Books on Film: Little Women

Some books are so good, they can't be adapted only once. They come around again, and again...and again and again. And while I'm not an expert on the book version of Little Women, having read it once and not liking it very much, I am an expert on the various film adaptations that followed -- and I'm about to save you 800 pages of reading.

The Book

Louisa May Alcott based Little Women on her own home life. Like the character Jo, Louisa had three sisters and lived in her family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts. And it is a ponderous book, so big in fact it was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. 

Little Women follows the lives of sisters Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, the March girls, and it was an immediate hit among readers. Margaret March, or Meg, is the oldest and quite a beauty. Meg is a perfect little lady, with a pretty face and pretty manners to match. She is something of a substitute mother to the others, assuming control of the house when their mother, Marmee, is not around. Marmee is often busy with charitable works, because the Civil War is raging. It's because the war that the girls' father is not home; he's a Yankee chaplain.

They're quite poor, but they are a well-respected family and the girls have been raised to be ladies. It's worked, for the most part -- except for Jo. The tomboy of the bunch, Josephine March is rambunctious and not at all a fan of being a little lady. She would rather be in the war with her father than sitting at home with her sisters, but it's not an option. Jo also has a quick temper and a ton of creativity; she has literary aspirations, and often leads the others in very inventive play-acting.

Elizabeth, Beth, is painted as something of a saint. She is musically gifted and painfully shy. Beth never desires to go to parties or even go outside of her home, preferring to stay around people she knows than those she does not. She's so good she's unbelievable, in fact. At one point in the book, Beth nearly dies of scarlet fever. Jo painfully nurses her back to health, but Beth is not long for this world after her brush with death. Eventually she dies in quite a serene (and wholly unreal) manner, passing away like an angel. Alcott's metaphors are heavy throughout this part of the novel, and she even borrows from the Bible to make her point.

Amy is the youngest, and artistic by nature. She very much wants to have more than she does and is very much focused on becoming better than she is. Amy loves using big words and trying to make other little girls jealous, activities which have a way of turning out poorly for her. Amy is spoiled, and of all the sisters has the most trouble getting along with Jo.

Jo meets and befriends their new neighbor. His name is Theodore Laurence, but he is often addressed as Laurie or Teddy. She brings him into the girls' play, and he often calls her a "good fellow" and similar friendly names. But as time progresses, the nature of Laurie's feelings change for Jo and he begins to fancy himself in love with her. When it becomes clear that Meg has eyes for Laurie's tutor, Mr. Brooks, he makes his move on Jo by proposing marriage.

She rejects him, and he leaves their friendship, the state and the country. Laurie goes abroad, to Europe, in an apparent attempt to escape his broken heart. Jo decides to pursue her literary ambitions and goes to New York. Amy is sent away during Beth's illness and becomes a companion to rich old Aunt March, who is very disapproving of her little brother (Jo's father). The two become close, and Amy goes to Europe with Aunt March to study art as a result.

In Europe, Amy re-connects with Laurie, and the two actually begin courting. By the time Amy returns to Orchard House, she is ready to become Laurie's wife. Meg, who has married John Brooks, delivers him two healthy babies. The war is over, and father has returned home. But Beth is gone, and Jo is once again at odds upon returning from New York. A man she met there, however, comes to find her to tell her that the publishers have accepted her book -- a book about herself and her sisters -- and Jo realizes her love for him. The two marry, and Jo has inherited Aunt March's old home. They decide they will turn it into a school.

Everyone lives fairly happily ever after, and you can read all about it in the sequels Good Wives and Little Men. 

The Films

 I know all of those details not because I've made a thorough study of the book. It's because I've seen the important adaptations. Honestly, I could barely get through the book version of Little Women. It's full of flowery language, it's incredibly thick and by today's standards the language feels archaic. But on film, the story is truly exceptional...if you're watching the right film (and you probably aren't). 

• 1933

The first film major adaptation of Little Women was created when the movies were still young. Directed by the legendary George Cukor, it had absolutely everything going for it. Two previous versions of the book were made into silent films in 1917 and 1918, but neither of them had Katharine Hepburn in them.

This one did. She played Jo, of course, and was age 26. Amy March was played by a 23-year-old Joan Bennett (pictured above). Jean Parker as Beth was 18, and Frances Dee as Meg was 23 -- younger than Hepburn. But Hepburn is fantastic as the brash Jo March, and she shines on the silver screen. In this version, Meg works as a seamstress (not a governess) and Beth plays a clavichord and not a piano.

The critics adored the film, which quickly glossed over Beth's illness and death and barely even paid lip service to Laurie's broken heart. It focused on the prettier aspects of the story instead and kept the focus on Hepburn in every scene, so the story is Jo's more than ever in this version.

It's quite a good version, and decently faithful to the book...but it isn't the best. That was made 15 years later.

• 1949

My favorite adaptation of Little Women was released in 1949, and contains a star-studded cast. It's done in full Technicolor glory, and stars June Allyson as Jo. At 28, she was really much too old for the role...and it's only one of multiple casting problems you'll find in the flick.

Beth is played by popular child actress (at the time) Margaret O'Brien, who was much younger than the big star the movie nabbed for the role of Amy (that would be Elizabeth Taylor, who looks great as a blonde). Beth is supposed to be older than Amy, but she became the youngest sister as a result of this casting decision. During filming, O'Brien was only 10 years old. Elizabeth Taylor was 21. Janet Leigh, who would go on to become a scream queen thanks to her role in Psycho was 24 when she played Meg. The famous silver screen queen Mary Astor is also in the film as Marmee.

Jo does not meet Laurie as a holiday party, as she does in the book, but actually goes to his home to meet him for the first time. The Christmas party happens later, and all four of the March girls go (only Jo and Meg went in the book).

The pivotal scene where Amy falls through the ice while skating is cut completely, though in the book it's important because it brings Jo and Amy closer together. Amy's romance with Laurie is also cut out of this version of the film.

So why is it my favorite? Because June Allyson was made to be Jo. She's absolutely perfect in the role, lovable and brash and bold all at the same time. Not to mention, the costumes look incredible in this version.

Another version of the film was made in 1978 with Meredith Baxter and Susan Dey, but I've never seen it. I have seen the much more recent adaptation, which is probably the most well-known. Like the '49 flick, it contains a star-filled cast.

• 1994

Released on Christmas Day, the 1994 version of Little Women has been seen by many millions. The cast was packed with big names and no expense was spared on the costumes, but it's still not the best version. The 1949 joint is -- trust me.

This time, Winona Ryder plays Jo March. Claire Danes is Beth, and in the beginning Kirsten Dunst is Amy. Susan Sarandon nabbed the role of Marmee, while the boy who would be Batman, Christian Bale, plays Laurie. Eric Stoltz, of '80s movie fame, is John Brooke. Danes does an absolutely brilliant job as Beth; I can't get through her final scene without crying. But Dunst, who was still very young at the time, turns Amy into a screaming and hysterical wreck. Ryder is far too reserved to be Jo, and next to her Susan Sarandon doesn't feel convincing at all. Samantha Mathis becomes older Amy March, and she's even worse than Dunst. However, the film did land Ryder a Best Actress Oscar nod, so clearly the critics don't agree about the casting.

What Got Adapted?

The 1994 version of the book had too many stars. Claire Danes doesn't get the opportunity to do Beth much justice, and her shyness is really underdeveloped. Beth never overcomes her own worst fears to thank Mr. Laurence for the piano, and his character is pushed far into the background. Ryder's subdued Jo doesn't shout "Christopher Columbus" or any other colorful swears, and this Jo never laments the fact that she can't fight in the Civil War (scenes that Allyson's Jo captures beautifully). Meg never has her big awakening regarding her own love for Mr. Brooks, which does happen in the better 1949 version, in 1994. And in 1994, we never see Amy wearing the clothes pin to make her nose straight. The big present-giving scene with Marmee is also skipped in the newest version, and Jo never really learns her lesson after Amy falls hrough the pond.

The 1949 version also features more of Jo's struggles as an author, something that is barely in the 1994 version and is only mentioned a little in 1933. Casting problems aside, it's simply the best adaptation of the story and the one you ought to see -- especially if you don't plan on reading the book.

Jade, Showcased

Why did I start writing? Who are my favorite authors? Find out -- and get lots of other stuff about me -- in my interview at the Indie Writer Showcase.

Bestsellers May Get Purchased, But Not Read

Bestselling books have a way of becoming their own self-propelling machines. Once readers hear that other readers are in love with a certain book, they run out to buy it. Everyone has bought a book simply because everyone else was talking about it. But the question is: did you read it? 

Are People Really Reading Bestsellers?

Some books have a way of becoming fashionable. Right now, the book everyone's talking about is Fifty Shades of Gray. Some swear it's the greatest piece of writing ever produced by the hand of man, while many critics have deemed it practically unreadable. The point is, they all bought it. When it seems like everyone's got a certain book, it's the in thing to go out and get that same book. How else can you join the conversation? 

Some studies suggest that bestsellers may get inflated sales numbers for just this reason. Instead of being read, bestsellers are getting purchased to serve as shelf and table decoration. One bookstore that wanted to test the theory stuffed coupons, redeemable for $5 cash, inside 70 of the store's most popular books. 

Not one of those coupons was turned in. In 1985, when the test was conducted, $5 was nothing to throw away -- and if I got a coupon for five bucks today I'd run right down to the bookstore with it in my hand. So why didn't those coupons get redeemed? 

One theory is that the books didn't get read -- but they did get bought.

Sales feed sales, but that doesn't mean those sales are firing up more readers. Some bestsellers absolutely inspire new readers and introduce people to books they've never before considered...but those big bestselling numbers night not reflect total readers.  Have you ever bought a bestseller because everyone said you should but never finished it? 

Haven't we all?

Jade's Cards on the Table

Visit Little Book Star to read my most recent interview, and find out which character's been giving me the most trouble during the writing of the Deck of Lies series. The interviewer asked some great questions about Justice, the first book in the series, and writing in general. Go check it out! 

Writing 101: Learn How to Type

It struck me today while I was working with my eyes closed that, in all the many Writing 101 topics I've posted, I've been neglecting perhaps the most important of all: proper typing. If you don't know how to do it and you're hunting and pecking your way across the keyboard, you've got to stop. Don't write another word. Before you ever create a book, or even think about creating a book, you need to learn how to type -- the right way. 

Getting Back to Basics

Everybody's got their own way of doing things, and it's important for every writer to develop their own writing style and their own habits. You need to feel comfortable when you're writing. All of this is very true. But it's also true that, no matter what, you'd better be typing the right way whenever you're writing. You might have your own system that works for you, and that's great...but you still need to learn the proper, tried-and-true method of typing.

Why? Carpal tunnel, for one, and that's just the beginning. If you're not typing the right way, you could be doing yourself severe wrist damage. The longer you type improperly, the bigger the problem is going to get. It is possible to do permanent damage, the type of damage that can make it all but impossible for you to type in the future. This is not a joke. You can also be doing damage to your back if you're siting strangely at your keyboard. You may end up with hunched-in shoulders and a sloped back if you keep it up for a few decades. 

Maybe the way you type won't cause these problems, what do I know? Maybe your wrists are well-supported, your posture's great and your fingers are flying across the keyboard. You still need to learn how to type properly. Improper typing is going to lead to more mistakes, and it's going to make it more difficult for you to keep writing without looking at your hands. If you can't type your books with your eyes closed, it's time to re-learn how to type. And yes, it is possible to write books with your eyes closed. I know because I do it all the time. 

Proper Typing

It's incredibly easy to learn proper typing, and all you have to invest is time. You can find ten free exercises online that help you master the basics, very in-depth text-based lessons that will walk you through learning how to type and really good interactive lessons that virtually teach you how to type step-by-step. When you're all done learning, take a typing test to see how well you've mastered all your lessons.

When you know how to type properly, you won't have to look at the keyboard or at your hands. You won't have to worry about doing damage to yourself. You can simply write your books, and that's what it's all about.

Winning Look

The Deck of Lies Diva Challenge is over, and a winning outfit for Rain has been picked!

Diva crystalstone32 designed this stylish number to win herself a free copy of Justice (Deck of Lies, #1). Thanks to everyone who played the Diva Challenge at Fashion Fantasy Game. All of the outfits looked great. 

For everyone who didn't win the giveaway, you still have a chance to grab a free copy of the book. Look to the left of the blog to find a link to a new giveaway, and sign up for your chance to win!

Writing 101: Conscious vs. Conscience

When I went to type the title of this post, I misspelled both words. Conscious and conscience are both hard to spell all the time, and that's not even their biggest problem. They sound alike and they have similar meanings -- but they're different enough to make it a terrible writing faux pas if you put one where the other ought to be. There are a few tricks to keeping them straight, so you don't have to pull up reference material every time you want to use one or the other. 

Conscious

The word conscious can be used in a lot of ways, which only adds fuel to the fire of writing confusion. In the main, it really means aware. You can be conscious of the fact that you're reading a blog, you can be conscious of your surroundings, you can feel conscious guilt.

But you also have a conscience. 

Conscience

It's that inner voice that tells you something is wrong. When you feel bad about something you've done, it's your conscience making you feel bad. It causes guilt, and regret, and all those other feelings. That's the main thing you need to remember about conscience -- it creates feelings. Conscious, by contrast, is awareness. 

To make matters even more confusing, the word conscientiousness exists. Clearly an extension of conscience, it means something like listening to your conscience. It's usually used when someone is doing something with great care: She wrote her blog posts with conscientiousness.

Sorting Them Out

Conscious and suspicious both end with the same suffix, and if you break them down to basic meaning they are closely related. To be suspicious is to be especially aware of someone's questionable behavior, yes? You have to be awake and aware to be in that mindset. I use tricks like this to link certain words in my mind; then, I can remember that you have to be awake to be conscious.

Your conscience can keep you awake at night. It's got the word science in it, and naturally this makes one think of crickets. This leads naturally into Jiminy Cricket, who is (wait for it) a conscience for Pinocchio! 

Really that's not a very easy trick even if you are very familiar with the story. Here's a better one: science is the opposite of feeling (since feelings can't really be gauged on a machine), so add con to science and you have conscience, feeling. Conscience is also longer than conscious, letter-wise, so you can always try to remember that the longer words go together. Conscience = feeling, conscious = awake, long long, short short.

It's easy to mix up even the simplest words, and I do it all the time. Every writer does, because the fingers are often faster than the brain. You're going to make mistakes when you write, so don't worry about that. Always go back over your work, and catch all the errors in the editing. Don't stop yourself while you're writing to worry over grammar problems, because you should be making mistakes when you write. Sometimes, mistakes actually help you create something even better. But if you don't go back and edit, I won't feel sorry when your conscience bothers you!

Writing 101: Pacing

Everyone has their own ideas about what makes writing "good" or "bad," but if your pacing is off there isn't going to be much of a competition between the two. Pacing is incredibly important...yet it goes ignored by many indie authors. If your characters make the decision to take a trip, buy the ticket and board the plane all in one paragraph, you really need to learn more about pacing in your writing. 

What Is It? 

Okay, so what is pacing? Every book has a pace, and usually it falls somewhere between two extremes: fast and slow. You can tell the difference when you read, even if you don't think about it consciously. Some books feel like a quick read -- you start them and them finish them and don't even know where the last 6 hours went. Other books that may take the same amount of reading time feel like they're dragggggging by; you look at the clock every hour, wondering how it's possible that five or six haven't passed since the last time check. That's pacing. In some books, events come hot and fast right on top of each other. In others, you may read many pages or chapters before anything new develops. 

Ideally, you want to establish a perfect pace in every book: not too fast and not too slow. The problems with a slow pace are obvious: readers are going to be bored, they're going to be aware of the time that's passing and they may grow tired enough to stop reading and give up on the book altogether. 

 Slow Reading

A slow pace makes lots of books absolutely intolerable to certain readers, while others may like the more serene feeling.

 In the main, you want to avoid writing a pace that's just too slow. Read your book and look for clues like over-writing and extreme length, which are often indicative of a very slow pace. Always remember that each and every scene ought to serve a purpose: it advances the plot and/or it offers the reader information the reader needs to know. If you're writing a bunch of scenes that do neither, your pace is too slow. Things need to happen. They don't have to happen in every single paragraph, but they should be happening every few pages. Otherwise, the reader will feel bored and won't feel a whole lot of motivation to keep reading your story. 

A very slow pace makes the book drag, and drag, and drag...is that how you want people to describe your book? Does that sound like something you want to read?

 Fast Reading

Carrie hung up the phone and bought the train ticket online. She threw a change of clothes into a bag, left her apartment and went to the train station to board the train to Connecticut. When she stepped off the train two hours later, she was home. 

Readers have to have some time to process what's going on in your book. If events are coming right on top of each other, readers are going to have trouble absorbing everything in the story, keeping track of characters and remembering events in their proper order. It comes across as bad writing, and there's a good reason for that. When the pace of your book is super-fast, you're not leaving much room for descriptive writing. You're not even leaving much room for readers to breathe. No one can absorb information if it's coming at them every single second. You shouldn't be lobbing your words at readers like bullets.

Pacing

Pacing that's too fast is every bit as problematic as pacing that's too slow, and that's why writers have to learn how to stay within a happy medium between the two. The best way to do this is to vary your writing. Toss a couple of pitches that are quick and unexpected, then ease off a little and take your time with the next pieces of information. Change between fast and slow pacing to keep the reader engaged and in suspense. Being consistent is good...being too consistent is boring. Speed it up and slow it down to create a good pace overall in your writing, and re-read your words to make sure you aren't mixing up your pace too much. 

Pacing is an art that every author has to master, and even very successful writers struggle with it constantly. Keep working at your craft and be mindful of your pace, and you'll find yourself getting better and better all the time.