Related Clues:

• Louisa May Alcott classic whose main characters are hidden in the answers to the starred clues
• George Eliot novel, first of eight volumes published in 1871
• Novel focused on the March sisters
• March 4?
• Moderate month for Eliot's work
• Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy ... as well as 17-, 28-, 36-, and 43-Across?