A little kingdom I possess,
Where thoughts and feelings dwell;
And very hard the task I find
Of governing it well.

(Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), U.S. author. "My Kingdom," st. 1.)

People don't have fortunes left them in that style nowadays; men have to work and women to marry for money. It's a dreadfully unjust world.

(Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), U.S. author. Meg, in Little Women, pt. 1, ch. 15 (1868).)

Love is a great beautifier.

(Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), U.S. author. Little Women, pt. 2, ch. 1 (1869).)

Girls are so queer you never know what they mean. They say No when they mean Yes, and drive a man out of his wits for the fun of it.

(Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), U.S. author. Laurie, in Little Women, pt. 2, ch. 12 (1869).)

It takes two flints to make a fire.

(Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), U.S. author. Laurie, in Little Women, pt. 2, ch. 16 (1869).)

Rome took all the vanity out of me; for after seeing the wonders there, I felt too insignificant to live, and gave up all my foolish hopes in despair.

(Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), U.S. author. Amy March, in Little Women, pt. 2, ch. 16 (1869).)

What do girls do who haven't any mothers to help them through their troubles?

(Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), U.S. author. Jo March, in Little Women, pt. 2, ch. 23 (1869).)

When I had youth I had no money; now I have the money I have no time; and when I get the time, if I ever do, I shall have no health to enjoy life. I suppose it's the discipline I need; but it's rather hard to love the things I do, and see them go by because duty chains me to my galley. If I ever come into port with all sails set, that will be my reward perhaps.

(Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), U.S. author. As quoted in Louisa May, ch. 17, by Martha Saxton (1977). Written in 1873. Alcott, who had remained single and worked hard to support her family?especially her parents, was wistful about what her sacrifices had cost her. She died of natural but unclear causes two days after the death of her father, writer/philosopher Bronson Alcott.)

Work is and always has been my salvation and I thank the Lord for it.

(Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), U.S. novelist. As quoted in Louisa May, ch. 17, by Martha Saxton (1977). Written in 1873. Alcott remained single throughout her life; among her eighteen books was a novel entitled Work, published the same year that she wrote this sentence.)

Talent isn't genius, and no amount of energy can make it so. I want to be great, or nothing. I won't be a commonplace dauber, so I don't intend to try any more.

(Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), U.S. author. Amy March, in Little Women, pt. 2, ch. 16 (1869).)