Little MenSix years before she wrote Little Women, and in financial straits, Louisa May Alcott 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 of the series of "blood & thunder tales" that would provide her livelihood for years. For as she said, "They are easy to 'compoze' & are better paid than moral...works." The gruesome, passionate stories reveal a darker side of Alcott. Published anonymously or under the pseudonym of A. M. Barnard, they appeared in weeklies over a century ago. In their mastery of suspense and psychological drama, and in their embodiment of a startlingly intense - if oblique - feminism, they attest to the multifaceted genius of their creator. "Pauline's Passion and Punishment" features a woman who is scorned by her lover and left with her fury and her desire for revenge. The male hero of "The Mysterious Key" must unearth secrets hidden away in a family tomb if he is to realize true love. Mysterious pasts and all-too-present jealousies conflict for some surprising effects on the holiday mood in "The Abbot's Ghost." And "Behind a Mask" tells the chilling story of a woman thwarted by love, whose main motivation becomes her desire to dominate an entire family. |
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asked Nat Aunt Aunt Jo barn began berries better Bhaer took birds boys bullfight Buttercup called Charlie child cigar cried Nat Daisy Dan's Danny dear dear boy Demi Demi's door eggs eyes face father flute Franz garden gave girl give guess hand happy head heard horned owl hurt Jack and Emil kind laughed Laurie little flame little John looked matador mind minute morning Mother Bhaer museum Nan and Rob Nat played Nat's never nice night Nursey pail pleasant Plumfield poor pretty Rob's Robby round seat shouted Silas sitting sleep smiled somersaults soon stay stood Stuffy summer supper talked tell Thanksgiving things thought tired Toby told Tommy Tommy's tree Uncle Fritz Uncle Teddy violin voice walk wall watched