Jo's Boys

Jo's Boys is Louisa May Alcott's novel following the young people educated at Plumfield into the choices and difficulties of adult life. Jo and Professor Bhaer remain central figures as former pupils pursue music, scholarship, seafaring and other occupations. Their different paths show that talent alone does not settle questions of conduct or belonging. The novel revisits the educational community of Little Men and the family world introduced in Little Women. Through disappointment, wrongdoing and renewed effort, Alcott connects maturity with accepting consequences and finding useful work within a wider circle of human responsibility.