Jack and Jill: A Village Story

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Jack and Jill: A Village Story
First edition cover
AuthorLouisa May Alcott
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreChildren's
PublisherRoberts Brothers
Publication date
1880
Pages325

Jack and Jill: A Village Story by Louisa May Alcott, is a children's book originally published in 1880.[1] It takes place in a small New England town. The story of two good friends named Jack and Janey, Jack and Jill tells of the aftermath of a serious sledding accident.

Plot[edit]

Jack Minot and Janey Pecq are best friends who live next door to each other. Because of their friendship, Janey gets the nickname of Jill, to mimic the nursery rhyme. Jill and her mother are poor, whilst Jack's family are better off. One afternoon in winter, Jack and Jill sled with their friends. After being told she would not be brave enough to sled on a dangerous hill, Jill wants to do it. Jack suggests they sled across the pond instead, but Jill insists she will go down the hill. She goes down the hill and crashes but is not hurt. Jack decides to take Jill down the hill himself. After a couple runs, they crash. Jack breaks his leg and Jill hurts her back. Mrs. Pecq fears Jill may be crippled for life, but does not tell her. To help Jill cheer up, Mrs. Pecq suggests that Jill and her friends, Molly and Merry, begin improving their homes, which they call their missionary efforts.

As Christmas approaches, Mrs. Minot tasks Jack and Jill with making decorations for the tree. Jill and Mrs. Pecq join the Minots on Christmas, and Jill is presented with a room where she and Jack can spend time together. Mrs. Minot and Mrs. Pecq reveal that the two families will live together in the Minots' house until the children recover. Jack and Jill decide to keep up with their lessons at home so they do not fall behind in school. One day Jill decides to read a letter lying near the writing table; the letter says she will likely never recover. Mrs. Minot finds out that Jill read the letter but allows her to confess. That afternoon, Merry asks her parents for permission to decorate her room and promises to do her chores in return; the decorations are ruined when her room accidentally catches on fire. Meanwhile, Molly decides that she will tidy the house and keep her little brother clean and well-dressed, which turns out to be difficult. Molly's widowed father and the housekeeper do little to take care of the children.

In February Jack is well enough to attend school. Jill amuses herself by helping her drama club prepare for a performance with the village boys. Jill is chosen to play the part of Sleeping Beauty. When the performance comes, the boys act out tableaus from George Washington's life and the girls perform Sleeping Beauty as well as Mother Goose rhymes. Later, Frank visits the trainyard and drives an unsupervised steam engine, nearly crashing into another train before reversing the engine in time. He is banned from the trainyard.

The Temperance Lodge, which is a boys' club that Frank and Jack attend, decides to befriend a troublemaker named Bob in hopes of having a good influence on him. Later, Jack wants to earn some money but refuses to tell anyone why. At Jill's suggestion, he makes cards to sell. The teacher, Mr. Acton, punishes Jack because he was seen in a sweet shop's back room, which has alcohol and a billiard table. At home, Mrs. Minot unsuccessfully tries to find out why Jack was there. Jill writes a letter to Bob and finds out that he owed someone money, which Jack paid for him in the shop's back room. Mr. Acton, told what happened, publicly excuses Jack from blame.

Almost four months after the sledding accident, Mrs. Minot tells Jack, Frank, and Jill that Jill and Mrs. Pecq are to live with them permanently. Jill is also given a back brace, which allows her to sit up and walk a little. Merry and Molly begin to improve their housekeeping. Jack's friend Ed Devlin becomes sick and dies. Jill and the Minots spend the summer at Pebbly Beach, where they make many friends and Jill's health improves. Later Molly and her brother visit and join in the celebration of Pebbly Beach's founding. When the families come back, Mrs. Minot decides that the children should take a couple years' break from school and tells Frank to delay college for a year. Mrs. Minot teaches Jill, Molly, and Merry at home. Mrs. Hammond, a physician, teaches the girls about physiology. It is revealed that when the children are older, Merry marries a budding artist named Ralph and Jill marries Jack, with Molly remaining unmarried.

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ This 1888 reprint by the original publisher lists the copyright as "Louisa May Alcott 1880".

External links[edit]


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