The Louisa May Alcott Hidden Gems Boxed Collection 5 Vols.

An Old-Fashioned Girl

When fourteen-year-old Polly Milton goes to stay with her friend Fanny for the summer, she finds that the Shaw family’s wealthy city life couldn’t be more different from her country upbringing. With her plain clothes and more practical interests, Polly is out of place among a crowd focused on following the latest trends and presenting the right image. One of the few people who doesn’t pressure her to fit in is Fanny’s brother, Tom, but he’s also one of the most annoying people Polly has ever met.

Over the next six years, Polly’s annual visits challenge the Shaw family to question their values even as Polly feels pressured to conform to societal expectations, though she remains old-fashioned at heart. As Polly navigates the highs and lows of growing up, friendship, love, and fortune, her greatest challenge is being true to herself.

Eight Cousins

Thirteen-year-old Rose Campbell never knew her mother, and the death of her father leaves her reeling and hopelessly lonely. She’s sent to live with her maiden great aunts, the matriarchs of her father’s wealthy Boston family who she’s never met. The elderly women’s quiet household suits Rose’s 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 Alec’s 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 Rose’s 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 Alec’s 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 Peace’s 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 father’s memory close while setting a course for a happy future.

Rose in Bloom

Years ago, when Rose Campbell was adopted by her Uncle Alec, she befriended housemaid Phebe Moore, and the two became close as sisters—although with Phebe always aware of their difference in social standing. Now young women, Phebe and Rose return from an extended trip to Europe to make their entrance into society. Uncle Alec disapproves of fashionable society, but Rose makes a deal with him: she’ll have three months to attend parties and be courted before she returns to his way of living.

As a wealthy heiress, Rose has no shortage of invitations, and she’s quickly caught up in the excitement of the glamorous evenings. It’s not long before she captures the interest of several suitors as well. However, separating the people who like her from those who like her money is more challenging than Rose had anticipated. Meanwhile, Phebe struggles to make a life she can be proud of without always depending on Rose’s generosity.

But both friends’ new paths are derailed when their loved ones are put in harm’s way by illness and reckless decisions, and the way Rose and Phebe rise to the occasion will show them who they are and who they want to be more than anything has before.

Under the Lilacs

Twelve-year-old Ben Brown runs away from the circus with his dog (and best friend) Sancho to seek out his missing father. He stumbles into the lives of young sisters Bab and Betty Moss who live with their mother in a quiet, tidy house. Ben’s juggling skills, Sancho’s trick of spelling his name with letter blocks, and the duo’s other tricks of the trade charm the small family while Bab and Betty’s whimsical antics and their mother’s steady goodness and understanding are a welcome refuge for Ben, who constantly worries about his father.

Ben begins working for a nearby farm and moves in with the Mosses’ next-door neighbors—Miss Celia and her teenage brother, Thornton—whose garden is full of lilacs. As much as Ben cares for his new companions, he chafes at the slow pace of his new life, used to the excitement of the circus. And when his beloved Sancho goes missing and Ben gets accused of theft, he starts to wonder if he can ever truly fit in his new life.

Jack and Jill

Jack Minot and Janey Pecq are next-door neighbors and best friends so frequently seen together that Janey earns the nickname Jill after the rhyme “Jack and Jill.” Unfortunately, the sweet moniker proves prophetic when a wintry day spent sledding ends in a terrible fall that leaves both young people seriously injured.

While Jack’s head wound leaves him fragile for a few weeks, Jill’s damaged back keeps her bedridden for months and with limited mobility afterward. Their mothers and friends do their best to make time pass more quickly with songs, elaborately costumed tableaus, and frequent visits. Even as petty jealousy, dreams deferred, and growing pains challenge the friend group, Jack and Jill ultimately grow stronger and closer together in this charming coming-of-age tale.