Little Men : Life At Plumfield With Jo's Boys
Louisa May Alcott
Hardcover
(Whitman Publishing Company, March 15, 1911)
Little Men, 1911 - The book recounts six months in the life of the students at Plumfield, a school run by German Professor Friedrich and Mrs. Josephine Bhaer (née March). The idea of the school is first suggested at the very end of Little Women, Part Two when adult Jo inherited the estate from her late Aunt March. The story begins with the arrival of Nat Blake, a shy young orphan who used to earn a living playing the violin. We are introduced to the majority of the characters through his eyes. There are ten boys at the school already; Nat, and later his friend Dan, join them, and soon after Nan arrives as companion for Daisy, the only girl. Jo's sons Rob and Teddy are younger than the others and are not counted among the pupils, nor are the two girls, Daisy and Nan. The school is not run on conventional lines. All the children have their own gardens and their own pets, and are encouraged to experiment with running businesses. Pillow fights are permitted on Saturdays, subject to a time limit. Children are treated as individuals, with a strong emphasis on gently molding their characters. Daisy Brooke, Meg's daughter, is at the school with her twin brother Demi, but is somewhat isolated with no other girls her age, until Nan's arrival. Nan is even more of a willful tomboy than Jo was as a teenager while Daisy is interested mainly in dolls and in her own mini kitchen, purchased by Jo's brother-in-law, Laurie, husband of her youngest sister Amy.