Top 10 books on motherhood

Eleanor Birne works as an editor and has written reviews for various publications. She lives in London with her husband and son. Her first book is When Will I Sleep Through the Night?.

At the Guardian she named a top ten list of books on motherhood.

One title on the list:

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868-69)

Little Women revolves around an all-sacrificing mother, Mrs March. She busies herself with charitable works while raising her own four daughters pretty much single-handedly (her husband is a chaplain in the army and away when the novel opens). It's a portrait of a saintly style of motherhood very few women would now aspire to, but Marmee is a tough character who inspires her daughters to want to do great things.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Little Women also appears on Erin Blakemore's list of five gutsy heroines to channel on an off day, Kate Saunders' critic's chart of mothers and daughters in literature, and Zoë Heller's list of five memorable portraits of sisters. It is a book that disappointed Geraldine Brooks on re-reading.

--Marshal Zeringue