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Brief Description:
"Before finding success with Little Women, Louisa May Alcott wrote novels of suspense and revenge, sometimes published anonymously. This collection reveals the "other" Alcott, and includes two pieces from Hospital Sketches, her fictionalized accounts of her nursing experiences as a volunteer during the Civil War. Also included are "My Contraband," a gripping tale of vengeance involving a Civil War nurse, her Confederate patient, and his former slave; "Happy Women," a fictionalized essay about four "spinsters" with a positive attitude toward their marital status; and "How I Went Out to Service," an autobiographical sketch of a young woman's pursuit of financial independence. The most surprising and sought-after pieces in this collection may well be "Behind a Mask," and "Pauline's Passion and Punishment," thrilling tales of seduction, betrayal, and murder. Their tone and characterization strike a markedly different turn than in Alcott's best-known work"--
Biographical Note:
Best known as the author of
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott (1832-88) grew up in a community of New England transcendentalists that included Thoreau and Emerson. Because her learned but impractical father was a poor provider, she supported her family by writing stories for magazines while she was still a teenager. Alcott worked in Washington, D.C., during the Civil War as a nurse, recording her experiences in
Hospital Sketches, and her many novels are particularly noteworthy for their portraits of strong, self-reliant heroines.
Table of Contents:
Contents
From
Hospital Sketches (1863)
I. Obtaining Supplies
IV. A Night
My Contraband (1863)
Pauline's Passion and Punishment (published anonymously; 1863)
Behind a Mask (writing as A. M. Barnard; 1866)
Happy Women (1868)
How I Went Out to Service (1874)
Publisher Marketing:
The author of
Little Women and other beloved classics, Louisa May Alcott grew up in a community of New England transcendentalists that included Thoreau and Emerson. Because her learned but impractical father was a poor provider, she supported her family by writing magazine stories that were often published anonymously.
This collection reveals the "other" Alcott, featuring "Behind a Mask" and "Pauline's Passion and Punishment," thrilling tales of seduction, betrayal, and murder that strike a markedly different tone and characterization from Alcott's best-known work. Other selections include two pieces from
Hospital Sketches, the author's fictionalized accounts of her Civil War nursing experiences; "My Contraband," a tale of vengeance involving a Civil War nurse, her Confederate patient, and his former slave; "Happy Women," concerning four "spinsters" with a positive attitude toward their marital status; and "How I Went Out to Service," an autobiographical sketch of a young woman's pursuit of financial independence.
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