The Ending of This Louisa May Alcott Story May Disappoint You

Annie and Isabel seem to see Edward as a potential love interest. (This relationship structure — a triangle of affection — would be revisited in many of Alcott’s later works.)

At one point in the story, the girls attend a masquerade ball in costume as Night and Morning. “Isabel in a black robe and veil spangled with silver stars and a crescent in her dark hair made a splendid Night, a little too cold and haughty but very beautiful notwithstanding,” Alcott, as Nellie, wrote. “Annie in snow white garments, pale rose-coloured veil, and wreath of dewy half blown buds was as fair a Morning as ever dawned in Ferndale.”

Orphans like Annie, a sincere and quiet heroine, often appear in Alcott’s work, said Harriet Reisen, the author of “The Woman Behind Little Women.”

“She had distinguished relatives and she was from an old, established family,” Ms. Reisen said of Alcott. “I think this orphan thing had to do with having these wealthy relatives who couldn’t give her what she needed.”

Alcott’s work did not always borrow inspiration from her own life. She wrote poems, fairy tales, romances and dark, sensational thrillers.

And then came “Little Women,” a novel about four sisters that was published in two volumes, in 1868 and 1869. It has since become an American classic and has been adapted for the silver screen multiple times, most recently by Greta Gerwig last year.