Eight Cousins, or The Aunt-Hill was published in 1875 by American novelist Louisa May Alcott. It was originally published as a serial in St. Nicholas and is part of the Little Women Series. It is the story of Rose Campbell, who has been recently orphaned and resides with her maiden great aunts, the matriarchs of her wealthy family near Boston, until her guardian, Uncle Alec, returns from abroad to take 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. She also makes friends with Phebe, her aunts' young housemaid. Eight Cousins received both favorable and unfavorable reviews in the early days of its publication. Reviews focused on Alcott's stylistic tone as well as the portrayal of characters and realism. In Eight Cousins, Alcott discusses transcendental education, child-rearing, and social differences.
Characters Rose Campbell: The central character of the novel is the daughter of the recently deceased George Campbell, one of six Campbell brothers who are nephews of Aunts Plenty and Peace Campbell. She is heiress to his considerable fortune. (The Campbells, wealthy residents of Boston, are of Scottish descent, and some of them are engaged in the China trade.) Rose has never known her mother and has lived apart from the rest of the Campbell family all her life. She is slightly vain The aunts of the "Aunt-hill" Plenty Campbell: Maiden great-aunt of Rose and matriarch of the family. Peace Campbell: Maiden sister of Plenty. An invalid, she has a tragic history. Her lover died hours before their wedding, and "gentle Peace" never recovered from the blow. Myra Campbell: She is a widow and we never learn her husband's name. Myra is a gloomy, self-absorbed hypochondriac, obsessed with medicines and mortality. Her presence is tolerated rather than welcomed by the rest of the family. She is the mother of the only other female Campbell cousin, Caroline, who died young – possibly "dosed to death" – inadvertently poisoned by her mother. Jane Humphries Campbell: Wife of Uncle Mac and mother of Rose's cousins Mac and Steve. Aunt Jane is a stern disciplinarian, and she is completely reliable. Rose comes to like and trust her. Clara Campbell: Wife of Uncle Stephen, who is absent in India. Clara is a social butterfly, completely absorbed in Boston's high society. She looks forward to sponsoring Rose's debut in a few years’ time and secretly plans that Rose shall marry her son Charlie. Jessie Campbell: Wife of Uncle Jem, a sea captain. Jessie has raised four sons – Archie, Will, Geordie, Jamie – almost without the assistance of her husband, who is always away at sea. Steady, wise, and loving, Jessie is Rose's favorite aunt and the nearest substitute she has to a mother. Jessie is the aunt most trusted by Rose's guardian, Uncle Alec. The Campbell brothers, uncles of Rose and nephews of Aunts Peace and Plenty Alec: The principal male character. A seafaring doctor, he became Rose's guardian when her father George died. He has never married; we are led to assume that the great love of his life was Rose's mother, who chose to marry George. Alec has "advanced" ideas about child-rearing, which he implements in so gentle and loving a fashion that Rose is restored to health and happiness in spite of her fears. The aunts are nervous about (or even opposed to) some of Alec's ideas, but they come to trust him implicitly. Mac: Married to Jane and father to Rose's cousins Mac and Steve. He is engaged in the China trade and has a warehouse on the bay. A trifle henpecked by his wife, he spends most of his time in his counting-house. He is very fond of Rose and secretly hopes that she will marry one of his sons. Jem (James): Married to Jessie and father to Rose's cousins Archie, Will, Geordie, and Jamie. Stephen: Married to Clara and father to Rose's cousin Charlie. His profession is never specified. Living in India, he never makes an appearance in Eight Cousins. George: Recently deceased father of Rose. Uncle Alec and he "fell out" because they loved the same woman. Years later they met and made up, and George asked Alec to look after Rose if anything happened to him. The Campbell cousins, in order of age Archibald (Archie): Eldest son of Jem and Jessie. Eldest of all the cousins at age 16, of steady and thoughtful character, he is the Chief, much respected by all the boys and an "older brother" figure to Rose. Charles C. (Charlie): Also known as Prince Charlie, the "flower of the family," considered the most handsome, talented, and promising of the lot. Age 16. He is the spoiled only child of Stephen and Clara. Charlie and Archie are inseparable friends and lead the way in all exploits. Alexander Mackenzie (Mac): Elder son of Mac and Jane. Age 15. Known as the Bookworm, or simply "the Worm," Mac always has his nose in a book and is regarded as the wisest and most learned of the cousins, although deficient in basic social skills through absent-mindedness and lack of interest. Stephen (Steve): Mac's younger brother. Age 14. A good-natured though rather conceited dandy, he idolizes Charlie and copies him in everything. William (Will): Jem and Jessie's second son. Age 12. George (Geordie): Jem and Jessie's third son. Age 11. James (Jamie): Jem and Jessie's youngest. Age 6. Pokey: Jamie's "doll", a little girl cousin, Age 3. Other characters Phebe Moore: Housemaid of Aunts Plenty and Peace, a girl from the poor house, who is employed on trial at the opening of the story. Lonely Rose befriends Phebe and then "adopts" her as a sister, teaches her improvements in reading and writing skills, admires Phebe's marked musical talent and upright character, and includes her in all aspects of her life as Phebe becomes her personal maid. Debbie(also called Dolly later in the book in some editions): Bad-tempered but good-hearted cook in Aunt Plenty's household. Annabelle Bliss( earlier editions called her Adriana Blish): Friend of Rose. She is "the model child of the neighborhood," daughter of a prominent Boston family whom the aunts consider suitable for Rose to know; however Rose can't bear her. Alcott frequently satirized fashionable, empty-headed girls in her novels. Mother Atkinson: Kindly doyenne of the wholesome mountain household (location unspecified, but probably in Maine or New Hampshire), known as Cosey Corner, where Rose and various family members spend several memorable summers. Fun See: A Chinese boy who has come to America to be educated in a western school. Whang Lo: An elderly Chinese merchant who does business with Uncle Mac Campbell; he wears Western dress and speaks good English. The Alcotts themselves would summer in a location called "Happy Corner" in Walpole, New Hampshire, but the description of "Cosy Corner" places it within walking distance of Mount Washington, very likely in Intervale. In the 19th century, New Englanders who could afford it went to the mountains or the seashore for the fresher, cooler air considered sovereign for physical and mental complaints.
Background Eight Cousins was serialized December 1874–November 1875 in Good Things: A Picturesque Magazine for the Young of All Ages. From January–October 1875 it appeared in St. Nicholas.; Eight Cousins was Alcott's first serialized novel in St. Nicholas; she had previously published a short story in the magazine.; ; Because the book was too long for the St. Nicholas serial, Alcott offered to remove two chapters that could later be included when the story was published in book form. The book edition, published by the Roberts Brothers, was available in the latter part of 1875 with illustrations from various artists.; In 1927 it was published by Little, Brown and included illustrations by Harriet Longstreet Price, then in 1948 as a Rainbow Classic with illustrations by C. B. Falls. Ethel H. Freeman adapted the book into a play in 1934.
Three companies contended for publication rights of Eight Cousins before it was written. Alcott wrote, "I rather enjoyed it, and felt important with Roberts, Low, and Scribner all clamoring for my umble works."; One of the novel's minor characters, who Rose dislikes, was originally named after Alcott's childhood acquaintance Ariadne Blish. Blish was concerned about Alcott's use of her name. Caroline Healey Dall told this to Alcott, who clarified that Ariadne "was a very well behaved child who was held up to naughty Louisa as a model girl." Afterward Alcott changed the character's name to Annabel Bliss.
Plot
Thirteen-year-old Rose Campbell is a sickly orphan who attended boarding school for a year after her father died. She now lives with her great aunts, Plenty and Peace, at the Aunt Hill and is heiress to a large fortune. Aunt Plenty gives Rose several medications because of her sickliness. After a week of living there, she meets and befriends the housemaid, Phebe Moore and adopts her as a sister. Rose tries to avoid meeting her seven boy cousins, who are known as the clan. Their names are Archie, Charlie, Mac, Steve, Will, Geordie, and Jamie, and they are the sons of her four other aunts. The next morning, Rose meets her uncle, who is a doctor and her guardian. He throws her medication out the window and says he is in charge of her health. Later Uncle Alec and the aunts discuss what to do with Rose. Aunt Jane thinks that Rose should have been kept in boarding-school; Aunt Clara thinks she should be put in a finishing-school for a year and then sent into society; Aunt Myra thinks Rose will die; and Aunt Jessie agrees with Alec, who wants to improve Rose's health for a year before letting her decide with whom to live. Rose wants to adopt Phebe as her sister, but cannot until she is older. One day Uncle Alec tells Rose to run around the garden. Afterward, he tells her to loosens her belt to make it easier for her to breathe
Rose and Uncle Alec take his boat to Uncle Mac's dock. There, they meet two Chinese gentleman, Whang Lo and Fun See, the latter of whom entertains Rose with things he has brought from China. For the Fourth of July Uncle Alec, Rose, and the clan camp on a nearby island. Wanting Phebe to participate, Rose leaves the last day of the camping trip; she sends Phebe to the island and does Phebe's chores at home. Mac, from studying outside all day on the camping-trip, gets a sunstroke. After this, his eyes give out from reading. Because he is consigned to a dark room for a long time and forbidden to read, Rose reads to him. The Clan disturbs Mac in his rest, and after a scolding from Rose, decide to be more helpful. To help Mac with his boredom, Uncle Alec sends Mac, Rose, Aunt Jessie, Jamie, and two friends to the mountain village of Cosey Corner to stay with a woman named Mother Atkinson. Jamie and his friend join The Cosey Corner Light Infantry, whose members are the neighborhood children. On Rose's fourteenth birthday she falls off a horse going to meet Uncle Alec and sprains her ankle. While her ankle heals, Mac and The Cosey Corner Light Infantry entertain her with skits.