Eight Cousins

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A recently orphaned girl meets her extended familyincluding seven rambunctious cousinsfor the first time in this charming novel from Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women!

Thirteen-year-old Rose Campbell never knew her mother, and the death of her father leaves her reeling and hopelessly lonely. Shes sent to live with her maiden great aunts, the matriarchs of her fathers wealthy Boston family who shes never met. The elderly womens quiet household suits Roses mourning, but the arrival of her appointed guardian, Uncle Alec, challenges the status quo.

With Alec as her guide, Rose is properly introduced to the other residents of Aunt-Hill, including Alecs four sisters and their sons. Having so many relations overwhelms Rose at first. Her dour Aunt Myra convinces her she has a fragile constitution while fashionable Aunt Clara turns Roses head with stylish clothes. And the collective energy of male cousins ranging from age six to sixteen is more than she knows how to handle. But Uncle Alecs steady commitment to seeing Rose flourish helps her find her footing and grow to love her eccentric family. She even adopts Great Aunt Plenty and Peaces housemaid, Phebe, as her sister.

Surrounded by people who love her, Rose slowly but surely goes from sickly and timid to healthy, active, and bold as she learns to keep her fathers memory close while setting a course for a happy future.

Author Bio

Louisa May Alcottwas born in 1832 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She is best known forLittle Women(1868), which is loosely based on her own life and proved to be one of the most popular childrens books ever written. Three sequels followed:Good Wives(1869),Little Men(1871), andJos Boys(1886). Alcott was the daughter of the famous transcendentalist Bronson Alcott and was friend of Emerson and Thoreau. In addition to writing, she worked as a teacher, governess, and Civil War nurse, as well as being an advocate of abolition, womens rights, and temperance. She died in 1888 and is buried in Sleepy Hollow cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts.