Behind a Mask
or a Woman's Power
by Louisa May Alcott
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Editions of Behind a Mask
 |
ISBN |
Binding/Format Paperback |
Publisher William Morrow & Co |
Date 1997 |
Price $7.50 |
 Very Good |
 |
ISBN |
Binding/Format Hardcover |
Publisher Amereon Ltd |
Date 1990 |
Price None Available |
|
 |
ISBN |
Binding/Format Hardcover |
Publisher Harpercollins |
Date 1995 |
Price $1.00 |
Used - Good |
Publisher Notes
Six years before she wrote Little Women, and in financial straits, Louisa May Alcott entered "Pauline's Passion and Punishment", a novelette, in a newspaper contest. Not only did it win the $100 prize, but, published anonymously, it marked the first of the series of "blood & thunder tales" that would provide her livelihood for years. For as she said, "They are easy to 'compoze' & are better paid than moral...works". The gruesome, passionate stories reveal a darker side of Alcott. Published anonymously or under the pseudonym of A. M. Barnard, they appeared in weeklies over a century ago. In their mastery of suspense and psychological drama, and in their embodiment of a startlingly intense - if oblique - feminism, they attest to the multifaceted genius of their creator. "Pauline's Passion and Punishment" features a woman who is scorned by her lover and left with her fury and her desire for revenge. The male hero of "The Mysterious Key" must unearth secrets hidden away in a family tomb if he is to realize true love. Mysterious pasts and all-too-present jealousies conflict for some surprising effects on the holiday mood in "The Abbot's Ghost". And "Behind a Mask" tells the chilling story of a woman thwarted by love, whose main motivation becomes her desire to dominate an entire family.
Media Reviews
"...Alcott's racier side. It not only contains a substantive introduction that sets Alcott's early career in context, but it also features a wide variety of her thriller writing."
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