Answers to the Little Women quiz; information needed on a late 19th-century British version of Little Women

Results of True/False Quiz

I see some of you tried the True/False quiz of what was real and what was made up in Little Women. No one got 100% but you were very close! Here are the answers:

1. Hannah the servant FALSE – The Alcotts could not afford any servants in those days
2. The Christmas play (“The Witches’ Curse, an Operatic Tragedy) TRUE – this play is actually a composite of actual plays written and performed by Louisa and Anna.
3. Amy burns Jo’s manuscript FALSE
4. Marmee’s temper TRUE
5. Amy falling through the ice FALSE
6. Jo pinching Meg’s papered locks before the ball FALSE
7. Meg being dressed up as a doll at Annie Moffat’s FALSE
8. Amy bewailing her pickled limes TRUE
9. Beth receiving the piano from Mr. Lawrence TRUE – in Harriet Reisen’s book Louisa May Alcott The Woman Behind Little Women, Lizzie received a piano as a gift in Walpole, NH when she was twenty from Dr. Henry Whitney Bellows (see chapter 9 in the book)
10. Mr. March’s illness FALSE – Louisa was writing about her own illness her Civil War nursing stint
11. Jo sells her hair. FALSE but it was based on something true, that Louisa had all her hair cut off during her illness after the Civil War
12. Beth wasted away and died peacefully. FALSE Lizzie (aka Beth) did waste away but she was in tremendous pain, was often quite anxious, and even went through a spell where she rejected her family and wanted to be left alone (Anna said in a letter that Lizzie had called her “horrid.”)
13. Jo published her first story, “The Rival Painters.” TRUE
14. Amy writes her own will. TRUE? Not sure on this one (I know, I shouldn’t have included it if I didn’t know the answer!)
    
15. Jo rejects Laurie’s love. FALSE

LIttle Women, British volume, 1898

Here are some pictures from an exquisite British version of Little Women which even includes the dedication to the reader on a lovely sticker.  The only thing I can be sure of is that the illustrations are done by Frank T. Merrill, who illustrated the American version,  copyright of 1880 and renewed by Louisa’s adopted son John Pratt in 1896. Note that the text had been edited for this version, leaving out some of the slang and smoothing out some of the language.

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