This semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story follows four sisters growing up in rural 19th-century New England, and the independent and outspoken main character is based on the author herself. An instant bestseller on publication in 1868, Alcott went on to write a sequel the following year, published under the title Good Wives, which is also included in our edition. The two parts were published as a single novel in 1880; the story has never lost its appeal, and, 150 years later, the feminist leanings of the female-led narrative still resonate.