4 h 37 minAudiobook10 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 4 h 37 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What power does a woman hold when she refuses to show her true face?
In Behind a Mask; Or, a Woman's Power, Louisa May Alcott brings deception, ambition, and a woman's will into focus. First published in 1866, this Gothic tale sets its central tension in its title: a mask suggests concealment, while the alternative title names the power behind it.
The subtitle promises a daring tale and calls a woman's will an unstoppable force. That promise gives you a question to carry into the opening pages: how do deception and determination meet? Alcott places female ambition at the center, inviting you to consider the distance between wanting power and claiming it.
What you’ll discover
- The pull of deception Look beyond appearances in a tale that places concealment at its center.
- A woman's fierce will Explore determination as a force that refuses to stay quietly in the background.
- A title with tension Consider how the mask and the woman's power frame your expectations before you begin.
- A Gothic invitation Step into a work from 1866 that brings Gothic fiction and female ambition together.
- Alcott's daring premise Meet Louisa May Alcott through a tale that explicitly promises an unstoppable woman's will.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy a lively drawing room drama, a clever heroine with something to hide, and the pleasure of watching schemes unfold scene by scene. Fans of Victorian sensation tales and of Alcott's sharper side will feel at home.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A stranger arrives and plays her part
- She wins the household one by one
- A knife, a wound and a long night
- A noble birth story and a night of theatricals
- Dean watches, Gerald declares, and a note arrives
- How the story is told and what it is about
Who’s who
- Jean MuirA pale Scottish governess who plays a meek girl by day and hides a harder, older self at night, and she wants a title and a home.
- Gerald CoventryThe lazy, sarcastic young master of Coventry House, who distrusts the governess yet cannot stop watching her.
- Edward CoventryGerald's warm-hearted younger brother, twenty-one, who longs for an active life and falls hard for Jean.
- Lucia BeaufortThe proud cousin who loves Gerald and runs the household, and who senses danger in Jean without being able to prove it.
- Bella CoventryGerald's sixteen-year-old sister, trusting and affectionate, who adores her new governess and talks too freely.
- Sir John CoventryThe kindly uncle in his fifties who lives at the Hall, loves history read aloud, and is lonely.
- Mrs. CoventryAn anxious invalid mother who wants comfort, quiet and her sons' marriages arranged, and who is soon won over by Jean's nursing.
- DeanLucia's grim, sharp-eyed maid, who loves her mistress fiercely and decides that the governess must be exposed.
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 4 h 37 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 10 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Behind a Mask; Or, a Woman's Power
by Louisa May Alcott · 1866
A governess in a plain black dress, with a secret she hides at night, sets out to win a wealthy English family.
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In short
Behind a Mask, or A Woman's Power is a short novel by Louisa May Alcott, the American writer best known for Little Women. It is a tale of suspense and stage tricks, written for readers who like a fast plot and a heroine who plays a dangerous game.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A stranger arrives and plays her part
The story opens in the drawing room of Coventry House, where the family waits for the new governess. Mrs. Coventry is a nervous invalid. Her daughter Bella is sixteen and eager to like the newcomer. Her niece, Lucia Beaufort, is proud and calm. Her sons are very different. Gerald is lazy and sarcastic and says he will leave the house if the governess proves a bore. Edward, the younger, is warm and kind.
Jean Muir enters as a small figure in black with a silver cross at her throat. Under Mrs. Coventry's questions she says she has no relatives, that she is nineteen, and that she left a hospital only a week ago. Bella's kindness earns her a quick grateful glance. She plays the piano like a true artist and sings a sad Scottish song.
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What is Behind a Mask by Louisa May Alcott about?
It follows Jean Muir, a young governess who joins the Coventry family and charms each of them in turn. Beneath her meek manner she hides a plan to better her place in the world, and the book shows how she carries it out.
Who is Jean Muir in Behind a Mask?
Jean Muir is the governess at the center of the story. She claims to be nineteen, Scottish and alone in the world, but in private she drops her act and shows a harder, older woman with a purpose.
Is Behind a Mask a true story?
No, it is a work of fiction by Louisa May Alcott, a Victorian tale of suspense. It belongs to the sensation fiction popular in the nineteenth century, which loved secrets, disguises and plots inside respectable homes.
The author
Louisa May Alcott
1832–1888 · American novelist
Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) was an American novelist born in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She lived mainly in Massachusetts, including Boston and Concord. She wrote Little Women, published in two parts in 1868 and 1869, An Old-Fashioned Girl in 1870, Little Men in 1871, and Work: A Story of Experience in 1873.
More by Louisa May Alcott
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