Louisa May Alcott's Little Women
Reading this article the other day made me want to reread Little Women, whcih actually was one of the first books I got for my Kindle and was all ready to go. Now, I hadn't read it in years, and most of what I remembered came from the movie (the June Allyson/Janet Leigh/Elizabeth Taylor version, which is far superior to the Katherine Hepburn version), so it was nice to go back and find all the little details I'd forgotten. But then it went on and on and I was convinced I'd somehow started in on Little Men without realizing--no, it's just way longer than I remembered (I have the three books in one Kindle thing--and Little Women is 47 percent of it). I do think it's interesting what a non-entity Mr March is even after he comes back from war, especially considering the other great male characters Alcott wrote--I wonder if she didn't feel up to fictionalizing her father?
I totally agree on your movie appraisal! June Allyson & Margaret O'Brien any day! Which is crazy, because I do love Katharine Hepburn, but that version just NEEDS red lipstick!
ReplyDeleteDid you read "March?" I loved it and I have it if you haven't read it, but I'm sure you have! :)
Actually I haven't, but if you liked it, I'd totally give it a try! It's the novel about their dad, right?
ReplyDeleteJune Allyson is just a way more believable Jo--Katherine Hepburn isn't the rough and tumble type--too classy or something. June Allyson just seems more like she'd have a crazy snowball fight!
I definitely agree - even if they did make Beth the youngest and give Elizabeth Taylor scary blonde hair! Margaret O'Brien was on TCM talking about that movie and she said at first Elizabeth Taylor was really fun to be around, but then she discovered Peter Lawford and then she only cared about boys! haha! It was so funny, because even though she's an old lady now, she sounded like a little girl when she said that.
ReplyDeleteCrap, this reminds me that I totally forgot to watch that movie about Louisa May Alcott on PBS!
ReplyDeleteMargaret O'Brien rocks.