I had always heard of Louisa May Alcott and her book ‘Little Woman’ but never really paid attention to the topic until one Christmas in twenty twenty-one when I was bored and decided to try a never before seen movie, that movie was the two thousand and nineteen version of Little Woman starring Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan, and Eliza Scanlen, when I tell you watching this movie for the first time is what real true love feels like, the characters, the aesthetic, the heartbreak and consistency of purism sums this movie into the elite. It’s because of this movie I decided to read the first book and it did not disappoint. Sadly I can’t say much about the rest of the series as I have not yet read these but I can confirm they are on my TBR and I will soon hopefully get to them, better still the first book is in my top ten favourite reads even three years later. In total there are four little woman books published by Louisa May Alcott which include:
{1} Little Woman (1868)
{2} Good Wives (1869)
{3} Little Men Life At Plumfield With Jo’s Boys (1871)
{4} Jo’s Boys And How They Turned Our (1886)
The first book Little Woman (1886) follows the March sisters Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy growing up in poverty during the Civil War Era. The book focuses around the absence of their father, their mother’s teachings, and their experiences of entering womanhood. The second book Good Wives (1969) takes place three years after the first and we follow each of the March sisters individually from Jo’s writing career, Meg’s marriage, Amy’s travels, and Beth’s illness. The third book of the series is Little Men: Life At Plumfield With Jo’s Boy’s (1871) and follows Jo and her Husband running a school for boys exploring friendship and loyalty. The final book in the series is Jo’s Boys And How They Turned Out (1986), this book takes place ten years of Little Men and follows the March sister’s children, now grown as they adapt to adulthood and face challenges of gender and woman’s rights.
Since the publication of the books in eighteen eight-six there have been a total of nine television adaptation of Little Woman with seven of them being films and two a series, and although two of them are considered lost media there is still just enough of a number to make a marathon out of it. Therefore, here is a full guide to all the adaptations of Little Woman By Louisa May Alcott.
1. Little Woman (1917) (Film)
The first ever adaptation little woman to the screen is unfortunately lost media, but it was a British silent historical drama film direct by Alexander Butler. The film followed the original plot of the book.
Cast:
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Ruby Miller as Jo March
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Mary Lincoln as Meg March
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Daisy Burrell as Amy March
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Muriel Myers as Beth March
2. Little Woman (1918) (Film)
The second adaptation of Little Woman is also a silent film and is also sadly considered to be lost media. This film was directed by Harley Knoles and written by Anne Maxwell and followed the original plot of the book.
Cast:
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Dorothy Bernard as Jo March
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Isabel Lamon as Meg March
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Florance Flinn as Amy March
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Lillian Hall as Beth March
3. Little Woman (1933) (Film)
The third film adaptation is an American drama film directed by George Cukor and produced by Merian C. Cooper and Kenneth MacGowan. Luckily this movie is still available today and follows the original plot of the book.
Cast:
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Katharine Hepburn as Jo March
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Frances Dee as Meg March
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Joan Bennett as Amy March
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Jean Parker as Beth March
4. Little Woman (1949) (Film)
The fourth film is an American coming of age romantic film directed and produced by Mervyn LeRoy. The film loosely follows the books plot but focuses more on the girl’s romantic lives.
Cast:
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June Allyson as Jo March
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Janet Leigh as Meg March
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Elizabeth Taylor as Amy March
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Margaret O’Brien as Beth March
5. Little Woman (1978) (TV Series)
The first TV series adaptation was in nineteen seventy-eight lasting one season, directed by David Lowell Rich and written by Suzanne Clauser and was originally aired in two parts on NBS. The series follows the original plot of the book.
Cast:
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Susan Dey as Jo March
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Meredith Baxter Birney as Meg March
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Ann Dusenberry as Amy March
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Eve Plumb as Beth March
6. Little Woman (1994) (Film)
The fifth film adaptation of the book is an American coming of age drama directed by Gillian Armstrong and follows the original plot of the book.
Cast:
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Winona Ryder as Jo March
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Trini Alvarado as Meg March
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Samantha Mathis and Kristen Dunst as Amy March
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Claire Danes as Beth March
7. Little Woman (2017) (TV Series)
The second TV series adaptation is a British BCC historical drama directed by Vanessa Caswill and follows the plot of the book.
Cast
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Maya Hawke as Jo March
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Willa Fitzgerald by Meg March
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Kathryn Newton as Amy March
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Annes Elwy as Beth March
8. Little Woman (2018) (Film)
The sixth adaption of Little Woman is an American drama film directed by Clare Niederpruem and is a modern retelling of the book, set in the early two thousands four sisters are grown up together. Jo is an aspiring author who locates to New York, Beth battle cancer, Amy becomes a painter, and Meg struggles with marries life. A very different adaption of the original story because of modern times but proves family always.
Cast:
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Sarah Davenport as Jo March
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Melanie Stone as Meg March
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Taylor Murphy as Amy March
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Allie Jennings as Beth March
9. Little Woman (2019) (Film)
The final and most recent adaption of the Little Woman is an American drama film directed by Greta Gerwig and follows the original plot of the book plus good wives.
Cast:
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Saoirse Ronan as Jo March
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Emma Watson as Meg March
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Florence Pugh as Amy March
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Eliza Scanlen as Beth March
Summary List:
{1} Little Woman (1917) (Film)
{2} Little Woman (1918) (Film)
{3} Little Woman (1933) (Film)
{4} Little Woman (1949) (Film)
{5} Little Woman (1978) (TV Series)
{6} Little Woman (1994) (Film)
{7} Little Woman (2017) (TV Series)
{8} Little Woman (2018) (Film)
{9} Little Woman (2019) (Film)
"I think we are all hopelessly flawed."
- Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott
"Life and love are very precious when both are in full bloom."
- Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott
“The duty we owe to ourselves is greater than that we owe to others”.
- Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott
Ealasaid | Posted 16th June 2026
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