The Promise of Destiny

?This critique of Louisa May Alcott's story collection, Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag, is the only book-length study of Alcott's shorter works. ... The study is most valuable as an analysis of women's roles, female destiny in the affirmation of the family, the duty of the maiden aunt, and the noble ends for the single woman--all through the 60 stories in the Scrap Bag. Louisa May Alcott's title carries metaphorical value: in the patchwork, women do the best they can with the available pieces. A necessary purchase for the tradition of female writers. Notes, bibliography, and index are valuable. Readable style.?-Choice