In 1868, Louisa May Olcott's little women were published, a critically acclaimed novel about the lives and love of four women during the Civil War, and in early 2020, a new version of The Little Women took us back to the happy life of the March family.
At the end of the novel, Meg marries John, Joe marries Barr, Bethine dies, and Amy marries Laurie. However, this is far from the end. What stories happened after that?
After the story of "Little Women", Joe and her husband Professor Barr run a school at home, the main students are more than a dozen energetic boys with different personalities, the oldest is 16 years old, the youngest is only four or five years old, most of them are around ten years old, including the children of the Barrs themselves and their relatives, there are wandering orphans, there are particularly naughty children, there are children with physical disabilities and inferiority, and there are children sent by parents because they cannot discipline, these children live and study together. Joe and her husband gave them classes, designed games, and developed their character. The Barrs never suppressed the boys' personalities, and at the same time subtly educated the children to develop sound character. The boys grew up healthy and happy in Joe's house, and a lot of strange, touching, or hilarious things happened in between.
"The Little Gentleman" is the sequel to "Little Women", although the main characters have a certain connection with "Little Women", but the storyline is relatively independent and can be read separately. Alcott is good at describing simple emotions, her novels are warm and touching, simple and innocent, conveying the feelings and beliefs of life, and she uses her stories to let readers learn to face an increasingly competitive world with a beautiful and peaceful mind.
For adults who retain some innocence to a greater or lesser extent, who have a sincere desire for life, this book may help them to retrieve something that has inadvertently been lost and that is exactly what they need. Courage, responsibility, honesty, fraternity... The qualities that shape a little gentleman are all in this story.
Let's take a look.
A boy in tattered clothes got off the minibus, walked to the gate, and asked the man who opened the door, "Sir, may I ask, is this a plum garden?" ”
"Yes. Who made you come? ”
"Mr. Lawrence. I have a letter to the hostess here. ”
"Okay; go in, it's right over the house, and you'll give it to her yourself, little fellow, and she'll meet you."
The man spoke very kindly, and the little boy felt encouraged and went on. It was raining heavily, spring had arrived, the grass and trees were sprouting, and in front of Nate was a boxy house with wide steps and an old-fashioned porch, many windows lit up, and the house looked very warm. Warm light shot out through the curtains, through the shutters; Nate paused for a moment before pressing the doorbell, and he saw many small figures on the walls of the room shaking, and heard the cheerful voices of children; he couldn't believe that such a light, such warmth and comfort, would belong to such a homeless "little guy" as himself.
"I wish the mistress would see me," he thought, timidly reaching out and patting the big brass door knocker, which was in the shape of a happy Griffin monster head.
A red-cheeked maid came to open the door, and Nate silently handed her the letter, as if she were accustomed to receiving strange boys, smiled and took the letter, nodded, pointed to a seat in the foyer, and said:
"Sit there, the rain is dripping on the mat, and I'll go and give the letter to Madame."
Knight was not bored at all as he sat there waiting, and he looked around curiously, thinking it was funny; and he sat in a dimly lit corner by the door, and no one would notice him.
The house seemed to be full of boys, and on this rainy twilight they were playing all kinds of games and were very happy. "Upstairs, downstairs, and the hostess's room", there were boys everywhere, that is, the doors were open, big boys, little boys, small boys, groups and groups, all pastimed in the evening, needless to say, all bubbling with joy. The two large rooms on the right were obviously classrooms, with desks, maps, chalkboards and books haphazardly arranged, a fire burning in the fireplace, and a few boys lying on their backs in front of the fireplace, excitedly talking about a cricket match, their booted feet dangling in the air. In a corner, a tall boy was practicing his flute, completely oblivious to the noise around him. A little boy drew cartoons of everyone in the house on the blackboard, and two or three boys jumped over the desk like a kurammel horse, stopping from time to time to catch their breath, look at the cartoon again, and laugh a little.
In the room on the left was a long dinner table with jars of fresh milk, piles of black and white bread, and gingerbread, which the boys loved very much, and the sparkling gingerbread, neatly stacked. The smell of toast in the air, mixed with the smell of roasted apples, was so tempting for the hungry little boy.
However, the most attractive thing is the lobby, just above the entrance, where the children are chasing each other and playing the game of "labeling". One platform of the staircase is used to play pinball, and the other is used to play chess. On the stairs there was a boy sitting there reading, another girl humming a lullaby and coaxing a doll to sleep, and two other puppies and a kitten. There are constantly young boys sliding down the handrails of the stairs, which is not a good game, easy to break arms and legs, and wear clothes.
Sliding down the handrail of the stairs, it was so much fun that The more Nate looked, the more fascinated he became, and gradually came out of the corner where he was sitting; at this time a very lively little boy slid down from the handrail so fast that he could not stop, and his head hit the ground hard, and if there was no steel head, he would definitely break it. Nate hurried over to the child, thinking he might be half dead. As a result, the child just blinked his eyes, calmly looked at the strange face in front of him, and greeted in surprise, "Hello! ”
"Hello!" Knight replied. He couldn't think of anything else to say, and that was the easiest way to answer.
"Are you new here?" The lying boy asked motionlessly.
"I don't know yet."
"What's your name?"
"Nate Black."
"My name is Tommy Bens. Come on, you can try it too, okay? Tommy stood up, as if it suddenly occurred to him that he should be friendly.
"It's not good, I'll have to wait and see if I can stay." Knight replied. He wanted more and more to stay in this place.
"Hi Demi, there's a newcomer. Come and see him." The lively Tommy began to continue his slide game again, and his interest was undiminished.
Hearing Tommy's cry, the boy reading on the stairs looked up, and he had big brown eyes. Like a shy boy, he paused, tucked the book under his arm, and solemnly came to greet the new boy. In his opinion, the new thin boy had a gentle gaze and a pleasing face, which was very likable.
"Have you seen Aunt Joe?" He asked, as if seeing Aunt Joe was an important ritual.
"I haven't seen anyone but the two of you; I'm waiting," Knight replied.
"Did Uncle Laurie let you come?" Demi continued to ask, polite and dignified.
"It's Mr. Lawrence."
"He's Uncle Laurie; the boys he sends are good boys."
Hearing this, Nate looked very grateful, he smiled a little, and his face became more flattering. He didn't know what to say, so the two just looked at each other silently and friendly, and then the little girl came over with the doll in her arms. She looked a lot like Demi, just a little shorter, her face was rounder, a little redder, and they were both blue eyes.
Little Men
[USA] Louisa May Olcott
Xiong Tingyu, Ji Yanli, Yuan Fang | translation
Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) was an American woman writer. She was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, but spent her life in Concord, near The City of Concord, Massachusetts. She grew up under the influence of her father, who was a writer and teacher. Under the influence of her father, she became interested in writing from an early age. To help sustain poor families, Louisa had to earn money as a maid, tutor and tailor before becoming a professional writer. In 1868, a publisher suggested that she write a book about "girls," and she wrote Little Women based on childhood memories. Louisa went on to write The Little Gentleman and Joe's Boys, and in 1873 published her autobiographical book The Story of Experience in the form of a novel.