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Little Women: An Annotated Edition

by Louisa May Alcott
Belknap: Harvard Univ. 2013. 624p. ed. by Daniel Shealy. illus. ISBN 9780674059719. $35. LIT
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Shealy (English, Univ. of North Carolina; ed., Alcott in Her Own Time) uses Little Women's first edition (1868–69) for this heavily illustrated and annotated volume rather than the more prevalent amended version from the 1880s. His annotations are a means to further engage the lay reader as he grounds the text historically, biographically, and philosophically, providing a solid framework for a deeper, more enjoyable understanding of the novel. Readers can engage in the novel and his annotations simultaneously as the oversize format places notes in the wide margins of the text.
VERDICT Although annotated editions of Little Women already exist (e.g., the 2004 Norton Critical Edition that Shealy cites several times), this one, in presentation and explication is not geared simply to scholars but is equally inviting to the general reader, breathing new life and relevance into an enduring American classic.
Reviewed by Audrey Snowden, Orrington P.L., ME , May 01, 2013
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