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