Little Women (1933 film) 1994 film "Little Women", starring Winona Ryder, and the upcoming 2019 film "Little Women" featuring Saoirse Ronan. Set in Concord, Massachusetts, during and after the American Civil War, the film is a series of vignettes focusing on the struggles and adventures of the four March sisters and their mother, affectionately known as Marmee (Spring Byington), while they await the return of their father (Samuel S. Hinds), who serves as a colonel and a chaplain in the Union Army. Spirited tomboy Jo (Katharine Hepburn), who caters to the whims of their well-to-do Aunt March (Edna May Oliver), dreams of becoming a
Little Women and occasional hunger. In addition to her own childhood and that of her sisters, scholars who have examined the diaries of Louisa Alcott's mother, Abigail Alcott, have surmised that "Little Women" was also heavily inspired by Abigail Alcott's own early life. The first volume of "Little Women" was published in 1868 by Roberts Brothers. The first printing of 2,000 copies sold out quickly, and the company had trouble keeping up with demand for additional printings. They announced: "The great literary hit of the season is undoubtedly Miss Alcott's "Little Women", the orders for which continue to flow in upon us