This Little Women trivia quiz has 50 free questions with answers and covers Louisa May Alcott's 1868-69 novel and everything that grew from it: the four March sisters and their traits, Marmee, the absent chaplain father, Laurie and his grandfather, John Brooke, Aunt March, Beth's scarlet fever, Jo's stories, Amy's European tour, Professor Bhaer and Plumfield. It also digs into the real Alcotts of Concord — the sisters behind Meg, Beth and Amy, Orchard House, publisher Thomas Niles and the sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys — plus the screen versions from Katharine Hepburn in 1933 and June Allyson in 1949 to Winona Ryder in 1994 and Greta Gerwig's Oscar-winning 2019 film with Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh and Timothée Chalamet. Early questions suit anyone who read it once at school; later ones reward readers who know which Bunyan book the chapters echo and who really burned Jo's manuscript. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries before publishing.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Who wrote Little Women?
Louisa May Alcott
She wrote it 'in record time for money' at Orchard House in Concord and admitted she did not enjoy it.
Q 02In which two years were the novel's two volumes originally published?
1868 and 1869
They were combined into a single novel in 1880.
Q 03What is the second volume called in the United Kingdom?
Good Wives
The title came from the publisher, not Alcott; she delivered the manuscript on New Year's Day 1869.
Q 04Which of the four March sisters is the tomboy who writes?
Jo
Meg is beautiful and traditional, Beth the shy pianist and peacemaker, Amy the artist who longs for elegance.
Q 05What do the girls call their mother?
Marmee
On Christmas morning she sends them out to give their breakfast to the poor Hummel family.
Q 06Where is Mr. March at the start of the novel?
Serving as a chaplain in the Union Army
He had lost all his money, leaving the family in genteel poverty.
Q 07What is Laurie's full name?
Theodore Laurence
He is the orphaned grandson of the wealthy Mr. Laurence next door.
Q 08Whom does Meg marry?
John Brooke
He is Laurie's tutor; they wed three years after the first volume ends and have twins.
Q 09What are the names of Meg and John's twins?
Daisy and Demi
Margaret 'Daisy' and John Laurence 'Demi' Brooke.
Q 10What illness does Beth catch from the Hummel family?
Scarlet fever
Three Hummel children die; Beth recovers but never regains her health.
Q 11Which sister goes to live with Aunt March during Beth's illness?
Amy
Jo, who had already had scarlet fever, nurses Beth instead.
Q 12Which sister is chosen over Jo to tour Europe with their aunt?
Amy
That trip is where she and Laurie fall in love.
Q 13What does Jo do when Laurie proposes?
Declines
She loves him like a brother; he flees to Europe with his grandfather.
Q 14What does Jo write anonymously in New York for extra money?
Q 21What is the name of the Alcott home in Concord where the book was written and set?
Orchard House
She modelled the fictional house on her real one.
Q 22Which Alcott sister inspired Amy and illustrated the first edition?
May
Abigail May Alcott, called May, was a real painter who studied in Europe.
Q 23Which real person was Meg based on?
Alcott's sister Anna
Anna's husband John Bridge Pratt was the model for John Brooke.
Q 24Which character was said to have all the warmth and tenderness Alcott's father lacked?
Salacious romance stories
Professor Bhaer's disapproval persuades her to give up the genre.
Q 15What subject does a fellow boarder teach Jo in New York?
German
He is a fellow boarder, and in love with her before she realises it.
Q 16What does Aunt March leave Jo when she dies?
Her estate, Plumfield
Jo and Friedrich turn it into a school for boys — the setting of Little Men.
Q 17What is the name of Laurie and Amy's daughter?
Elizabeth 'Bess'
She is named for her late aunt Beth.
Q 18Which John Bunyan work do the March girls constantly reference and 'play'?
The Pilgrim's Progress
Several chapter titles echo its characters and places.
Q 19What were the titles of Alcott's two sequels?
Little Men and Jo's Boys
They came out in 1871 and 1886.
Q 20Which publisher urged Alcott to write 'a girl's book'?
Thomas Niles
Her father Bronson Alcott also pushed her to do it.
Professor Bhaer
Bronson Alcott was often unable to find steady work but very present at home.
Q 25Where did the novel rank in the BBC's 2003 Big Read poll of Britain's best-loved novels?
18th
That made it the fourth-highest American novel on the list.
Q 26Who played Jo in George Cukor's 1933 film?
Katharine Hepburn
It broke box-office records at Radio City Music Hall.
Q 27Which future star played Amy in the 1949 colour version?
Elizabeth Taylor
Allyson was Jo, O'Brien Beth and Leigh Meg; the film won the Oscar for art direction.
Q 28Who played Jo in the 1994 film?
Winona Ryder
Columbia only agreed to the film if Ryder played Jo; she was Oscar-nominated.
Q 29Which two actresses shared the role of Amy in the 1994 film?
Kirsten Dunst and Samantha Mathis
Dunst played the young Amy, Mathis the grown-up.
Q 30Who played Laurie in the 1994 film?
Christian Bale
Susan Sarandon played Marmee; Gillian Armstrong directed.