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father has been sent to war
The book is about four girls, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. They aren't very rich but also not poor compared to the Hummel family. From the beginning of the book their father is away because of the Civil war. So they live together on the country side in a town called Plumfield, with their mother, sisters and the house maid Hannah. -
beginning of the book/ introduction
It begins around christmas, and you are introduced to the sisters. Meg is a very pretty girl, who likes luxury. Because she is the oldest, she remembers the time when her parents had more money and could afford more things. Jo is the second oldest sister, she is very boyish and is brutally honest. She is very close with their neighbour Laurie. Beth is a kind girl, who is introverted, plays with her dolls and helps around the house. Amy is the youngest and the only one who goes to school. -
Jo and Meg meet Laurie
It is New Years Eve and the two oldest sisters are invited to a party, which almost never happens. Meg wants to make a good impression meanwhile Jo just wants to have fun. It all starts with Jo that accidentally burnt on of her gloves so Meg tells her to stand still so no one notices. Jo is bored and goes into a room, here she meets Laurie. He is their neighbour who is just as old as Jo, this was one of the first times meeting. He lives with his rich grandfather in a big house. -
Amy burns Jo's manuscript
While Meg and Jo are at the new years party Amy is angry at Jo. Before she left the house she said some mean things about Amy being young. In her anger Amy burns the book where Jo writes her famous and precious stories in. Later she apologizes, but Jo doesn't accept it. She goes ice-skating with Laurie and Amy follows desperately after them. She falls through the ice and after this Jo is very sorry about how angry she was. They made up after this. -
Meg goes to the Moffats
Meg is invited to stay for a few days at the Moffats, a rich family in their town. Meg is insecure in these days because she doesn't have very expensive things and all the other girls do. Through rumors she realizes how they think about her and look down on her because she isn't rich. After her stay she realizes that love makes you happier than money. -
The experiment in the summer
One day in the summer the sisters are complaining about all the duties they have. The girls want to be able to do their hobbies all day. So Hannah (the house maid) goes on vacation and mrs March goes away too. The girls are left by themselves and have to do all the house chores without any other responsibilities. While it was fun in the beginning at the end they are bored and the house is a mess. They consider the experiment failed and promise to do their duties without complaining. -
Meeting mr Brooke/camp Laurence
Laurie invites the March girls to 'camp laurence' a day with planned activities. Some English kids that Laurie knows come to. They do all sorts of things, Beth goes out of her comfort zone and talks to someone she doesn't know. Jo and Laurie play together as always. Mr Brooke is the tutor of Laurie and is also present. This is the first time Meg meets him and they immediately found a liking to each other. -
Jo's story comes in the newspaper
Jo writes stories her whole life and in her family she is famous for it. Each sister has her own unique hobby and talent. Meg is very good in acting (which shows in their annual christmas play). Beth loves to play the piano and does this regularly on the piano of mr Laurence. Amy is very good in drawing and she does it during most of her classes in school. Then we come back to Jo, in secret she admitted one of her stories to the news paper, which they later on published! -
mr March and Beth are sick
In November the March family gets a letter that says that mr March very ill is from the war and is now in the hospital. Mrs March accompanied by mr Brooke leaves to visit her husband. Meanwhile Beth also gets sick, from scarlet fever and everyone in the house is anxious because mrs March is not there. At some point Beth gets so sick that mrs March comes back. The whole time that Beth is sick Amy is sent to stay at aunt March's because she otherwise can get scarlet fever too. -
the ending
It's now a year later from when the story began. Beth has almost fully recovered from the scarlet fever. Mr Brooke and Meg like each other since they met, but after mr Brooke helped mr March when he was sick they got closer. Now they are even engaged after Meg thought a lot about it. And to top it off mr March comes back home after more than a year of being away as a surprise. The end.