Order of Book Series
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Louisa May Alcott Books in Order

103 books are credited to Louisa May Alcott, published between 1849 and 2019; 66 of them appeared after Louisa May Alcott's death in 1888. The first book is The Inheritance (1849) and the newest is A Merry Christmas and Other Christmas Stories (2019). Publication order is the reading order below.

Louisa May Alcott also publishes as A. M. Barnard, Flora Fairchild, Flora Fairfield, Tribulation Periwinkle.

Books
103
Published
1849–2019
Pages on record
13,363 in 61 of 103 books
Reading time
223–334 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 13,363 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 61 of 103 titles with a page count on record.

See all 103 books in order Printable Louisa May Alcott checklist
Photo of Louisa May Alcott, author

Alcott wrote novels, short stories and children's fiction, and the catalogue runs to 103 titles, with Little Women, Eight Cousins and Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag among the named sequences. The list starts with The Inheritance (1849) and Flower Fables (1854) and takes in Hospital Sketches (1863), Moods (1864) and Behind a Mask, or a Woman's Power (1866). Young women, social custom and gender roles are the recurring subjects, and the Alcott catalogue is listed as likely complete.

How many Louisa May Alcott books are there?

Louisa May Alcott has 103 books, released between 1849 and 2019. 66 of them were published after Louisa May Alcott's death in 1888. They include 3 series and 85 titles listed outside any series.

Louisa May Alcott Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 103 Louisa May Alcott books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott (1849)
  2. Cover of Flower Fables by Louisa May Alcott (1854)
  3. Cover of Pauline's Passion and Punishment by Louisa May Alcott (1862)
  4. Cover of Civil War Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott (1863)
  5. Cover of Moods by Louisa May Alcott (1864)
  6. Cover of A Marble Woman by Louisa May Alcott (1865)
  7. Cover of Behind a Mask by Louisa May Alcott (1867)
  8. Cover of Little Women, or Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy by Louisa May Alcott, book 1 of the Little Women series (1868)
  9. Cover of An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott (1869)
  10. Cover of Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag by Louisa May Alcott, book 1 of the Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag series (1872)
  11. Cover of Shawl-Straps by Louisa May Alcott, book 2 of the Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag series (1872)
  12. Cover of Transcendental Wild Oats by Louisa May Alcott, book 1 of the Chap series (1873)
  13. Cover of Cupid and Chow Chow by Louisa May Alcott, book 3 of the Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag series (1873)
  14. Cover of Jimmy's Cruise in the Pinafore Etc. by Louisa May Alcott, book 5 of the Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag series (1879)
  15. Cover of An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott, book 6 of the Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag series (1882)
  16. Cover of Spinning-Wheel Stories by Louisa May Alcott (1884)
  17. Cover of Jo's Boys and How They Turned Out by Louisa May Alcott, book 4 of the Little Women series (1886)
  18. Cover of A Whisper in the Dark by Louisa May Alcott (1889)
  19. Cover of Glimpses of Louisa by Louisa May Alcott (1968)
  20. Cover of Short Stories by Louisa May Alcott (1968)
  21. Cover of Trudel's Siege by Louisa May Alcott (1976)
  22. Cover of Plots and Counterplots by Louisa May Alcott (1976)
  23. Cover of Diana & Persis by Louisa May Alcott, book 3 of the Chap series (1978)
  24. Cover of An Intimate Anthology by Louisa May Alcott (1980)
  1. 1
    The Inheritance1849 · 188 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1849188
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Flower Fables1854 · 210 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1854210
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    A Modern Cinderella1860 · confirmed 2/4
    1860–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Pauline's Passion and Punishment1862 · 52 pages · confirmed 2/4
    186252
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Civil War Hospital Sketches1863 · 80 pages · confirmed 2/4
    186380
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Hospital Sketches1863 · confirmed 2/4
    1863–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Moods1864 · 198 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1864198
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    On Picket Duty, and Other Tales1864 · confirmed 2/4
    1864–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    A Marble Woman1865 · 279 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1865279
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Behind a Mask, or a Woman's Power1866 · confirmed 2/4
    1866–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Abbot's Ghost, Or Maurice Treheme's Temptation1867 · 74 pages · confirmed 2/4
    186774
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Behind a Mask1867 · 277 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1867277
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Little Women, or Meg, Jo, Beth and AmyLittle Women #11868 · 480 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1868480
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Good WivesLittle Women #21869 · 464 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1869464
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    An Old-Fashioned Girl1869 · 234 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1869234
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Perilous Play, And, Lost in a Pyramid or the Mummy's Curse1869 · confirmed 2/4
    1869–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Little Men: Life at Plumfield with Jo's BoysLittle Women #31871 · confirmed 2/4
    1871–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Aunt Jo's Scrap-BagAunt Jo's Scrap Bag #11872 · 130 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1872130
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Shawl-StrapsAunt Jo's Scrap Bag #21872 · 124 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1872124
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Transcendental Wild OatsChap #11873 · 92 pages · confirmed 2/4
    187392
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Cupid and Chow ChowAunt Jo's Scrap Bag #31873 · 48 pages · confirmed 2/4
    187348
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Work1873 · confirmed 2/4
    1873–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Eight Cousins or The Aunt-HillEight Cousins #11875 · confirmed 2/4
    1875–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Rose in BloomEight Cousins #21876 · confirmed 2/4
    1876–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    My GirlsAunt Jo's Scrap Bag #41877 · confirmed 2/4
    1877–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    A Modern Mephistopheles1877 · confirmed 2/4
    1877–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Under the Lilacs1878 · confirmed 2/4
    1878–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Jimmy's Cruise in the Pinafore Etc.Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag #51879 · 114 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1879114
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    Jack & Jill1880 · confirmed 2/4
    1880–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    An Old-Fashioned ThanksgivingAunt Jo's Scrap Bag #61882 · confirmed 2/4
    1882–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Louisa May Alcott series in order

The series linked below has its own reading-order page.

Louisa May Alcott books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag in order

6 books
  1. 1. Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag
  2. 2. Shawl-Straps
  3. 3. Cupid and Chow Chow
  4. 4. My Girls
  5. 5. Jimmy's Cruise in the Pinafore Etc.
  6. 6. An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving

Chap in order

6 books
  1. 1. Transcendental Wild Oats
  2. 2. Marjorie's Three Gifts
  3. 3. Diana & Persis
  4. 4. Kate's Choice
  5. 5. Debby's Debut
  6. 6. Love and Self Love

Eight Cousins in order

2 books
  1. 1. Eight Cousins or The Aunt-Hill
  2. 2. Rose in Bloom

Standalone books

85 books

85 Louisa May Alcott titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Louisa May Alcott books in order?

You only need to read Louisa May Alcott books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Louisa May Alcott

Start with Little Women, or Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy (1868), the first Little Women book. The earliest catalogued title overall is The Inheritance (1849).

What is the newest Louisa May Alcott book?

A Merry Christmas and Other Christmas Stories (2019) is the newest Louisa May Alcott book released so far.

Is there a new Louisa May Alcott book coming?

No next Louisa May Alcott book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Louisa May Alcott at a glance

Died
Louisa May Alcott died in 1888, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Louisa May Alcott are still being published after Louisa May Alcott's death in 1888; the newest appeared in 2019.
Release pace
Louisa May Alcott books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
13,363 pages across the 61 of 103 books with a recorded length, a median of 188 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Louisa May Alcott books, 25 of 103, were published in the 2010s.

What the Louisa May Alcott books are about

58 of the 103 Louisa May Alcott books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: social life and customs is tagged on 17 of 58. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.