the domestic drama called Little Women." It was an immediate commercial and critical success, and readers demanded to know more about the characters. Alcott quickly completed a second volume, Good Wives (1869), and later Little Men (1871) and Jo's Boys (1886). The...