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gaviaroma's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
doritobabe's review against another edition
3.0
Hmm,
A book written by Alcott prior to the release of [b:Little Women|1934|Little Women|Louisa May Alcott|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562690475l/1934._SY75_.jpg|3244642], A Long Fatal Love Chase reads very much like one of the tales one would imagine a young, ambitious female writer would write at the time, in terms of an adventuresome story.
The story follows Rosemond Vivian, a young woman who longs for adventure and excitement away from her close, dreary home in England. One day, a dashing friend of her grandfather's - Mr. Phillip Tempest - shows up at the house and whisks her away out to sea - without her permission. The rest of Alcott's story made me feel really bad for Rosemond as it really has all the features of frightful domestic abuse and details the powerlessness of women in the 19th Century. I can't detail much more about the plot without spoilers, so read on here:
.
Honestly, the title tells it all: it's a long, fatal love chase that shows the resolve of one woman in spite of all odds.
Originally this was denied publication for being too sensational. I am not sure what that means in the 19C context, but for me, the plot was a bit too all over the place with too much happening in quick, unrealistic succession that I cannot give this higher than 3 stars. It's definitely an entertaining read, but it is quite unremarkable in spite of it's author being who she is.
A book written by Alcott prior to the release of [b:Little Women|1934|Little Women|Louisa May Alcott|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562690475l/1934._SY75_.jpg|3244642], A Long Fatal Love Chase reads very much like one of the tales one would imagine a young, ambitious female writer would write at the time, in terms of an adventuresome story.
The story follows Rosemond Vivian, a young woman who longs for adventure and excitement away from her close, dreary home in England. One day, a dashing friend of her grandfather's - Mr. Phillip Tempest - shows up at the house and whisks her away out to sea - without her permission. The rest of Alcott's story made me feel really bad for Rosemond as it really has all the features of frightful domestic abuse and details the powerlessness of women in the 19th Century. I can't detail much more about the plot without spoilers, so read on here:
Spoiler
Rosemond is conned into a false marriage where, for a year or so, she is lulled into security. She first gets tipped off to Tempest's devilishness when a page boy suddenly disappears and she suspects his murder. Following this, Rosemond attempts nothing but escape from Tempest, running from country to country and even taking refuge in a convent temporarily. She is persecuted endlessly by this man and becomes frail and wane in the novel; however, she does not lose her resolve. Eventually, Rosemond finds a safe place to hide and a new love interest. She thinks her life will be fine, until Tempest let's his selfish greed get the better of him, where he accidentally murders Rose at sea.Honestly, the title tells it all: it's a long, fatal love chase that shows the resolve of one woman in spite of all odds.
Originally this was denied publication for being too sensational. I am not sure what that means in the 19C context, but for me, the plot was a bit too all over the place with too much happening in quick, unrealistic succession that I cannot give this higher than 3 stars. It's definitely an entertaining read, but it is quite unremarkable in spite of it's author being who she is.
domarisdione's review against another edition
5.0
I had no idea the author of Little Women was capable of such a passionate and frightening read. I was spellbound for the entirety of the novel and had no hope of putting it down until I'd finished.
jkstonge's review against another edition
3.0
A Long Fatal Love Chase was originally meant for magazine publication, and it shows. The sensational aspects of it and crazy cliffhangers make more sense with that in mind. This is my second read, although the first I read it I was probably fourteen or fifteen, so it's definitely been a while. As I was reading this I truly felt like I was reading one of Jo's novels in a Little Women. The line between Louisa May Alcott and Jo March is a blurry one, so it was easy to make that connection, along with the fact that some of the quotes in the book are direct from Little Women (specifically when talking about Rosamond's version of love). I hate to say it, but I kind of think Friedrich was right about Jo's work? Little Women is so successful because it is so close to Louisa May Alcott's life and has real and lovely and tangible emotion to it. This novel felt like it was something that she didn't know, but had all the sensational aspects of the thrillers that Jo wrote. There is more to Alcott than this book, and although entertaining I fear that Friedrich was right about Jo's potential (not me agreeing with a MAN).
Clearly I still have trouble distinguishing the difference between Jo March and Louisa May Alcott. I liked the experience of reading it, although towards the end I felt desperate to finish it ("it's all murder and gore", and the cliffhangers began to feel redundant as the story went on.) The experience of reading something I was so enamored with at fourteen was weird/cool. Reading back on this book that is reviewed to be "erotic" and "delicious" makes me realize that I probably shouldn't have read it so young, but it doesn't venture too outrageously far in that direction. It's basically just an old man stalking a young woman, ending in death (spoilers, but the novel is literally called A Long Fatal Love Chase, so idk what you expect)
Not much to mention from this book in the way of quotes, but here's one that I kind of loved:
"Let that pass, I'm tired of the everlasting rehearsal of my sins, I know them well enough and need no catalogue."
Clearly I still have trouble distinguishing the difference between Jo March and Louisa May Alcott. I liked the experience of reading it, although towards the end I felt desperate to finish it ("it's all murder and gore", and the cliffhangers began to feel redundant as the story went on.) The experience of reading something I was so enamored with at fourteen was weird/cool. Reading back on this book that is reviewed to be "erotic" and "delicious" makes me realize that I probably shouldn't have read it so young, but it doesn't venture too outrageously far in that direction. It's basically just an old man stalking a young woman, ending in death (spoilers, but the novel is literally called A Long Fatal Love Chase, so idk what you expect)
Not much to mention from this book in the way of quotes, but here's one that I kind of loved:
"Let that pass, I'm tired of the everlasting rehearsal of my sins, I know them well enough and need no catalogue."
sarahanne8382's review against another edition
5.0
Fans of Victorian romances will love A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott (yes, the author of Little Women), but it follows the conventions of the genre almost to a fault, making it unbearable for other readers.
I only warn you because even as a confessed lover of Victorian novels, I found the first few chapters almost unbearably tedious. We are introduced to our beautiful and innocent, yet daring heroine Rosamond Vivian and the darkly dashing antagonist Phillip Tempest. Unsurprisingly Rosamond is an orphan living with her cold and distant grandfather, craving adventure and human affection. So no one is surprised when she's easily swept away by the dangerous Tempest. Once Rosamond begins to realize his evil nature & decides to leave Tempest, though, the story really picks up. Many of the twists and turns are still easily guessed, but are told in such a compelling fashion that whether or not you can see them coming is one of the least important parts of the story. Unfortunately I shouldn't have read this book so soon after finishing Reading the Romance by Janice Radway (one of the reviews I'll be posting shortly) because it left me totally judging everything about this book and how it fits into the larger romance genre, so maybe some of the predictability came from that.
When I saw that this book was considered too scandalous to be printed in Alcott's lifetime, I immediately assumed that it was because of some sort of sexual content, but that isn't really the case. Instead the base cruelty of Tempest, which leads him to terrifying lengths in his pursuit to reclaim Rosamond, and pushes her equally far in her attempts to rid herself of her pernicous stalker, seem to be the reason for the much delayed publication of this novel. While on the one hand he's your stereotypical bad guy, every time that cliche would weaken his power over Rosamond, he suddenly breaks away from the mold and shows himself to be even more clever and ruthless than you expect. All the while Rosamond has to learn to think like him, while still remaining the sweet person she is. Mixed into all of that is commentary on women's attempts to escape abusive relationships that ring surprisingly true today. There are also fertile fields for commenting on what the strong relationships Rosamond creates with both males and females say about gender roles, but I'm all commented out.
I only warn you because even as a confessed lover of Victorian novels, I found the first few chapters almost unbearably tedious. We are introduced to our beautiful and innocent, yet daring heroine Rosamond Vivian and the darkly dashing antagonist Phillip Tempest. Unsurprisingly Rosamond is an orphan living with her cold and distant grandfather, craving adventure and human affection. So no one is surprised when she's easily swept away by the dangerous Tempest. Once Rosamond begins to realize his evil nature & decides to leave Tempest, though, the story really picks up. Many of the twists and turns are still easily guessed, but are told in such a compelling fashion that whether or not you can see them coming is one of the least important parts of the story. Unfortunately I shouldn't have read this book so soon after finishing Reading the Romance by Janice Radway (one of the reviews I'll be posting shortly) because it left me totally judging everything about this book and how it fits into the larger romance genre, so maybe some of the predictability came from that.
When I saw that this book was considered too scandalous to be printed in Alcott's lifetime, I immediately assumed that it was because of some sort of sexual content, but that isn't really the case. Instead the base cruelty of Tempest, which leads him to terrifying lengths in his pursuit to reclaim Rosamond, and pushes her equally far in her attempts to rid herself of her pernicous stalker, seem to be the reason for the much delayed publication of this novel. While on the one hand he's your stereotypical bad guy, every time that cliche would weaken his power over Rosamond, he suddenly breaks away from the mold and shows himself to be even more clever and ruthless than you expect. All the while Rosamond has to learn to think like him, while still remaining the sweet person she is. Mixed into all of that is commentary on women's attempts to escape abusive relationships that ring surprisingly true today. There are also fertile fields for commenting on what the strong relationships Rosamond creates with both males and females say about gender roles, but I'm all commented out.
amandapeel78's review against another edition
3.0
I say 2.5 mabey a 3. I liked it. I think for the time period it was written it was good and I think it was a little hard to understand some of the old wording. It reminded me a little of the pink carnation series (teniya).
margaretmechinus's review against another edition
4.0
Louisa May Alcott wrote this before Little Women, but it was deemed too scandalous for publication at the time. She wrote it as a serial, so each of the 24 chapters ends in a cliff hanger. It definitely kept my attention, although by the end I was ready for it to end.
wildfaeriecaps's review against another edition
3.0
That was a wild, convoluted ride! Wow! Hard to keep up with all the chaos, but it was fun to read anyway. It's like she tried to cram every ridiculous trope possible into one book. So glad I finally got around to reading this one.