If longevity is any benchmark for literary greatness, then Louisa May Alcott would qualify. Her novel Little Women, published in 1868, still attracts legions of readers well over a century after publication and inspires both popular movies and scholarly volumes of criticism. Alcott was one of the first authors for young readers to be taken seriously by critics, to write stories that entertained rather than simply preached. Her novels "set a new standard for excellence in full characterization, both of the attractive and unattractive qualities of children," noted Ruth K. MacDonald in Dictionary of Literary Biography. In her day, the novels Alcott wrote in the "Little Women" series were hugely popular, making Alcott a well-off, independent writer. Fashions change, but the popularity of Little Women remains; even in the age of feminist criticism, there are things to like about her books, according to some critics and scholars. In her...