Little Men is the delightful unofficial sequel to Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, reprising the much-cherished characters of the March family and friends, as well as some unforgettable new ones. The warm-hearted and fiesty Jo March returns (now as Jo Bhaer) and, together with husband Friedrich and the inheritance of an estate from Aunt March, opens Plumfield Estate, an unconventional school based on individuality and diversity. Jo’s own boys, a number of rescued orphans, and her nieces are all encouraged to be kind, helpful, and self-sufficient, tending their own gardens and running their own businesses. Fun and learning go hand in hand, and pillow fights are even permitted on Saturdays.

Personal relationships are key to the school, as well as to the novel, and the lovable characters get up to plenty of scrapes and adventures, but in the end, even the troublesome among them find redemption in the love and support of the extended March family.


《小紳士》是露意莎．梅．奧爾柯特繼《小婦人》之後推出的非正式續集，不只重現馬區一家及其友人等倍受歡迎的經典角色，還加入了令人印象深刻的新人物，讀來輕鬆愉快。故事描述熱情活潑的喬（婚後改名喬．巴爾）與丈夫費德瑞區在馬區阿姨留下來的莊園裡開設了「梅園」學院，一所打破常規，尊重個性發展、包容多元差異的學校。在這裡長大的孩子，包括喬自己的兒子、姪子和一群無家可歸的孤兒，都在喬的教導下養成仁慈友善、熱心助人、獨立自主的個性，從照顧花園到生活大小事都能獨當一面。他們在快樂生活中學習，每逢週六，睡前的枕頭戰甚至成了家常便飯。

人際關係的發展是學院關注的重點，更是全書主軸。這些可愛的孩子一路成長，經歷各種困頓及險境的考驗，到了最後，即使是最令人頭痛的麻煩人物在馬區大家庭無私的愛與支持之下，也得到溫暖的救贖。