From Publishers Weekly
Like the semi-autobiographical heroine of Little Women , Alcott supported herself and her family by writing potboilers. This volume is the fifth of a series to reprint the romantic thrillers she wrote anonymously; the nine tales collected here originally appeared in Frank Leslie's Lady's Magazine between 1868 and 1870, before the success of Little Women made such efforts unnecessary. They demonstrate a rich imagination that could be harnessed to popular fiction. Designed to fit the magazine's format and to please the tastes of women readers, these romantic stories foreshadowed what was to come in the literary marketplace. Alcott's darkly handsome men and ravishingly beautiful women move through plots involving sex, illicit drugs, the betrayal of trust and the lavish life of the wealthy. Virtue always wins at least a moral victory, but not before rousing melodramas have revealed the sizzling passions surging under the laces and jewels worn by Alcott's characters. While the collection is of particular interest to scholars, who will appreciate the informative introduction and bibliography, it will also appeal to anyone entranced by Alcott's novels. Illustrations not seen by PW .
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The discovery of sensational stories written pseudonymously by Alcott prior to the literary success of Little Women (1869) has recast her as a protofeminist whose work subverted the stilted roles expected of women at the time. This collection of nine tales earned the author $200 total and the popular "Frank Leslie's Lady Magazine" new subscribers. Unlike "Behind a Mask," a story contained in a previous collection of Alcott's newly unearthed thrillers that exposes the multifarious dangers of the cult of womanhood, these stories are for the most part conventional and formulaic. Set in Viennese society or on a train speeding toward Paris, involving the gambling fortunes of young aristocrats or the perfidy of competing beauties at the ball, the stories clearly delivered what Alcott's readers wanted. The tales reveal a well-read, imaginative writer (like Jo Marsh, her fictional persona) who had more compelling work on her mind. For comprehensive collections.
- Amy Boaz, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Amy Boaz, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
