| The inspiration for Amy March got a lot more done. Little Women was based on Louisa May Alcott’s actual family, and each of the March sisters has a direct analog in Meg (Anna), Jo (Louisa herself), Beth (Emma) and Amy (May). And while Amy the character may have been set in stone by her writer sister, the real May had a lot more to say for herself. In the book’s final chapters, Amy decides that “talent isn’t genius, and no amount of energy can make it so.” She opts instead to marry well. But the real Amy spent a decade living an audacious, creative life overseas, even writing a guide for would-be female artists — Studying Art Abroad, and How to Do It Cheaply. | 
