At first, I had some difficulty getting into this book and keeping all the characters straight. This isn't an issue I normally have, but the opening did not fully keep me engaged. The plotline overall was interesting, and the way it all came together at the end was captivating. I do feel that it just ended abruptly.

It is difficult to believe the “thrillers” in this collection (especially the first two which are very dark) were written by the author of “Little Women” and other even more sweet, moralistic tales. They were written before “Little Women” just as Jo wrote dark Gothic tales before she settles down to write about her sister Beth near the end of the book. Who was Louisa May Alcott’s helpful professor?

Dimenticatevi i romanzi classici sulla tranquilla vita domestica dell'autrice di Piccole Donne e fate la conoscenza di A.M. Barnard, il lato oscuro di Louisa May Alcott. Bugie, segreti, tradimenti e intrighi sono alcuni degli elementi che si intrecciano nei quattro racconti thriller della raccolta "La Donna nell'Ombra":

Very good reading. Page turning stories from Louisa May Alcott that one would never have expected! The introduction and afterword by Madeleine Stern was worth the read, as well. Insights into Miss Alcott's writing style and references to other works were shared with intrigue.

This book of short stories is a very interesting diverging from Alcott's usual works of love and friendship. All of these thrillers are sure to make you sit on the edge of your chair. Full of villains lurking in the strangest of places, each story will keep you guessing. The only drawback is that some of the situations seem a bit similar at times. However, this doesn't detract from the stories individually. Overall, a very intriguing read.

Predictable (3 stars) but awesome history of Louisa’s writing and mindset (4 stars).

I, of course, read Little Women as a kid, as well as the less well known Eight Cousins, and enjoyed them both. I also enjoyed Zosia Mamet's portrayal of Louisa May Alcott in the tv show Dickinson. In that portrayal, the Louisa May Alcott character talks to the Emily Dickinson character about how writing can be lucrative, especially if you're willing to churn out what sells. And this is some of that writing that sells!

This is a set of novelettes that Alcott wrote to get paid. She published them under a pseudonym, and they're in the 'blood and thunder' style. They're full of scheming and twisted romance and betrayal - the trashy writing of its day. I liked the first one best, and the rest were just so so. Still, this was interesting to read and very different from the writing of Alcott's that has stayed popular.

Did anyone else think that maybe she was a witch? Soooooooo good! I enjoyed this A LOT! It felt like I was reading the script of a soap opera...very entertaining stuff.

The girl's name is Jean Muir, does the name remind you of anyone? I was lucky enough to listen to this novel on Bookmate as an audiobook, the title of the first chapter sounded surprisingly similar to the name of the heroine Charlotte Bronte. And, in fact, the situation of a poor girl's admission as a governess to a rich family cannot but remind one of Jane Eyre. Accidentally or intentionally, Louisa May Alcott gave her adventurer a name consonant with Jane Eyre, although it is difficult to imagine an image less similar to the selfless Miss Eyre than the broken Jean.

So, "Under the mask or the power of a woman." The girl goes to the high-born Coventry, where her duty will be to teach Bella, the younger sister of two adult brothers. The family consists of: the widow Mrs. Coventry, the middle brother Edward (Ned), the elder Gerald, to whom cousin Lucia, who is staying here, is expected to marry - at first he accepts her with arrogant condescension. There is also an uncle who lives alone in a neighboring mansion, although there is not a mansion there, but a real palace. However, the governess does not shine with beauty, so there is no need to fear for the morality of young people. Besides, Ned is about to leave for the regiment, and Gerald is almost engaged. Well, well: on the very first evening, when a girl unlocks false curls in the privacy of her room. she washes off her makeup and applies it to the flask, we have no doubt - a predator has arrived.

In the following days and weeks, Jin will charm everyone, pick up the keys to every heart. She sings wonderfully, accompanies herself on the piano, tells hilariously funny stories, tames a breeding stallion, speaks several languages, reads aloud to Sir John and talks to Lucia about the trauma caused by her mother's death. She is smart, sweet, tactful, funny, and clever. In a word, she is perfection. And very soon everything here starts to turn in the direction set by Gene Muir. You will say: Well. What kind of Jane Eyre is this, it's more like Becky Sharp from Thackeray's Vanity Fair. And you will be right. Although it seems to me that the heroine has another prototype, which is even closer to us. Yes, I'm talking about My Lady, by the end our sly fox will literally become her, but, oops, I'm silent - read, or rather listen, Nastya Velikorodnaya reads luxuriously.

This little thing turned out to be charming. A perky, hooligan, completely unexpected book.

Миледи
Все хорошо, что хорошо кончается.
Девушку зовут Джин Мюир, ни о ком не напоминает имя? Мне повезло слушать этот роман на Букмейте аудиокнигой, название первой главы прозвучало удивительно похоже на имя героини Шарлотты Бронте. И, по сути, ситуация поступления бедной девушки гувернанткой в богатое семейство не может не напомнить о Джейн Эйр. Случайно или намеренно, Луиза Мэй Олкотт подарила своей авантюристке имя, созвучное с Джейн Эйр, хотя трудно представить образ, менее схожий с самоотверженной мисс Эйр, чем разбитная Джин.

Итак, "Под маской или сила женщины". Девушка поступает к высокородным Ковентри, где ее обязанностью будет учить Беллу, младшую сестренку двух взрослых братьев. Семейство в составе: вдова миссис Ковентри, средний брат Эдвард (Нед), старший Джеральд, в жены которому прочат кузину Люсию, гостящую здесь же - поначалу принимает ее с высокомерной снисходительностью. Есть еще дядюшка, одиноко живущий в соседнем особняке, хотя там не особняк, а настоящий дворец. Однако красотой гувернантка не блещет, стало быть, можно не опасаться за нравственность молодых людей. К тому же, Неду скоро отбывать в полк, а Джеральд почти помолвлен. Ну-ну: в первый же вечер, когда девица открепляет в уединении своей комнаты накладные локоны. смывает макияж и прикладывается к фляжке, у нас не остается сомнений - прибыла хищница.

В следующие дни и недели Джин очарует всех, подберет ключики ко всякому сердцу. Она дивно поет, аккомпанируя себе на фортепьяно, рассказывает уморительно смешные истории, укрощает племенного жеребца, говорит на нескольких языках, читает вслух сэру Джону и разговаривает с Люсией о травме, нанесенной ей смертью матери. Она умна, мила, тактична, забавна, ловка. Словом - она совершенство. И очень скоро всё здесь начинает крутиться в том направлении, какое задает Джин Мюир. Вы скажете: ну. какая же это Джейн Эйр, это больше похоже на Бекки Шарп из "Ярмарки тщеславия" Теккерея. И будете правы. Хотя мне кажется, у героини есть и еще один прототип, который нам даже ближе. Да, я о Миледи, к финалу наша хитрая лисичка буквально ею станет, но, упс, молчу - прочтите, а лучше послушайте, читает Настя Великородная роскошно.

Этот небольшой роман часть проекта "Переводы Букмейта", в рамках которого будут переведены и изданы малоизвестные в России книги классиков. Александра Глебовская, которую мы знаем по переводам таких разных Мервина Пика, Салмана Рушди, Фицджеральда и Салли Руни, прежде переводила также Олкотт, и эта вещица у нее получилась очаровательной. Задорная, хулиганская, совершенно неожиданная книга.

Written in the 1860's, it's not really fair to rate these in comparison to contemporary books, but I enjoyed them as a window into that time. Knowing the story of Alcott, and reading more detail here about her experience as a writer, these short novels were a quick and interesting read. She needed the money earned for writing sensational work, and juxtaposed with Greta Gerwig's film, "Little Women", I understood much more clearly the few options open to women in that era.

I did not know Louisa May Alcott ever wrote any Gothic stories until I read this book. As it turns out, before she became famous and wealthy for "Little Women", she lived in genteel poverty as the daughter of a philosopher/lecturer who was seldom paid for his efforts. Louisa tried her hand at a number of menial jobs to try to keep the family in groceries before she hit upon writing for money. Since her choice was to write thrillers after the fashion of the Bronte sisters, she used pseudonyms (or wrote anonymously) to avoid upsetting the neighbors in their staid Massachusetts home town. She was quite successful, but for years after her death few people knew that she had written these stories. They are good stories, well-written, and are worth reading even after 150 years. Alcott was a feminist, who reportedly bristled at being called "spinster"; thus her stories feature strong females, frequently of the "femme fatale" type, who were occasionally the villains in the plot. Read them and see if they sometimes remind you of Lisa in "As the World Turns"!

I read a different version of this collection that contains all of Louisa's writings. I absolutely love her gothic tales, especially A Woman's Power and Paulines Passion and Punishment. Highly entertaining. Strong and interesting female leads. Jean Muir was especially fascinating. Her act was so good she managed to fool even the reader as to what her intentions were. Alcott is in her element with these stories, unlike Little Women, where you can tell that she was pandering to a mold.