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"The Secret Country" is the first monograph on the work of the contemporary American novelist Jayne Anne Phillips. Through detailed and innovative textual analysis this study considers the southern aspects of Phillips' writing. Robertson demonstrates the importance of Phillips' place within the southern literary canon by identifying the echoes of William Faulkner, Katherine Anne Porter and Edgar Allan Poe that permeate her work. Phillips' complex attachments to a regional past are explored through both psychoanalytical and historical materialist approaches, revealing not only the writer's distinctly southern preoccupations, but also her reflections on contemporary American society. Tracing the family dynamics in Phillips' work from the turn of the twentieth century to the present, this book examines the effects of increased modernization and capitalization on everyday interactions, and questions the nature of the author's backward glance to the past. This volume is of interest for a wide audience, particularly students and scholars of contemporary southern and American literature. ... Read more

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Sabrina Chapman has the perfect life, a loving, trusting husband, and two gorgeous children. They live in Mill Valley, a middle-class neighborhood near the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge. When a severe fall injuries her throat, and a car accident that totals her car, Sabrina is referred to a Neurologist. After series of tests, regretfully, she is diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and her world is utterly shattered.As a result of the car accident, Sabrina is experiencing more extreme symptoms such as lapse in memory, numbness, tingling throughout her limbs, and walks with a cane. The essence of life she had taken for granted no longer exists.When it comes to Sabrina having MS, Jason Chapman, her husband is in denial.His initial reaction is blame, anger, shock and fear. When the Beta Nurse demonstrates how Sabrina will give hereself an injection every other night, Jason finally faces reality. Her illness is so overwhelming, he moves out of the house.Sabrina is slammed with symptoms that takes her days to walk again. She files for a divorce, but having MS and totally disabled; she needs a lawyer that will fight for her. In the end she finds financial stability, a way to live with MS, and a MS doctor who adores her. With her mother's help, Sabrina finds the strength and will to live a life as normal as possible. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Treading Waters
This was a very touching and emotional read. It is about how one woman fights back to get her life back in order after being diagnosed with MS. Her husband leaves her 2 months after she is diagnosed and doesn't look back. Her Mom steps in and helps her and her husband later decides that he wants her back after she finds out all about his little secrets and all the lies he has told during their marriage. She survives and even has a new love interest in the end who loves her knowing she has the disease and supports her with no bounderies. This is a great story and I did not put it down until I finished it.

Everyone should read this book!!!
Wow! As someone living with MS I found this book very inspiring and informative. The story was so very believable. I was hooked after the first chapter. I enjoyed the book to the end. It makes you realize that we need to treasure life's joys, because those moments can be taken any time. I highly recommended this book!!!

Treading Waters
This is one of the best books that I have read in along time, it is very touching and its a page turner.Istarted reading this book at 2pm, and I couldnt put it back down until 3 in the morning. Great Job Author, I will be sure to tell some of my friends about this book, because I know that this kind of stuff happens all of the time. ... Read more

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Amazing sure-fire tricks to get your creativity flowing - all packed into this 19 page booklet by the co-creator of Dramatica.

Has your Muse gone missing without a trace?Then this series of "case files" from noted creative writing instructor, Melanie Anne Phillips, will help you track her down and bring her back home for good.

From the Introduction:

THE CASE OF THE MISSING MUSE

Missing Party: Muse
Description: Unpredictable, Inventive, Capricious
Last Seen: At the end of the previous story

I can’t tell you how many times this kind of case has landed on my desk.Sometimes my writing students didn’t even know their Muse was missing.They had become so wrapped up in the nuts and bolts of story development they hadn’t realized it had vanished somewhere in the process.

Though everyone’s Muse is a little different, they all have certain qualities in common.Based on these, I’ve compiled a few techniques over the years to help you track yours down and bring it back where it belongs. ... Read more

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Long recognized as one of the main branches of political science, political theory has in recent years burgeoned in many different directions. Close textual analysis of historical texts sits alongside more analytical work on the nature and normative grounds of political values. Continental and post-modern influences jostle with ones from economics, history, sociology, and the law. Feminist concerns with embodiment make us look at old problems in new ways, and challenges of new technologies open whole new vistas for political theory. This Handbook provides comprehensive and critical coverage of the lively and contested field of political theory, and will help set the agenda for the field for years to come. Forty-five chapters by distinguished political theorists look at the state of the field, where it has been in the recent past, and where it is likely to go in future. They examine political theory's edges as well as its core, the globalizing context of the field, and the challenges presented by social, economic, and technological changes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not up to it

Despite its somewhat innovative organizing of the subject matter, this book is simply not up to it. One gets the impression that the scholars writing many of the chapters are about to finish their PhD. The contributions are simply not that interesting or authoritative. More often than not, they simply appear to sum up what this and that academic said, failing to make substantial contributions.

In particular, I was disappointed about the introductory chapter on Habermas and Part VI on Justice, Equality and Freedom. I am both a philosopher and an economist, and I didn't find much food for thought here.

I have to contrast the Oxford Handbook to the Handbook of Political Theory from SAGE edited by Gerald F Gaus and Chandran Kukathas. This is a superb handbook which really pushes forward and explores the different themes brilliantly. In short, don't waste your money on Oxford, buy the SAGE handbook instead. (By the way, Dryzek makes an excellent contribution on democratic theory to the SAGE handbook.)
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Like what exactly? Like always ready to surprise you on the stairs, like wishing you had only known; like wanting it to go on for rather longer. This issue of Granta contains lessons drawn from the muddle of experience. With Simon Gray on smoking, absent friends, smoking, getting old and why Gary Cooper walked the way he did; Lynn Barber on the conman who seduced her, and then her parents; Kathryn Chetkovich on living with envy, bred by a partner who is more successful than she is; plus new fiction by Nell Freudenberger, Bill Gaston, J. Robert Lennon, Paul Murray and Jayne Anne Phillips; and Tim Judah on the last Jews of Baghdad. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very good stories and photos
I enjoyed reading this edition.It had many stories of older people and included some striking photographs of farming families in England.I learned that the steam engine was first heavily used in England and was first used in agriculture there.Cool! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Secret Lovers
I am a big fan of Patricia Anne Phillips so when I checked to see if she had any new ones coming out, I came across this book. I loved her story and the other 2 author's stories as well. I started reading this book this morning and could not put it down until I finished it today. I would love to read a sequel to all three of these great stories because after reading them, I wanted more. Great book.

Hidden Emotions
How many people truly are with the person they were meant to be with? How many of us are actually bold enough to tell the person we are having warm and fuzzy feelings for that we really like them? Probably not that many, but what if the opportunity was given where you could speak your heart freely, would you do it? In Secret Lovers by Patricia Anne Phillips, Maxine Thompson, and Michelle McGriff, the chance is there and it is up to each character to decide if they should or should not. The question is will they?

Stepping out of the ashes and into the flames of love, Kelley finds out some secrets about the people in her life including herself. In Irresistible Flames by Patricia Anne Phillips, Kelley, Byron, and her cousin, Angie, are all workmen compensation lawyers, but that is not all they have in common. Apparently, they all are keeping some kind of secret. After Kelley has an accident, a monkey wrench is thrown into her future plans. The uncertainty of her choices and the feelings Kelley has for the people in her life weighs heavily on her. Stepping back and looking, surveying her surroundings, Kelley makes a devastating revelation. Will she survive it all?

In Second Chances by Maxine Thompson, Caprianna "Capri" Jordan believed other than her failing business, everything else in her life seemed out of sync, but it will be alright. Not heeding her woman's intuition, Capri's life as she knew it changes drastically. It is at this time Marquise, her husband, allows his secrets to begin seeping out into the light. When Capri thinks she has fallen and sees no way of picking herself back up, her second chance is placed in front of her by faith. Will she step out on faith or will she watch her chance pass her by?

Sometimes life has some unexpected detours, but after taking the long way around we end up right where we belong. In Detoured by Michelle McGriff, Sonnet, a big-boned, seventeen year-old, wants to be noticed by one of the hottest guys in school. She decides it is time to make a change by ditching her long-time fellow, big-boned friend, Justin; her sister who is hiding problems of her own, Margaret, and their skinny, white friend, Leita. Sonnet goes on a diet trying to fit in with the "in crowd."As her weigh comes off there seems to be a sense of change in her household, but Sonnet only cares about losing weight and fitting in. Both Justin and Sonnet have some secrets about their family they are keeping from each other, but they are not the only ones hiding something. Sonnet and her mother, Yolanda, have more than a mother daughter relationship in common, but will it ever come to light before history repeats itself?

Secret Lovers by Patricia Anne Phillips, Maxine Thompson, and Michelle McGriff offered three unique stories, each one offering something different, but nonetheless they all had secret emotions. They all had mouth-opening I want to slap the taste out your mouth moments. However, while one story did not have any grammatical errors, the other two had quite a few, even a flip-flop of the spelling of one of the characters names. I recommend Secret Lovers to anyone wanting a quick, thought-grabbing book.

Jennifer Coissiere
APOOO BookClub

These stories shouldn't be kept a secret
These are the types of stories that no matter who you are you will find yourself in them some where. They will fill your heart with some pain and sorrow but mostly hope and joy. The authors of these three novellas have really brought so many important feelings and thoughts to the forefront. I for one appreciate all the time and effort it must have taken them to unite and complete this outstanding work.

"Secret Lovers presents three enticing reads. Each story has its own surprising twist."
"Secret Lovers presents three enticing reads. Each story has its own surprising twist."

"In Irresistible Flames, Kelly and Byron are both successful attorneys and engaged. Kelly loves Byron immensely and feels that he loves her just as deeply. However, Byron becomes very obsessive and this causes Kelly to question their relationship. An unexpected man comes into her life as a result of an accident. Byron's hidden secret is revealed, which totally shakes Kelly."

"In Second Chance, Caprianna and Marquise are happily married. So it seems, until Caprianna begins to notice sudden changes in Marquise. Caprianna is determined to resolve the issues in her marriage and also struggling to hold on to her business that appears to be going under. Caprianna becomes a victim in a shooting that nearly kills her. Her husband abandons her, but a wonderful man enters her life, with the hope of bringing a second chance of love and happiness to her life."

"Detoured is centered on family secrets that eventually come to light. Through out Yolanda and Frank's marriage he has been abusive. Their daughters Sonnet and Margaret have dealt with this knowledge and have kept it a secret. Health and self-esteem issues develop among the siblings. Eventually Yolanda gets the strength to leave Frank and returns to her hometown where she comes in contact with the love of her life, which just happens to be Sonnet's biological father. Sonnet and Yolanda have both harbored secret loves that are powerful and leads them back to the one they love."

"The commonality of these intriguing reads is that love can come into or reenter your life when you least expect it."

Secret Lovers review for New Citizens Press
The first story in Secret Lovers is titled Irresistible Flames.The story is authored by Patricia Anne Phillips.Of the three stories in the book, Irresistible Flames is the story serious romance readers may enjoy most.It is a story of inner reflection and self-honesty.At the beginning of the story the book's main characters, Kelly and Byron, are engaged to be married.They are a pair of attorneys who are in hot pursuit of success in the business arena.Yet, somehow and perhaps because of this pursuit, they are not taking the time to inspect and strengthen their relationship.They avoid this pertinent introspection despite the fact that they are seriously discussing marriage.Irresistible Flames is written with a style that allows the reader to harness their own judgments about the choices the story's characters make as each works to obtain the fulfillment of their motivations.It is this aspect of the story and the way the author delves into these motivations that readers may well appreciate most.At times, I felt the author was working too hard to disguise the mystery in the story.Overall, Irresistible Flames is a story that provides an honest portrayal of current real-life events that happen to couples in search of lasting intimacy and romance.

The second story in Secret Lovers is titled Second Chances.It is authored by Maxine Thompson, a talented writer who has penned other notables such as The Ebony Tree.Second Chances begins with Marquise, a police officer, and his wife, Caprianna laying in bed one morning.From the outset it is clear that the couple is having marital challenges, but that neither has yet mounted the courage to raise the challenges with the other.As with Thompson's other works, Second Chances delves into life-shifting events then digs into the heart of the characters, allowing readers to discover firsthand what it feels like to endure hearty, and, at times, painful situations the characters find themselves in.For Caprianna, her heartache begins when a former employee unleashes rage and hurt on Caprianna's small office.This action sends Caprianna's life into a tailspin, further unsettling her already unsteady marriage.The plot is intriguing and readily moves the story forward.Yet, it is the skill with which Thompson digs into the heart of the main characters that makes Second Chances a deeply moving and rewarding read.Whether readers appreciate romance novels or prefer books from other genres, Second Chances will not disappoint.Thompson builds multi-faceted characters readers will pull for and hope to see succeed.It is this skill that allows Second Chances to be a story that remains with readers long after they have put the book down.

The third and last story in Secret Lovers is titled Detoured.This story is authored by Michelle McGriff.As with most human behavior, the desire to get what they want, what they think will bring them comfort, love and happiness, is what drives Detoured forward.Detoured tells the story of two friends, two sisters and the sisters' unhappy parents.More than the domestic violence in the story is the inability of the mother to untangle herself from mistakes of her past, mistakes that find her married to an abusive alcoholic, mistakes that cause her two teenage daughters to suffer.Rather than peel away layers of her characters to show readers the "why" behind the choices her characters make, McGriff connects event after event until the story comes full circle.Particularly noteworthy is the way McGriff allows readers to glimpse decisions they themselves may currently be facing, decisions that could impact their lives for decades, through the situations she plants the story's characters in.

After reading Secret Lovers readers may feel that romance comes at a price which may, in turn, cause readers to realize the value of introspection and not living impulsively.Even more, Secret Lovers makes it clear that even when we make mistakes, if we change our behavior, life does detour away from heartache and offer us irresistible second chances.



HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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This digital document, covering the life and work of Anne G(arvey) Phillips, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thomson Gale. The length of the entry is 388 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

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Les achats comprennent une adhésion à l'essai gratuite au club de livres de l'éditeur, dans lequel vous pouvez choisir parmi plus d'un million d'ouvrages, sans frais. Le livre consiste d'articles Wikipedia sur : Zara Phillips, Anne Du Royaume-Uni, Ellen Whitaker, Michael Whitaker, John Whitaker, Philip Astley, Nick Skelton, David Broome, Pat Smythe, Leslie Law, Robert Whitaker, Mark Phillips. Non illustré. Mises à jour gratuites en ligne. Extrait : Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips, née le 15 mai 1981, est la fille de la princesse Anne, princesse royale et de son premier mari, le capitaine Mark Phillips. Elle occupe la douzième place dans l'ordre de succession au trône britannique. C'est une cavalière accomplie, championne du monde de concours complet avec Toytown en individuel lors des Jeux équestres mondiaux à Aix-la-Chapelle en 2006. Zara est née au St Mary's Hospital de Paddington à Londres. Elle a été baptisée le 27 juillet 1981. Ses parrains et marraines sont le Prince Andrew, Duc d'York, Léonora Anson, Comtesse de Lichfield, Helen Stewart (femme de Jackie Stewart), Andrew Parker Bowles (premier mari de Camilla Parker Bowles) et Hugh Thomas. Son prénom inhabituel a surpris dans les milieux royaux, n'étant ni un prénom chrétien, ni un prénom habituellement utilisé dans la famille royale britannique. Il a été apparemment choisi par son oncle le prince Charles. La princesse Anne se rappelle : « Le bébé est arrivé de façon plutôt soudaine et positive, et mon frère a pensé que Zara (un nom grec signifiant « lumineux comme l'aube ») était un nom approprié ». Zara Phillips a suivi son cursus scolaire à la Port Regis Prep School dans le Dorset et à Gordonstound en Écosse. Après avoir réussi ses A-level, Zara a pris une année sabbatique passant trois mois en Australie et en Nouvelle-Zélande. Alors qu'elle était à Sydney, Zara a passé du temps avec des amis de ses parents et a travaillé, entre autres, comme machiniste sur une productio...http://booksllc.net/?l=fr ... Read more

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Chapters: Charley Harper, Stephen Coonts, Laura Ann Kesling, Jayne Anne Phillips, Alston G. Dayton, Edward G. Rohrbough, Maurice Brooks, George R. Latham, Daniel D. T. Farnsworth, William Smith O'brien, Scott Cutlip, Ace Mumford, Mary Ireland Farnsworth, Jean Lee Latham. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 47. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Charley Harper (August 4, 1922 - June 10, 2007) was a Cincinnati-based American Modernist artist. He was best known for his highly stylized wildlife prints, posters and book illustrations. Born in Frenchton, West Virginia in 1922, Harper's upbringing on his family farm influenced his work to his last days. He left his farm home to study art at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, and won the academys first Stephen H. Wilder Traveling Scholarship. While at the Academy, and supposedly on the first day, Charley met fellow artist Edie Mckee, whom he would marry shortly after graduation in 1947. Charley and Edie spent their honeymoon traveling the country, mainly in the west and south, being able to do so because of the Stephen H. Wilder Scholarship the Academy awarded to Charley for post-graduate travels. Charley Harper returned to the Art Academy of Cincinnati as a teacher and also worked for a commercial firm before working on his own. He and his wife worked out of their Roselawn and Finneytown homes, and later, with their only child Brett Harper, formed Harper Studios. During his career, Charley Harper illustrated numerous books, notably The Golden Book of Biology, magazines such as Ford Times, as well as many prints, posters, and other works. As his subjects are mainly natural, with birds prominently featured, Charley often created works for many nature-based organizations, among them the National Park Service; Cincinnati Zoo; Cincinnati Nature Center...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=7018886 ... Read more

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Text and pictures of the Royal Family re: upcoming marriage of Anne and Philip, with a history of earlier royal marriages, including Queen Victoria, geneology of Philips and more. ... Read more

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Word count: 4489. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Yearbook of English Studies, published by Modern Humanities Research Association on January 1, 2001. The length of the article is 6166 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: How Dirty is Jayne Anne Phillips?(realism in author's short story collections)
Author: Brian Jarvis
Publication: Yearbook of English Studies (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2001
Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association
Page: 192

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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A one page broadside advertising her reading at the University of North Carolina on June 8th, 1976. An excerpt from the book is printed. ... Read more

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Despite the seemingly gender-neutral categories of individual or citizen, democratic theory and practice continue to be largely male privileges. This book addresses democratic issues from a feminist perspective, exploring the under-relationship of women in politics, the relationship between the private and the public spheres, the lessons to be drawn from the experience of the recent women's movement attempts to make its views heard in democracies. ... Read more

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This authoritative, accurate text of the first edition (1868—69) of Little Women is accompanied by textual variants and thorough explanatory annotations.

"Backgrounds and Contexts" includes a wealth of archival materials, among them previously unpublished correspondence with Thomas Niles and Alcott's own precursors to Little Women.

"Criticism" reprints twenty nineteenth-century reviews. Seven modern essays represent a variety of critical theories used to read and study the novel, including feminist (Catharine R. Stimpson, Elizabeth Keyser), new historicist (Richard H. Brodhead), psychoanalytic (Angela M. Estes and Kathleen Margaret Lant), and reader-response (Elizabeth Vincent) .

A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.

About the series: No other series of classic texts equals the caliber of the Norton Critical Editions. Each volume combines the most authoritative text available with the comprehensive pedagogical apparatus necessary to appreciate the work fully. Careful editing, first-rate translation, and thorough explanatory annotations allow each text to meet the highest literary standards while remaining accessible to students. Each edition is printed on acid-free paper and every text in the series remains in print. Norton Critical Editions are the choice for excellence in scholarship for students at more than 2,000 universities worldwide. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

From "Little Women" to "Good Wives"
Louisa May Alcott wrote many books, but "Little Women" retains a special place in the heart of American literature. Her warmly realistic stories, sense of comedy and tragedy, and insights into human nature make the romance, humor and sweet stories of "Little Women" come alive.

The four March girls -- practical Meg, rambunctious Jo, sweet Beth and childish artist Amy -- live in genteel poverty with their mother Marmee; their father is away in the Civil War. Despite having little money, the girls keep their spirits up with writing, gardening, homemade plays, and the occasional romp with wealthier pals. Their pal, "poor little rich boy" Laurie, joins in and becomes their adoptive brother, as the girls deal with Meg's first romance, Beth's life-threatening illness, and fears for their father's safety.

The second half of the book opens with Meg's wedding (if not to the man of her dreams, then to the man she loves). Things rapidly go awry after the wedding, when Laurie admits his true feelings to Jo -- only to be rejected. Distraught, he leaves; Amy also leaves on a trip to Europe with a picky old relative. Despite the deterioration of Beth's health, Jo makes her way into a job as a governess, seeking to put her treasured writing into print -- and finds her destiny as well.

There's a clearly autobiographical tone to "Little Women." Not surprising -- the March girls really are like the girls next door. Alcott wrote them with flaws and strengths, and their misadventures -- like Amy's embarrassing problem with her huge lobster -- have the feeling of authenticity. How much of it is real? A passage late in the book portrays Alcott -- in the form of Jo -- "scribbling" down the book itself, and getting it published because it feels so real and true.

Sure, usually classics are hard to read. But "Little Women" is mainly daunting because of its length; the actual stories flow nicely and smoothly. Don't think it's just a book for teenage girls, either -- adults and boys can appreciate it as well. There's something for everyone: drama, romance, humor, sad and happy endings alike.

Alcott's writing itself is nicely detailed. While certain items are no longer in common use (what IS a charabanc anyway?), Alcott's stories themselves seem very fresh and could easily be seen in a modern home. And as nauseating as "heartwarming" stories sometimes are, these definitely qualify. Sometimes, especially in the beginning, Alcott is a bit too preachy and hamhanded. But her touch becomes defter as she writes on.

Jo is the quintessential tomboy, and the best character in the book: rough, gawky, fun-loving, impulsive, with a love of literature and a mouth that is slightly too big. Meg's love of luxury adds a flaw to the "perfect little homemaker" image, and Beth just avoids being shown as too saintly. Amy is an annoying little brat throughout much of the first half of the book, but by her teens she's almost as good as Jo.

"Little Women" is one of those rare classic novels that is still relevant, funny, fresh and heartbreaking today. Louisa May Alcott's best-known novel is a magnificent achievement.

Little Women, An American Classic - The Norton Edition Is Excellent!
I first read Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women" the summer between 4th and 5th grades. I was absolutely riveted by the story and characters and clearly remember sitting on the porch steps, my nose in the book. I cried when I reached the conclusion, because I was afraid that I had just read the best book in the world, and that I would never find anything else as good. The local librarian convinced me otherwise. I cannot recommend this novel highly enough - for people of all ages. It will always have a special place in my heart.

Ms. Alcott writes about four young women, living in New England, during a period of much strife in America - the Civil War. They are self sufficient, creative and well educated, and each chooses a different life path, traditional and non. Considering the period when the book was written, the author's views on opportunities open to females, restricted though they were by society, is refreshing and liberating. Of course, this was not my focus as a nine year-old. The novel is long, but that never bothered me as a young girl, or much later when I reread it. I didn't want the story to end, actually.

Sisters Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March and their beloved Marmee, (who offers her daughters guidance, comfort and unconditional love), learn to live in genteel poverty while their father, a doctor, is away treating wounded soldiers. This beautifully written classic, chronicles the girls' adolescence through womanhood, with all their trial, tribulations, and joys.

Much of the novel focuses on Jo, the second daughter, and a gifted writer. She is very much a tomboy, and an avid reader who writes plays which the girls act-out with delight and exuberance. When they meet their new next-door neighbor, the wealthy, lonely Theodore Laurence, (called Laurie), they befriend him and invite him to become the only male member of their exclusive theater ensemble. Laurie becomes an important person in all of their lives, and the March family in his. Margaret, (Meg), the oldest, is quite lovely - a young woman with traditional values and tastes. Sensitive Elizabeth, (Beth), is the most fragile sister -quiet, caring and timid. And Amy, the youngest, is a gifted artist, with a tremendous sense of self-importance.

Together they cope with their father's absence and their fear for his safety, severe illness in the family, a death, lack of money precluding many of life's small luxuries, romance, love, marriage and many glorious adventures. In the second part of the novel, Meg marries, Jo's writing becomes a priority, as does Amy's art. During a time of impoverishment, they learn how good it feels to give to those who are much needier than themselves. This aspect of the book is very moving. Ms Alcott brings her characters to life on the page. All of them, even minor personages, are extremely well developed.

"Little Women" was first published in two parts in 1868 and 1869. The author drew from her own childhood experiences to dramatize the lives of the March family. The character "Marmee" is based on her own mother, Abigail May, (Abba), Alcott, whom she described as having: "A great heart that was home for all." Like Marmee, Abba was loving and passionate about women's rights, temperance, and abolition. A truly compelling and wise novel!

Anne K. Phillips, associate professor of English and assistant head of the English department at Kansas State University, is co-editor of the Norton Critical Edition of "Little Women" and "The Louisa May Alcott Encyclopedia," along with Gregory Eiselein, professor and director of graduate studies in English at Kansas State.

Phillips was awarded a University Small Research Grant in January 2002 to examine the first editions of "Little Women" at the Houghton Library at Harvard University, in connection with the development of the Norton Critical Edition.

This edition also provides the authoritative, accurate text of the first edition (1868-69) of "Little Women," accompanied by textual variants and explanatory annotations. Backgrounds and Contexts" includes a wealth of archival materials, among them previously unpublished correspondence and Alcott's own precursors to the novel. Twenty nineteenth-century reviews provide critiques and seven modern essays represent a variety of critical theories used to read and study the novel. A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.

This is an outstanding edition and the additional academic information makes for richer reading and study. The editing is first-rate and each edition is printed on acid-free paper. Makes a wonderful addition to any library.
JANA ... Read more