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Behind a Mask, or a Woman's Power
Louisa May Alcott
Book Overview:
Fans of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women will remember that her heroine Jo wrote racy novels before turning her hand to more "serious" literature. Alcott, writing under the pseudonym A. M. Barnard, often did the same, and Behind a Mask is one of her sensation novels. It focuses on Jean Muir, who enters the home of the wealthy Coventry family as governess to their sixteen-year-old daughter. But is the beguiling Miss Muir all that she seems to be?
Fans of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women will remember that her heroine Jo wrote racy novels before turning her hand to more "serious" literature. Alcott, writing under the pseudonym A. M. Barnard, often did the same, and Behind a Mask is one of her sensation novels. It focuses on Jean Muir, who enters the home of the wealthy Coventry family as governess to their sixteen-year-old daughter. But is the beguiling Miss Muir all that she seems to be?
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Gathering himself up, Coventry slowly obeyed, but involuntarily quickened his pace as he heard Miss Muir say, "Don't call him; he can do nothing"; for the emphasis on the word "he" was very significant.
"What is it, Bella?" he asked, looking rather wider awake than usual.
"You startled Miss Muir and made her turn her ankle. Now help her to the house, for she is in great pain; and don't lie there anymore to frighten people like a snake in the grass," said his sister petulantly.
"I beg your pardon. Will you allow me?" And Coventry offered his arm.
Miss Muir looked up with the expression which annoyed him and answered coldly, "Thank you, Miss Bella will do as well."
"Permit me to doubt that." And with a gesture too decided to be resisted, Coventry drew her arm through his and led her . . . Read More
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Community Reviews
In an unequal world connivance is more ambiguous than it is evil. Here Alcott uses the trope of ‘the artful enchantress who ruins a respectable family’ to suggest this idea. As false as the protagonist is, I found myself on her side often. Alcott paints her gentrified ‘victims’ as feckless, childish
I’ve only read ‘Little Women’ by Louisa May Alcott. This is certainly different. It’s like Louisa May Alcott’s evil twin sister wrote this!
These stories are delicious.
But with "Behind the Mask," Alcott veered from her traditional path of 'wholesome' writing. The book has four novellas, most of which were published anonymously at the time as what Alcott called her "Blood-and-Thunder Tales." Modern 'literary' readers probably consider t
When you think Louisa May Alcott, you think “Little Women”. The author is so synonymous with her much-loved classic that one forgets she wrote other types of stories too. It might come as a surprise to some that before she worked on “Little Women”, she wrote plenty of gothic thrillers. Published in
How cool was it to find out that Louisa May Alcott wrote gothic thrillers under another name? I was excited. The first and longest novellette of the collection is Behind A Mask or A Woman's Power (She's very fond of this or business in her titles) and that is fairly stunning. The twist happens immed
A surprisingly interesting anthology, though I have to admit the first one was my favorite and the others were a little more meh. A good book to read if you're behind on your reading challenge like I am :)
Individual ratings:
Behind a Mask, Or, a Woman's Power ★★★★☆
Pauline's Passion and Punishment ★★★
This is the first book I've read in a while that I just couldn't put down. As much as I love Little Women, I think I like Alcott's potboilers almost as much. This one is really interesting because even though I knew from the first chapter that Miss Muir was not a good person, I completely enjoyed th
"Behind a Mask" - (4 stars)
"Pauline's Passion and Punishment" - Pauline's revenge against a false lover (4 stars)
"The Mysterious Key" - a young widow and her daughter hire a mysterious young man; the mystery aspect of the story is great, but the characters lack charm which is sad for Alcott characte
Louisa May Alcott is best known for her Little Women trilogy, Realist novels of staid, mostly conventional and loving family life in New England in the years during and after the Civil War. In the same era, Realism was rising to claim the throne of literary respectability in American letters, suppla