A review by speculativeshelves
A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott

3.0

3.5/5

I love Little Women and I love 1800s sensation fiction/gothic romances so I expected to really love this but instead have some mixed feelings (though still leaning positive).

I was very invested in the beginning of the book. I loved Rosamond as the protagonist immediately and my love for her and her quest for independence never wavered as the book went on. Her dynamic with Phillip Tempest was very compelling and the scenes that were just the two of them were always my favorite parts of this book. There were also quite a few excellent quotes that to me made it clear that this story, despite being wildly different in subject matter, was written by the same author as Little Women. (An example being "I am solitary, poor and a woman; he powerful, rich and a man whom all fear. The world which rejects me though I am innocent will welcome him, the guilty, and uphold him" - a quote that unfortunately remains just as relevant in 2023 as it did in 1866).

Around halfway through the book the story began to felt too repetitive and the shocking melodramatic plot twists/cliff hangers that I enjoyed in the beginning became more and more predictable. The side characters also were never super compelling, especially when compared to Rosamund, Phillip, and somewhat Father Ignatius (though I wanted more from him as well).

I also couldn't help but compare this to other similar classics that ultimately I prefer. The reading experience reminded me a lot of The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins but that book does the melodrama and occasionally absurd plot twists better and has a stronger, more memorable cast of characters. I also felt the story had a lot of similarities to Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights (Rosamond reminded me a lot of Jane Eyre and Phillip has the Gothic/Byronic love interest vibes of Rochester and Heathcliff) but again, the characters were not as memorable and the story didn't quite have the same depth.

Overall, while it's not my favorite example of this kind of story, it is enjoyable and a quick read. I definitely plan to read some of Louisa May Alcott's other "blood and thunder" tales and I also would be happy if this ever got a miniseries adaptation - in the right hands with the right cast it could be excellent.