Look at the cover of this book. Look at it! Pulpy discount rack romance novel from 1993?? WRONG!!

This book was written by LOUISA MAY ALCOTT—yeah, the lady who wrote Little Women and Little Men and Jo's Boys and all those nicey-nice books we hated in junior high.

Alcott made some quick money writing sensational pulpy stuff in the 1860s-1870s to earn money for her family who were impoverished pacifists or something like that.

This book is saucy and naughty and really contains triggers that might discomfort modern readers. But oddly, it is also incredibly virtuous. It's a hidden gem that any Alcott lover OR hater will enjoy!

Who knew that Louisa May Alcott had another book besides the Little Women series? This book blew me away. I loved the Little Women series, read them all, when I was in my teens. But I had no idea Alcott had another story buried in there. This is the book that should have gotten all the attention. It was written before its time and I was quite stunned! A synopsis would be helpful here, so I lifted this off a site:

"Innocent Rosamond Vivian has led a dull and sheltered life until she meets Phillip Tempest. The mysterious Tempest is a wealthy, world-travelling acquaintance (sic) of Rosamond's grandfather, and in spite of the old man's veiled warnings, the pair elope and set off for the Riviera. After a few peaceful years of marriage, Rosamond begins to discern the truth about her secretive husband. Overhearing a his conversation with a sobbing woman late one night, Rosamond learns that Tempest was already married at the time of his wedding to Rosamond to a woman who he keeps under his control through his custody of their teenaged son. Hearing this, Rosamond realizes that Lito, the young footman she has befriended, is in fact Tempest's child. Knowing of the boy's recent and mysterious dissapearance, Rosamond suspects that a terrible fate may have befallen him. Immediately she plans her escape from Tempest, fleeing first to Paris, then to Germany under the protection of a wealthy aristocrat, and later to a convent where she takes on the guise of a nun. The clever and arrogant Tempest is always just a step behind, more determined than ever to find her now that Rosamond puts up a fight. A young priest who has been smitten by the pure-hearted Rosamond helps her to escape again from Tempest's clutches, but Tempest continues to pursue her into a final confrontation on a stormy sea."
Jacqueline West, Resident Scholar

Full of drama. I did not see the end coming until it was here. I loved it.

One morning, I'd stopped in at a used bookstore that I frequent and came across this, Louisa May Alcott's A Long Fatal Love Chase. Now this sounded vastly different than her wholesome [book: Little Women] et. al.

Upon perusal, I read that this book was considered "too sensational" for the times it was written in and wasn't permitted to be published! Louisa May Alcott! Who knew you had this in you?! Needless to say, I purchased this then and there.


Roseamond Vivian, a 17-year-old girl, has been brought up by her recluse uncle in a house near the cliffs on an island off the coast of England. Her uncle cares not for the girl and she has an isolated life, being basically a neglected prisoner. She knows only of the outside world what she's read in books.

Then, one afternoon her uncle has a visitor. Enter Phillip Tempest, a handsome and charming stranger, who arrives on his yacht and regales Roseamond with stories of his exciting life. Roseamond is immediately in love with Tempest and though he is twice her age, he is intrigued by this guileless girl kept in the foreboding home along the cliffs.

Roseamond aches for the freedom, travel, love, and excitement that Phillip can provide. After she marries him, she learns of his deceit and how he has tricked her and is fully aware of the trap he's snared her in. She decides to run away from this dangerous man only to be hunted by him across the continent - for no one gets the best of him, and Roseamond is his obsession.


Written in 1886 but not published for over a century, it's a Victorian thriller. A Long Fatal Love Chase has the gothic darkness and twists in the plot reminiscent of [book: Wuthering Heights], a truly Victorian heroine, and a shocking ending.

I'm still surprised that this (THIS!) is [author: Louisa May Alcott]!

The most evil villian I have yet to encounter. It kept me shouting at the characters and setting the book aside for a few seconds while I tried to compose myself and lower my heart rate.

Reading Prompt: A book published posthumously

WOW. The *drama*. THE DRAMA!!!

Louisa May Alcott wrote this story as a response to the request of publisher James R. Elliott, who wanted a twenty-four-chapter novel in which every other chapter would be so "absorbingly interesting that the reader would be impatient for the next".

Alcott understood the assignment.

Unfortunately, she performed the assignment *too* well, and the publisher rejected it as being "too sensational," which was apparently a problem in 1866. In this current era, however, psychological thrillers and stalker stories are disturbingly popular. "A Long Fatal Love Chase" became a New York Times bestseller after it was published (posthumously of course) in 1995.

I'm not typically attracted to stories about stalkers or obsessives, but this one got me. Rosamond Vivian is such a dynamic character: sweet and naïve, yet determined and defiant. Tender, but brave. Meanwhile, Phillip Tempest is an incredibly believable villain, even by today's standards. He is relentless, egotistical, and lacks any form of empathy. Narcissism has clearly not changed in the past couple of centuries.

I won't share any true spoilers here, but I will make three specific notes regarding my feelings about the story:
1.) If half stars were an option, I'd probably have given it a 4.5 (but it is what it is, so I rounded up). I think the only thing lacking here is a more significant tie between Rosamond and Marion. I would have liked to see them bond over something other than their past relationships. You know, Bechdel test stuff.
2.) After every other chapter, I walked in on whatever my husband was doing and yelled, "The DRAMA!!" - I truly was *not* expecting this much of a reaction out of myself.
3.) I was disappointed by the ending. Not because I didn't expect it or because it was poorly written. I had just hoped it would end differently, or that there'd be more of an epilogue.

Anyway, I highly recommend this book. I found it significantly more engaging than Little Women, though I don't expect everyone else to.