Louisa May Alcott Books in Order: A Complete Reading Guide
Updated September 2026
Louisa May Alcott Books in Order: The Short Answer
Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) wrote more than thirty books, but most readers come looking for the March family. The Little Women series has four books, published between 1868 and 1886, and they should be read in publication order. These are the Louisa May Alcott books in order for that story:
- Little Women (1868)
- Good Wives (1869) — published in the U.S. as Little Women, Part Second
- Little Men (1871)
- Jo's Boys (1886)
Her other best-loved books for young readers are Eight Cousins (1875) and its sequel Rose in Bloom (1876), An Old-Fashioned Girl (1870), Under the Lilacs (1878) and Jack and Jill (1880). The full list, including the adult novels and the pseudonymous thrillers most readers never hear about, is below.
In this guide:
- Little Women or Good Wives: Which Book Do You Have?
- Every Louisa May Alcott Book in Publication Order
- The Secret Alcott: Thrillers as A. M. Barnard
- Where to Start: Little Women, Both Parts
- The Real Family Behind the Marches
- Alcott by Age, Plus Homeschool Pairings
- Little Women on Screen
- Collect Alcott Secondhand
- Frequently Asked Questions
Little Women or Good Wives: Which Book Do You Have?
This is the question we get most, so it deserves a straight answer. Little Women first came out in two volumes: the first on September 30, 1868, and the second in April 1869. Alcott's publisher, Thomas Niles, had asked her for a book for girls; the first printing sold out quickly and readers demanded to know whom the sisters married, so she wrote the second part.
In Britain the second volume was published as Good Wives, and that title stuck there. In the United States, most modern editions of Little Women print both parts together as one book. Some British and older inexpensive editions contain only the first part.
How to tell: if your copy ends with Meg accepting John Brooke's proposal, it is Part One only, and you need Good Wives to finish the story. If it goes on to Laurie, Amy and Professor Bhaer, you have the whole thing.
Every Louisa May Alcott Book in Publication Order
| Year | Title | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 1854 | Flower Fables | Fairy tales; her first book |
| 1863 | Hospital Sketches | Her Civil War nursing experiences |
| 1864 | On Picket Duty, and Other Tales | Stories |
| 1865 | Moods | Adult novel (revised 1882) |
| 1867 | Morning-Glories and Other Stories | Children's stories |
| 1868 | Little Women | March family, part one |
| 1869 | Good Wives (Little Women, Part Second) | March family, part two |
| 1870 | An Old-Fashioned Girl | Country girl Polly among rich city friends |
| 1871 | Little Men | Jo's school at Plumfield |
| 1872–1882 | Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag (6 volumes) | Short stories for children |
| 1873 | Work: A Story of Experience | Adult novel about a working woman |
| 1875 | Eight Cousins | Orphaned Rose and her seven boy cousins |
| 1876 | Rose in Bloom | Sequel to Eight Cousins |
| 1876 | Silver Pitchers | Stories, including a temperance tale |
| 1877 | A Modern Mephistopheles | Gothic adult novel, first published anonymously |
| 1878 | Under the Lilacs | A runaway circus boy and his dog |
| 1880 | Jack and Jill | A sledding accident and a recovery |
| 1882 | Proverb Stories | Stories |
| 1884 | Spinning-Wheel Stories | Stories |
| 1886 | Jo's Boys | The Plumfield boys grown up |
| 1886–1889 | Lulu's Library (3 volumes) | Stories for young children |
| 1887 | A Garland for Girls | Stories |
| 1893 | Comic Tragedies | Plays written with her sister Anna as girls (posthumous) |
| 1995 | A Long Fatal Love Chase | Thriller written in 1866 (posthumous) |
| 1997 | The Inheritance | Her first novel, written in 1849 (posthumous) |
The Secret Alcott: Thrillers as A. M. Barnard
Before Little Women, Alcott paid the family's bills partly by writing lurid magazine thrillers, some anonymously and some under the name A. M. Barnard. They are full of revenge, disguise, opium and scheming heroines. Jo March does the same thing in Little Women, writing "sensation stories" for the weekly papers until Professor Bhaer shames her out of it.
These stories stayed hidden until the 1940s, when the rare-book dealers Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern traced the pseudonym. Stern later collected them, beginning with Behind a Mask: The Unknown Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott (1975). The title story, about a governess who manipulates an entire aristocratic family, is the one to read. A Long Fatal Love Chase, which her publisher had rejected as too sensational, finally appeared in 1995.
These are adult books. They are not explicit, but they are dark, and they are a revelation for anyone who thinks of Alcott as a purely sweet writer.
Where to Start: Little Women, Both Parts
Start with Little Women, both parts. Beginning anywhere else gives away the ending of the family story. Then, for readers who want more:
- More March family: Little Men, then Jo's Boys. Little Men is episodic and gentle, a book about a lively school. Jo's Boys is more grown-up and more varied, and it is Alcott's farewell to the characters.
- Something similar but new: Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom. Many readers who love Little Women end up rereading these just as often. Rose's Uncle Alec, a doctor with firm views on fresh air and sensible clothes, is a delight. For another long series about a spirited heroine growing up, our Anne of Green Gables books in order guide is the natural next step.
- A standalone: An Old-Fashioned Girl, which has Alcott's sharpest social observation of her books for young readers.
- Alcott herself: Hospital Sketches, from her six weeks as a Union Army nurse in Washington in the winter of 1862–63, which ended when she caught typhoid fever.
The Real Family Behind the Marches
Alcott modeled the March sisters on her own family: Anna (Meg), Louisa herself (Jo), Elizabeth (Beth), who died young, and May (Amy), who became a painter. Her father, Bronson Alcott, was an idealistic teacher and philosopher, friend of Emerson and Thoreau, and was often unable to support the family; Louisa's writing income kept them afloat.
The family's home in Concord, Massachusetts, Orchard House, is where Little Women was written, and it is open to visitors. For a funny, pointed look at her father's failed utopian farm experiment, read her short satire "Transcendental Wild Oats" (1873).
Alcott by Age, Plus Homeschool Pairings
- Little Women: a family read-aloud from about age 9 or 10; strong readers take it alone from 11 or 12. The language is nineteenth-century and some chapters are frankly moralizing. Beth's death is the part to prepare sensitive children for.
- Eight Cousins, Under the Lilacs, Jack and Jill: ages 9 to 13, very gentle.
- Little Men: ages 9 and up; a boys' school story with mischief and lessons.
- Jo's Boys: ages 12 and up. One of the boys kills a man in a fight and goes to prison, and there is a death.
- The thrillers and A Modern Mephistopheles: older teens and adults.
If Little Women goes over well as a read-aloud, our best read-aloud chapter books for families has more to try, and our classic books for middle schoolers suits the child ready to read Alcott alone.
For homeschool study, pair Little Women with a Civil War unit (Mr. March is away as an army chaplain) and with Hospital Sketches for a primary source; our Civil War history books list covers the background. Pilgrim's Progress runs through the first part of Little Women, so older students can trace the chapter titles back to Bunyan.
Little Women on Screen
- 1933 — George Cukor's film with Katharine Hepburn as Jo.
- 1949 — the first color version, with June Allyson as Jo and Elizabeth Taylor as Amy; it won an Oscar for art direction.
- 1994 — Gillian Armstrong's film with Winona Ryder, a favorite with many families; Ryder was nominated for Best Actress.
- 2017 — a three-part BBC and PBS Masterpiece series written by Heidi Thomas.
- 2019 — Greta Gerwig's film with Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh; six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and a win for costume design. It rearranges the timeline, so it helps to know the book first.
Browse Little Women on DVD for a movie night once the book is done.
Collect Alcott Secondhand
Alcott is a pleasure to collect used: there are illustrated editions going back more than a century, and plenty of sturdy reading copies for kids. Search our shelves for Louisa May Alcott, and browse classic literature and kids' books for companions. Orders over $15 ship free.
Frequently Asked Questions
What order do the Little Women books go in?
Little Women (1868), Good Wives (1869, also called Little Women Part Second), Little Men (1871), and Jo's Boys (1886).
Is Good Wives part of Little Women?
Yes. It is the second half of the story. Most American editions of Little Women include it; British and some older editions publish it separately as Good Wives.
How many books did Louisa May Alcott write?
More than thirty, including novels, children's story collections, thrillers and a Civil War memoir. Several more were published after her death, the latest in 1997.
Is Rose in Bloom a sequel?
Yes. Rose in Bloom (1876) follows Rose Campbell as a young woman and is the sequel to Eight Cousins (1875). Read Eight Cousins first.
What age is Little Women appropriate for?
It works as a family read-aloud from about age 9 or 10, and independently from 11 or 12. It is clean, but Beth's death can hit young readers hard.
Did Louisa May Alcott write under a pen name?
Yes. She published sensational thrillers as A. M. Barnard and anonymously. They were identified in the 1940s and collected starting in 1975.
Is Jo March based on Louisa May Alcott?
Largely, yes. The March sisters are modeled on Alcott and her three sisters, and Jo's writing career mirrors her own.
