Three years have   passed since the events narrated in Little Women, and the four March sisters   are approaching adulthood, with all its accompanying challenges and   expectations. Meg is preparing for her wedding, Beth continues to struggle   with her health, Jo is more than ever devoting herself to literature and Amy   is about to go on a tour of Europe with her aunt. Their experiences, hopes   and ambitions are set in counterpoint to each other, until the whole family   is brought together by tragedy and misfortune.
     
     Following on the immediate commercial success of Little Women, Good Wives   completes the story of the March sisters and their friend Laurie, and is,   together with its prequel, Louisa May Alcott’s crowning achievement and one   of the most popular young-adult tales ever written.