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b'Tonight, we\\u2019ll read the opening chapter to \\u201cLittle Women\\u201d by American author Louisa May Alcott, published in 1868. Following the lives of the four March sisters\\u2014Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy\\u2014the novel details their passage from childhood to womanhood and is loosely based on the author and her sisters.\\n\\nAlcott wrote the books over several months at the request of her publisher. She later recalled that she did not think she could write a successful book for girls and did not enjoy writing it. "I plod away," she wrote in her diary, "although I don\'t enjoy this sort of things.\\u201d The book\'s immediate success surprised both her and her publisher.\\xa0\\n\\n\\u2014 read by \'V\' \\u2014\\xa0\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'