My Dear Mr. True,–Thanks for the pretty book, which I read at once and with pleasure; for I still enjoy boys' pranks as much as ever.
I don't remember the advice I gave you, and should judge from this your first story that you did not need much. Your boys are real boys; and the girls can run,–which is a rare accomplishment nowadays I find. They are not sentimental either; and that is a good example to set both your brother writers and the lasses who read the book.
I heartily wish you success in your chosen work, and shall always be glad to know how fast and how far you climb on the steep road that leads to fame and fortune.
Yours truly,
L. M. Alcott.
Roberts Brothers, Miss Alcott's publishers for nearly twenty years, have collected all her stories in a uniform edition of twenty-five volumes. They are grouped into different series according to size and character, from her novels to "Lulu's Library" for very small children, and may be enumerated as follows:–
Novels (four volumes).–Work, Moods, A Modern Mephistopheles, Hospital Sketches.
Little Women Series (eight volumes).–Little Women, An Old-Fashioned Girl, Little Men, Eight Cousins, Rose in Bloom, Under the Lilacs, Jack and Jill, Jo's Boys.
Spinning-Wheel Stories Series (four volumes).–Silver Pitchers, Proverb Stories, Spinning-Wheel Stories, A Garland for Girls.
Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag (six volumes).–My Boys, Shawl-Straps, Cupid and Chow-Chow, My Girls, Jimmy's Cruise in the Pinafore, An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving.