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  • Behind a Mask: The Unknown Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott by Louisa May Alcott book cover
  • Behind a Mask: The Unknown Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott by Louisa May Alcott book cover
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Behind a Mask: The Unknown Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott

by Louisa May Alcott

Alcott’s lesser-known thrillers

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AlbakiReads Editorial

Alcott’s lesser-known thrillers

Years before Little Women, Louisa May Alcott wrote sensational tales that helped support her financially. This collection brings together four of them—“Pauline’s Passion and Punishment,” “The Mysterious Key,” “The Abbot’s Ghost,” and “Behind a Mask”—with an introduction by editor Madeleine Stern. The selection offers a view of Alcott’s work beyond the novel most closely associated with her, and of a genre in which she wrote for years. The stories were first gathered in one volume in 1975.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers exploring Louisa May Alcott beyond Little Women.
  • Readers interested in classic thrillers and psychological suspense.
  • Readers curious about nineteenth-century authors’ lesser-known work.

Themes

Alcott’s writing beyond Little WomenThrillers and sensational fictionFinancial pressures and literary work

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Six years before she wrote Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, in financial straits, entered "Pauline's Passion and Punishment," a novelette, in a newspaper contest. Not only did it win the $100 prize, but, published anonymously, it marked the first in the series of "blood & thunder tales" that would be her livelihood for years.

In Behind a Mask, editor Madeleine Stern introduces four Alcott thrillers: "Pauline's Passion and Punishment," "The Mysterious Key," "The Abbot's Ghost," and the title story, "Behind a Mask." First published in one volume in 1975, they are regarded as Alcott's finest work in this genre.

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