Louisa May Alcott 
Behind a Mask and Other Thrillers 

Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) was a true American novelist, passionate abolitionist and supporter of women’s suffrage. Her foremost novel, ’Little Woman’, is beloved by readers who enjoy Alcott’s sentimental style. Daughter of noted transcendentalist, reformer and educator, Bronson Alcott, she was influenced by such well known figures as Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Margaret Fuller. This collection of short narratives features strong women with quick tongues and sharper wits: ’Behind a Mask or A Woman’s Power’ explores the deception and betrayal of Victorian England through the eyes of the strong, intelligent Jean Muir; ’Pauline’s Passion and Punishment, ’ is a psychological thriller of sorts, featuring a protagonist who is unyielding in her pursuit of revenge; ’The Mysterious Key and What it Opened’ tells the haunting tale of a rich man’s family after his mysterious death; and ’The Abbot’s Ghost or Maurie Treherne’s Temptation, ’ is a romantic story infused with action, holiday cheer, and supernatural thrills.