Originally published in 1875 by the Roberts brothers of Boston, Louisa May Alcott’s Eight Cousins; or, The Aunt-hill is a story of a sickly, young orphan names Rose Campbell. Her life changes when she goes to live with her maiden great aunts, the matriarchs of her wealthy Boston family, and her life changes again when her Uncle Alec, her official guardian, returns from abroad and takes over her care. Through his unorthodox theories about child-rearing, she becomes happier and healthier while finding her place in her family of seven boy cousins and numerous aunts and uncles.
“The Author is quite aware of the defects of this little story, many of which were unavoidable, as it first appeared serially. But as Uncle Alec’s experiment was intended to amuse the young folks, rother than suggest educational improvements for the consideration of the elders, she trusts that these short-comings will be overlooked by the friends of the Eight Cousins, and she will try to make amens in the second volume, which shall attempt to show The Rose in Bloom.” (Preface)
- Title: Eight Cousins; or, The Aunt-hill
- Author: Louisa May Alcott
- Publisher: Roberts Brothers
- Place: Boston
- Year: 1891
- Printer: University Press: John Wilson & Son, Cambridge
- Format: 12mo
- Length: 291pp
- Dimensions: 5” x 7” x 1.25”
- Condition: Original brown cloth publisher's binding, engraved titles and gilt ornamentation on spine. Cover has some shelfwear and soiling. Floral printed endpapers. Binding tight. No missing pages. Pages clean—no folds, tears, or extraneous marks.