A Long Fatal Love Chase
by Louisa May Alcott
published
January 2nd 1997
(first published 1995)
by Dell
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binding
Paperback, 368 pages
isbn
0440223016
(isbn13: 9780440223016)
description
Rosamond Vivian, brought up on a remote island by an indifferent grandfather, swears she'd sell her soul to Satan for a year of freedom. When Philip ...more
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Read in August, 2008
What did I learn from this book? Well, I learned that I like history a lot more than deboned Victorian gothic novels. I learned that I'm into Lousia May Alcott the same way I'm into Emily Dickenson--which is to say, I like their lifes and biographies a bit more than their writing.
This was my pick for book club, my first, and I felt like a jack ass because I didn't like it. I liked it LESS than everyone else, actually, which is a bummer, because I felt a little deflated during the meeting ...more
This was my pick for book club, my first, and I felt like a jack ass because I didn't like it. I liked it LESS than everyone else, actually, which is a bummer, because I felt a little deflated during the meeting ...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommended to Tara by:
Ruthie, UTA Book ClubThis review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Strangely reading Heyer's 'Devil's cub' reminded me of this book. They have similarities with the axis of the books partly turning on ruining (or potentially ruining) a woman's character (basically the whole wife/mistress issue).
But mostly it's the male protagonists, Dominic the Marquis of Vidal from Heyer and Phillip Tempest from Alcott. Of course Dominic becomes a reformed rake when he falls in love while Phillip goes unrepentant to his death (via suicide, after haunting and pursuing the ...more
But mostly it's the male protagonists, Dominic the Marquis of Vidal from Heyer and Phillip Tempest from Alcott. Of course Dominic becomes a reformed rake when he falls in love while Phillip goes unrepentant to his death (via suicide, after haunting and pursuing the ...more
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Read in June, 2008
This book is very much like what Little Women's Jo (the character most like Alcott herself) would have written. Her phrasing at times is overly dramatized, much as her original "sensationalized" stories may have been. The style is similar to her other book The Inheritance. What I really loved about this book was the timeless theme of obsessive love which isn't really love at all, but a distorted sense of posession/ownership of another human being. Tempest's relentless pursuit of Rosa...more
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Read in January, 2001
I chose to read this book at a time when I worked as a rape crisis counselor and we were getting ready to merge with the domestic violence counseling program, so I wanted to learn more about DV. I came across this book on a recommended reading list and saw that it was by Alcott. I had loved "Little Women," so I thought I'd give it a try. What struck me the most is that while many of Alcott's contemporaries and writers in previous eras (and even today) have a tendency to romanticize ...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommended to Ariell by:
Amanda's bookclubrecommends it for: those who like light suspense with a bit of a romantic air
This was a bookclub pick. I had not heard of it before. However I am always into reading works by a classic writer like Louisa May Alcott. I even have seen her house in Massachusetts. It very much resembled the house described in Little Women.
I really thought this was a fun book. Being fictitious it makes for a light read. The sinister villain is also very subtle and manipulative. Yet the heroine is true and steadfast and strong. She always finds someone to take her side and aide her on her e...more
I really thought this was a fun book. Being fictitious it makes for a light read. The sinister villain is also very subtle and manipulative. Yet the heroine is true and steadfast and strong. She always finds someone to take her side and aide her on her e...more
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
fans of Louisa May Alcott
Before attaining fame through Little Women, Louisa May Alcott was writing more sensational stories under a pseudonym. Her publisher asked her to write a novel, and she came up with this - the story of a sheltered young woman who is charmed by a cad. Once she learns the truth about him, she flees, only to be chased (as the title says) all over Europe. The book was not published until 1995, almost a century after Alcott's death.
Anyone who loved Little Women will want to read thi...more
Anyone who loved Little Women will want to read thi...more
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Read in February, 2008
i did not enjoy this book for its parts but i respect it as a whole because Louisa May Alcott was definitely ahead of her time in woman's rights.
this book is about a particular woman who has been kept naive by her circumstances until an older man, friend of the grandfathers, comes and takes advantage of the girls inexperience with the world. However, this girl is strong-willed and fights for her rights through endless chapters telling about the cat-and-mouse chase these two go through.
i...more
this book is about a particular woman who has been kept naive by her circumstances until an older man, friend of the grandfathers, comes and takes advantage of the girls inexperience with the world. However, this girl is strong-willed and fights for her rights through endless chapters telling about the cat-and-mouse chase these two go through.
i...more
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Read in January, 2006
From the back cover:
A story of dark love and passionate obsession that was considered "too sensational" to be published in he author's lifetime, A Long Fatal Love Chase was written for magazine serialization in 1866, two years before the publication of Little Women. Buried among Louisa May Alcott's papers for more than a century, its publication is a literary landmark - a novel that is bold, timeless, and mesmerizing.
You spend the entire book alternating b...more
A story of dark love and passionate obsession that was considered "too sensational" to be published in he author's lifetime, A Long Fatal Love Chase was written for magazine serialization in 1866, two years before the publication of Little Women. Buried among Louisa May Alcott's papers for more than a century, its publication is a literary landmark - a novel that is bold, timeless, and mesmerizing.
You spend the entire book alternating b...more
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Read in January, 2004
recommends it for:
anyone who likes an outlandish love story.
There is nothing to learn from this book, per se. It is a piece of fluff, and frivilous in many ways.
Here is a fine paragraph that set me to giggling as I was reading before bed:
"'You don't look as if you could ever die, you are so strong and--' she did not finish her sentence but looked at the vigorous figure before her with genuine womanly admiration for a manly man." (pg 13)
I wish I could write like this without cracking myself up, because it sells. Anyway, this book is...more
Here is a fine paragraph that set me to giggling as I was reading before bed:
"'You don't look as if you could ever die, you are so strong and--' she did not finish her sentence but looked at the vigorous figure before her with genuine womanly admiration for a manly man." (pg 13)
I wish I could write like this without cracking myself up, because it sells. Anyway, this book is...more
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Wow. This book definitely lived up to its title. I enjoyed it reading it very much. The story was lively, to say the least. I called it the "victorian soap opera" while I was reading it. I'm not sure if it's victorian era, though... Anyway, Tempest is a character you love to hate to love... etc. Father Ignatius = yay! I also loved Rose. I could sort of understand her predicament. The story wasn't hugely intellectual, but it was good. The writing was pretty. There were some very snappy,...more
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Read in March, 2005
I have to say that I really enjoyed this book! Tempest has done some awful things, but I almost couldn't help rooting for him (even though I knew I shouldn't) for a while. Poor Rosamond was quite a victim, but she showed such strength of character and firmness of convictions that I really admired her. I suspect most women would have readily succumbed to Tempest's commanding nature. I recommend this as a quick read and, though it's not hard to figure out how it will end, the journey is the intri...more
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Read in January, 1998
recommends it for:
Jo March and the Pickwick Society
This book is almost the anti-Little Women - if I hadn't known that this was written by Louisa May, I wouldn't really be able to tell from the story alone. Its pretty progressive considering it was written 2 years before Little Women. But I can imagine Jo March writing this - she was a salty girl. I enjoyed reading it but the language can get a little hokey at times but this wasn't written to become classic literature. This is pure commercial fiction and you know what? That ain't a bad thing.
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Read in February, 2008
I am in a serious Louisa May Alcott phase, so I was excited to read this book. It was unpublished for many years because it was one of the "racy" books Alcott wrote before she published Little Women.
Funny because reading it in context of our society, it's very tame.
In terms of the plot, it did drag a bit because the antagonist is forever chasing the heroine to drag her back to him. But the character development is, as always for her, really well done.
Funny because reading it in context of our society, it's very tame.
In terms of the plot, it did drag a bit because the antagonist is forever chasing the heroine to drag her back to him. But the character development is, as always for her, really well done.
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Read in July, 2004
recommends it for:
fans of gothic romances
I was excited when I heard a previously unknown work of Louisa May Alcott's had been unearthed. However, I guess it had been unknown for so long for a reason. It is dramatically different from the comfort and affection of her other books. The book is dark and alive with emotion. It wasn't a bad book. it was just not what I'd come to expect from Alcott. I wouldn't say rush out to read it--but if you do, it wouldn't be the worst thing to ever happen to you.
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I read this book a number of years ago because a comment about the book was that it was a bit over the top, or to racey, or something to that affect, for readers at that time to handle. It was a bit darker than I expected but it was still enjoyable. A fun read and an ending I didn't expect, or at least I would have written it a bit differently. I thought it ended kind of abruptly as if the author was bored of writing and wanted to end it quickly.
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Read in January, 2008
I never knew that a classical piece of literature could be so intense! The premise is that a young woman tries to flee from her husband, however, due to the time period, the police are helping the husband to find her and bring her back. It was frightening to see the complete lack of support for the woman, that she was literally "his property". The plotline is full of suspense, action, and emotion right down to the very last sentence.
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A most ridiculous Tess Trueheart/Snidely McWhiplash plot with the virtuous heroine constantly on the run from a villian who wishes to despoil her. Extremely silly, but a not a bad read. Truly though, the way the heroine runs and runs and runs gets so tiresome. I guess at the time LMA was writing this book it would have been completely impossible for Our Longsuffering Heroine to turn around and bury a knife in The Evil Villian's heart.
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You think Louisa May Alcott, you think sweet and dainty, saccharine books, right?
This one is over-the-top, Victorian melodrama, considered in its day to be "too dark" and "too sensationalist" to be published.
Looking back on it now, it's kind of cheesy, but pretty suspenseful and still a good read that draws you in. A book written about stalking and stalkers back before such things were mentioned in polite society ;)
This one is over-the-top, Victorian melodrama, considered in its day to be "too dark" and "too sensationalist" to be published.
Looking back on it now, it's kind of cheesy, but pretty suspenseful and still a good read that draws you in. A book written about stalking and stalkers back before such things were mentioned in polite society ;)
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This book was not published until 1995 and was considered not appropriate to be published at the time is was written in 1866. The editor purchased the rights to the book and put it back together to include chapters in the book taken out by Louisa when she thought it would have more of a chance to be published.
I did not know that the family actually depended upon her writing income from the time she was a little girl.
I did not know that the family actually depended upon her writing income from the time she was a little girl.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.59 (633 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.58 (595 ratings) number of reviews: 136
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quote
"...and the most intense desire gave force to her passionate words as the girl glanced despairingly about the dreary room like a caged creature on the point of breaking loose."
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