Winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

The backstory never revealed in Little Women. What did Daddy do during the war? The exploits of Mr. March (loosely based on the historical figure of Bronson Alcott), father of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy and husband of Marmee, as he fills in information from his past life and writes letters home from the Civil War . A radical abolitionist minister, March attempts to make sense of the relationship between his ideals and the harsh reality as well as come to grips with the strong women in his family.

Make a point of reading this authors previous gem, Year Of Wonders

From Louisa May Alcott’s beloved classic Little Women, Geraldine Brooks has animated the character of the absent father, March, and crafted a story “filled with the ache of love and marriage and with the power of war upon the mind and heart of one unforgettable man” (Sue Monk Kidd). With “pitch-perfect writing” (USA Today), Brooks follows March as he leaves behind his family to aid the Union cause in the Civil War. His experiences will utterly change his marriage and challenge his most ardently held beliefs. A lushly written, wholly original tale steeped in the details of another time, March secures Geraldine Brooks’s place as a renowned author of historical fiction.

“A very great book... It breathes new life into the historical fiction genre [and] honors the best of the imagination.” —Chicago Tribune
“A beautifully wrought story about how war dashes ideals, unhinges moral certainties and drives a wedge of bitter experience and unspeakable memories between husband and wife.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review
“Inspired... A disturbing, supple, and deeply satisfying story, put together with craft and care and imagery worthy of a poet.” —The Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Louisa May Alcott would be well pleased.” —The Economist

Geraldine Brooks is the author of Year of Wonders and the nonfiction works Nine Parts of Desire and Foreign Correspondence. A former correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, Brooks lives in rural Virginia with her husband, author Tony Horwitz, and their son.

Imprint: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Distributor: Penguin Group USA, Inc
Publication Date: 01-31-2006
Pages: 304
Measurements: 7.78in X 5.18in X 0.60in X 0.45lb