Famous first line! A Christmas line, spoken by a great character of literature, Jo March.
In honor of that first line and the ambitious and opinionated Jo March, I present the Little Women collection of my friend Nancy Espersen. Nancy’s lovely home was recently featured on the Hillsborough Candlelight Home Tour.
The guest room, decorated as the Little Women Room for the tour
Jo
Meg
Amy
Beth
A Little Women bank and mementos from the movie starring June Allyson and Peter Lawford
A scarf from the June Allyson movie
A cross stitch of the Alcott home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts
Paper dolls!
A paper dollhouse of the March home
First day issue of the Little Women postage stamp
Christmas stories
The cover of Nancy’s childhood copy of the book, Whitman Publishing, 1955.
The endpages with a Little Women sticker in the corner
I asked Nancy to tell us about her lifelong appreciation for Little Women:
My love of everything “Little Women” began as a child. Perhaps it was the version of the book that began this journey. Whatever it was, the story of the March family captured my heart, especially the way they dealt with their trials and tribulations as well as their triumphs and joys. It is still a tradition to watch the movie at Christmas. And even to this day, my husband is ready to hand me a tissue when Beth dies.
Nancy!
Friend For The Ride 
Nancy, you have a wonderful collection! I enjoyed being at your house and seeing it first hand.
Little Woman has always been one of my favorites. I loved Katherine Hepburn as Jo and cried when Beth died. And I nearly cried when Jo didn’t get together with Laurie!! Still haven’t resolved my vexation at Amy! ; )
We made a pilgrimage to the Orchard House a few years ago. It was fun imaging Louise Mae at her little writing table.
Thanks, Barbara, for the pictures!
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Thank you Susan for getting the room ready for the Tour as well as being a docent on that rainy and dreary Sunday afternoon.
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Memories! I liked Little Women too. But the paper dolls really transported me back to my childhood.
I used to love to play paper dolls! Nice collection!
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Wouldn’t it have been fun to have Little Women paper dolls as a child and pretend Jo and Laurie were dancing?
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I share your passion for Little Women. Thanks for posting this!
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Glad to hear there are others who share this passion!
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Beautiful collection, Nancy. I usually watch both the 30s and the 40s movie versions at least once a year. I haven’t read the book for years and years. Maybe it’s time to pick it up again. Thanks for sharing, Nancy and Barbara. Merry Christmas!
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I’m not sure which movie I like best or which Jo (Katharine Hepburn, June Allyson or Winona Ryder)
Merry Christmas to you!
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What a lovely collection! My mother loved Little Women so much, and used to talk about reading them over and over. She was an only child and envied the camaraderie of the sisters. I loved the books, too, and was devastated by Beth’s death. I had a Madame Alexander doll as a child and prized her. This post brought back many memories – thanks!
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Glad the post brought back so many memories about the book and your mother. They are similar to mine (wishing I had sisters and crying over Beth’s death)
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What a great collection you have. I grew up on Little Women too and I love that my granddaughters love them too..
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Another generation of Little Women lovers – how grand!
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