This gothic melodrama is a veritable hidden gem written by Louisa May Alcott (her alter ego to be exact) even before she wrote and became a famous author of Little Women. the publisher initially rejected the manuscript because they considered it too "sensational" at the time until it finally got published post-humously in 1995.

and now that i’ve read both i can positively confirm that the book is basically Jane Eyre x Wuthering Heights. imagine if Mr. Rochester get away with marrying Jane and they live happily as couple for a while but when the secret eventually comes out in the open he goes full-villain mode ala Heathcliff to get her back? that’s where the Love Chase begin.

All i can say is thank god it didn't end up as an unreleased manuscript and lost to the world forever.

Wow! I was prepared to be a little bored, but I had a hard time putting this one down. I can understand why it couldn't be published during the Victorian age. We are talking about a time when a table leg was hidden to protect the innocent female eye from it's phallic similarities.

We are so removed from the Victorian age that it seems like a foreign planet, but interestingly enough this novel didn't feel that foreign. The motivations of a stalker and the difficulty that women have protecting themselves from someone who is determined to "have" them, sadly, seem all too familiar.

When Alcott wrote the infinitely more publishable novel, "Little Women"she had to have had this work in mind as the lurid novel that "Jo" abandoned after "Mr. Bhaer" criticized it's unworthy topic. Mr. Bhaer was wrong!

Interesting, because of the author, but definitely not a masterpiece!

I chose to read this book at a time when I worked as a rape crisis counselor and we were getting ready to merge with the domestic violence counseling program, so I wanted to learn more about DV. I came across this book on a recommended reading list and saw that it was by Alcott. I had loved "Little Women," so I thought I'd give it a try. What struck me the most is that while many of Alcott's contemporaries and writers in previous eras (and even today) have a tendency to romanticize domestic violence, Alcott resists any such temptation. She shows it for exactly as it is: a perfectly adequate soul who feels inadequate and therefore is driven by a need to control others. It's not love, it's not attraction or even jealousy. Alcott does not mess around with that nonsense. She poignantly tells the story of a woman who does not crave the attentions of an abuser, but rather tries to escape it. Very brave storytelling, even now.

My love for this book really knows no bounds. It was recommended to me by a very good friend and I can now see why. This is the kind of story other gothic romance / thrillers strive to be but fall short of becoming. The villain is crafty and cruel, selfish and truly evil. The heroine is very brave and strong without it seeming unnatural or impossible for the time she lives in. The side characters are memorable and used well without taking away from the main characters.

What I found really fantastic about the side characters were the strong women shown who weren't made out to be jealous or petty toward Rosamond, but were shown to help her be her friends. It's something you don't really see enough of in stories, so it adds a wonderful and unexpected dimension to an already deep story.

The weakest part of the story, in my opinion, is the sub-plot of Ignatius' love for Rosamond. However, even this serves the purpose of clearly defining her choices. There's Tempest representing the temptation to give in to pleasure and the easy path and there's Ignatius who, by his own struggle between love and duty, represents the more difficult but ultimately right path of forgoing temporary happiness and pleasure.

Now, while being the representations of these two choices could lead to the characters being cardboard cut-outs, they are instead skillfully given depth by Alcott. Even Tempest, who could be nothing more than a caricature, is given a bit of humanity in that he did love his son and was thankful the boy was alive. Ignatius could have been represented as almost saintly, but we do have some human moments, such as when he slips up during the confrontation in the moor and attacks Tempest for insulting Rosamond.

To be honest, the icing on the cake –what really tips this story from 4 stars to 5– is the small and subtle foreshadowing we have for the ending given at the very beginning of the story when Tempest talks about the vision he saw in a mirror. Add to that the ending which was so perfectly dramatic and dark and I can't help but love this book.

My favorite book ever! A book to read at the end of the day in your bubble bath surrounded by candles.

Compared to my love of Little Women, this book was a disappointment.