Publisher's Synopsis
In 1840, after several setbacks with the school, the Alcott family moved to a cottage on 2 acres of land, situated along the Sudbury River in Concord, Massachusetts. The three years they spent at the rented Hosmer Cottage were described as idyllic. By 1843, the Alcott family moved, along with six other members of the Consociate Family, to the Utopian Fruitlands community for a brief interval in 1843-1844. After the collapse of the Utopian Fruitlands, they moved on to rented rooms and finally, with Abigail May Alcott's inheritance and financial help from Emerson, they purchased a homestead in Concord. They moved into the home they named "Hillside" on April 1, 1845, but had moved on by 1852 when it was sold to Nathaniel Hawthorne who renamed it The Wayside. Moving 22 times in 30 years, the Alcotts returned to Concord once again in 1857 and moved into Orchard House, a two-story clapboard farmhouse, in the spring of 1858.Little Men, or Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys, is a children's novel by American author Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), which was first published in 1871 by Roberts Brothers. The book reprises characters from her 1868-69 two-volume novel Little Women, and acts as a sequel, or the second book in an unofficial Little Women trilogy. The trilogy ends with Alcott's 1886 novel, Jo's Boys, and How They Turned Out: A Sequel to Little Men. Alcott's story recounts the life of Jo Bhaer, her husband, and the various children at Plumfield Estate School. Alcott's classic novel has been adapted to a 1934 film, a 1940 film, a 1998 film, a television series, and a Japanese animated television series.Alcott's novel narrates six months in the life of the students at Plumfield, a school run by German Professor Friedrich and his wife, Mrs. Josephine Bhaer (née March). The idea of the school is first suggested at the very end of Little Women, Part Two, when Jo inherits Plumfield Estate from her late Aunt March.The story was originally inspired by the death of Alcott's brother-in-law, which is revealed in one of the last chapters, when a beloved character, John Brooke, from Little Women dies