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Reviews
Behind a Mask: The Unknown Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott by Madeleine B. Stern, Louisa May Alcott
abbyilynch's review against another edition
3.0
this novella was soooooo slow at the beginning i had such a hard time getting through it, especially with the victorian eta writing style and the confusing names. but omg it turned into this almost thriller and it got SOOOOO GOOD at the end. the men in the story are complete creeps, but jean muir is an icon.
bethanymplanton's review against another edition
5.0
Originally published under the pseudonym A.M. Barnard, this novella is one of LMA’s thrillers. Set in Victorian Britain, things are never as they appear. Can you really trust anyone?
taviamorgan's review against another edition
4.0
3.5
pretty boring until the very end but the end kinda makes it all worth it. jean muir is a great character and i loved seeing her manipulate everyone lol. solid book!
pretty boring until the very end but the end kinda makes it all worth it. jean muir is a great character and i loved seeing her manipulate everyone lol. solid book!
marybooks's review against another edition
5.0
En definitiva Louisa May Alcott es de mis autoras favoritas, solo voy a decir que soy fan de las protagonistas que son "villanas" pero que logran que uno como lector quiere que triunfen y que necesito más finales como el que acabo de leer.
jessica_simonetti's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
magratajostiernos's review against another edition
4.0
Esta es sin duda mi historia corta preferida de las que he leído de May Alcott, al menos de las de Misterio/melodrama.
He sido muy muy muuuy fan de la "malvada" y manipuladora protagonista, que me recordó un montón a Lady Susan o en general a la novela "Mi prima Rachel" (aunque sin ese nivel de profundidad obviamente por ser una historia corta).
El caso es que lo he disfrutado un montón, una historia muy sencillita pero entretenidísima y con una protagonista genial
He sido muy muy muuuy fan de la "malvada" y manipuladora protagonista, que me recordó un montón a Lady Susan o en general a la novela "Mi prima Rachel" (aunque sin ese nivel de profundidad obviamente por ser una historia corta).
El caso es que lo he disfrutado un montón, una historia muy sencillita pero entretenidísima y con una protagonista genial
salicat's review against another edition
4.0
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 these potboilers trash. Alcott's primary goal in writing them definitely was for financial gain.
But Alcott's own shadow, her frustration at the plight of the poor, and particularly of women inspired her.
The first one is the best- "Behind A Mask" follows a young governess appointed to serve the Coventry household. You just know something's not right as soon as she walks in- she acts peculiar with the young, good-looking men of the house. That, plus the hint of a muddy past makes the story go fast- and the ending is brilliant.
There is melodramatic dialogue and a bit of purple prose but that doesn't hurt the overall effect. The story stays with the reader. The issues of class and patriarchy (marriage and 'saving' reputations being the primary goals of life) are interwoven, so that this ranks higher than a simple 'blood and thunder tale.'
"Pauline's Passion & Punishment" is a classic tale of woman's revenge against a false lover. Well-paced writing- an ending that probably made those nineteenth-century readers gasp with shock. Well-written, but lacked enough depth and too drawn out to be my favorite. Melodrama at its peak.
"The Mysterious Key." Just the title brings images of a raven hovering outside a library on a rainy night. Here, we have the Lady of the house widowed at age eighteen, and the secret of her husband's death casting gloom over the castle for over a decade. The question is, what's the secret? More importantly, what are the repercussions of the secret?
"The Abbot's Ghost" is the last of the tales- here we have two good-looking bachelors- sadly, one is left crippled after an accident and is no longer 'marriageable' as a result (this was the very un-PC 1800s). Maurice is his name, and yes, he's got a terrible secret too.
As wonderful as these tales are, as a whole, one thing struck me- bothered me, to be more specific. The characters' lives revolved around three things- fame, money, and lust. Nothing outside of these things matter to any of them- nothing higher than themselves appeals to them. I wonder if Alcott was making her statement on society right here by characterizing this way. She did a good job.
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 these potboilers trash. Alcott's primary goal in writing them definitely was for financial gain.
But Alcott's own shadow, her frustration at the plight of the poor, and particularly of women inspired her.
The first one is the best- "Behind A Mask" follows a young governess appointed to serve the Coventry household. You just know something's not right as soon as she walks in- she acts peculiar with the young, good-looking men of the house. That, plus the hint of a muddy past makes the story go fast- and the ending is brilliant.
There is melodramatic dialogue and a bit of purple prose but that doesn't hurt the overall effect. The story stays with the reader. The issues of class and patriarchy (marriage and 'saving' reputations being the primary goals of life) are interwoven, so that this ranks higher than a simple 'blood and thunder tale.'
"Pauline's Passion & Punishment" is a classic tale of woman's revenge against a false lover. Well-paced writing- an ending that probably made those nineteenth-century readers gasp with shock. Well-written, but lacked enough depth and too drawn out to be my favorite. Melodrama at its peak.
"The Mysterious Key." Just the title brings images of a raven hovering outside a library on a rainy night. Here, we have the Lady of the house widowed at age eighteen, and the secret of her husband's death casting gloom over the castle for over a decade. The question is, what's the secret? More importantly, what are the repercussions of the secret?
"The Abbot's Ghost" is the last of the tales- here we have two good-looking bachelors- sadly, one is left crippled after an accident and is no longer 'marriageable' as a result (this was the very un-PC 1800s). Maurice is his name, and yes, he's got a terrible secret too.
As wonderful as these tales are, as a whole, one thing struck me- bothered me, to be more specific. The characters' lives revolved around three things- fame, money, and lust. Nothing outside of these things matter to any of them- nothing higher than themselves appeals to them. I wonder if Alcott was making her statement on society right here by characterizing this way. She did a good job.
sabregirl's review against another edition
3.0
I have a little memory of trying to read [b:Little Women|1934|Little Women|Louisa May Alcott|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255652835s/1934.jpg|3244642] when I was in elementary school and I don't remember much but Lousia's simplistic style and I do like how that's how it was in this book too especially since it was written years before. The book did get easily confusing when she was jumping back and forth between Coventry's first name and his surname. It took a few reads of the same paragraphs to figure out who she was talking about and it just wasn't some new person who had just come into the book. The beginning of the book really lacked interest to me. After Jean first revealed herself I was interested but there wasn't all that much to keep my interest until later on in the novella where things were falling into place. It was easy to grow frustrated with the males in this book, but it's to be expected when in the end it's all about a womens persuation over men. Though I found it odd that only two people were able to see through her, a lot of her 'on the sly' facial movements or actions could've been really seen through. Though her actress background proved good. The ending I didn't really like, there wasn't much of a resolution after all of this build up for the revealing. Nothing was settled and I would've much liked to have seen someone rip the wig off of her head since it was stated in one of the letters she was wearing one.