Behind a Mask

Written under a pseudonym while Louisa May Alcott was still years from Little Women, this sharp sensation story introduces Jean Muir, a governess who arrives at the wealthy Coventry household looking meek and grateful. Behind the modest manner is a shrewd actress with a plan. One by one she works on the family’s men, bending their affections and steering the house toward the marriage and fortune she means to secure. Alcott plays her heroine as neither simple villain nor victim, and the tale reads as a quiet argument about the few weapons a clever, penniless woman could use in Victorian society. A free PDF and EPUB edition are available here.