Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy in Production
Copy editing is complete. The illustrations have all been gathered. The layout has been designed. Even though it doesn’t come out until next August, between now and then I will be busy helping to usher it into the world. Next month I’ll be in New York to participate in a panel at the Modern Language Association convention, and while there I will meet with my editor and publicist to begin a strategy for getting the word out. There will be goodies for those who pre-order the book. In the meantime, if you participate in Goodreads, you can go there and add it to your “Want to Read” list. That way you will be notified when pre-publication book giveaways are announced.
BBC Adaption of Little Women on the Way
In other news, my envy is mounting as the BBC adaptation of Little Women, produced in coordination with PBS Masterpiece, nears its arrival on television screens in the UK. It will air there just after Christmas, while we Yanks have to wait until May. What I’ve read and seen so far has made me optimistic that this will be a more accurate adaptation–and more modern. The two are not mutually exclusive. As I argue in the chapter on “Little Women on Stage and Screen,” previous adaptations have neglected many of the more progressive elements of the novel and have tended to exaggerate (even fabricate) a conservativeness that was not Alcott’s. The BBC has posted the trailer and two clips. From what I can tell, this version remains true to the novel’s spirit, while inventing new dialogue. My favorite line from the clips is Jo saying, “Being born a girl is the most disappointing thing that ever happened to me,” which raises the issue of her not wanting to be a girl, something the earlier films downplayed. (In the novel she says, “I can’t get over my disappointment in not being a boy.”)
