I've read a lot of Alcott's fiction, knew that the two halves of Little Women, own some of her pulp writing, and grew up in close proximity to many of the places she and her family lived in their fairly nomadic existence. But I didn't know that Little Women was the result of a commission, rather than independent artistic inspiration, and I didn't know how many of the events in that and subsequent sequels were repurposed memoir, rather than fictional creations. Nor did I know that Alcott had some of the same experiences not only as Jo, her obvious literary alter ego, but as sickly younger sister Beth. But the book's not just biographical connect-the-dots. It's a rigorous intellectual history of Bronson's development and his influence on his second-eldest daughter.
I pretty much believe everyone should read Little Women (and I feel the same way about the Little House books: they're both critical family dramas that trace women's development under the influence of strong parents rooted in the traditions of New England originalism and Manifest Destiny. They're critical American reading.) But even if you haven't, Eden's Outcasts is well-worth reading, a great palate-cleanser and table-setter to start off the year.