Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy

With their father away serving in the Civil War, the four March sisters grow up together in genteel poverty in New England: responsible Meg, headstrong would-be writer Jo, gentle Beth, and artistic, vain little Amy. They quarrel, put on plays, befriend the lonely rich boy next door, and learn by trial and error who they want to become. Alcott based the family on her own, and it shows. No sisters in fiction feel more real.

Generations have argued about Jo's choices and wept at the same chapters, and the book earns every bit of it honestly. It's funny and unsentimental about hardship and full of small domestic scenes that glow. A comfort listen of the highest order, best experienced with a blanket and no one watching your face.

At roughly 185,600 words, Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy runs about 20½ hours at 1x narration speed. That figure is an estimate based on a typical narration pace. The exact length depends on the voice and the playback speed you choose.

Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy is in the public domain, so the complete text is free on Project Gutenberg and LoudReader has the entire Project Gutenberg catalog built in. To listen:

1. Download LoudReader for Mac or iPhone (free, no account).
2. Search for “Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy” in the built-in catalog and add it to your library.
3. Press play. A natural offline voice reads the book while each word highlights on screen, and your place is saved between sessions.

LoudReader reads with natural offline voices, so the whole book works on a plane or underground. It is fully on-device and private, your library never leaves your device. Listening is unlimited on the free tier.