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A Long Fatal Love Chase

3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 · rating details · 2,926 ratings · 452 reviews

"I'd gladly sell my soul to Satan for a year of freedom," cries impetuous Rosamond Vivian to her callous grandfather. Then, one stormy night, a brooding stranger appears in her remote island home, ready to take Rosamond to her word. Spellbound by the mysterious Philip Tempest, Rosamond is seduced with promises of love and freedom, then spirited away on Tempest's sumptuous...more

Paperback, 356 pages

Published December 2nd 1996 by Dell (first published 1995)

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The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott

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Mar 23, 2011 Mariel rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: horny priests

Recommended to Mariel by: horny teen girls

I was reading Little Women in the school library one ever so wintery day and it was ever so fun to pretend I was just making fun of it. The movies are so stupid. It seems like someone is running out with some big news every other minute. (This is spoilerish, if you're Joey on Friends.) "Oh my god! Beth just died!" Then someone else runs in. "We're having twins!" And then "Daddy died in the war!" And then "I'm getting married!" "My novel was published!" "The nazis are coming!" On and on with the...more I was reading Little Women in the school library one ever so wintery day and it was ever so fun to pretend I was just making fun of it. The movies are so stupid. It seems like someone is running out with some big news every other minute. (This is spoilerish, if you're Joey on Friends.) "Oh my god! Beth just died!" Then someone else runs in. "We're having twins!" And then "Daddy died in the war!" And then "I'm getting married!" "My novel was published!" "The nazis are coming!" On and on with the news. Maybe it isn't as wholesome as I'm remembering. The headlines are The Commish instead of The Shield (I've never actually seen The Shield). I do know that Alcott had a sick teen girl side that would've written trashy fanfic about her favorite characters from Twilight. Was it a bad thing that it remained unpublished until the slutty 1970s? They loved smut in the '70s. Bodice rippers and Luke and Laura. Maybe it is better to concentrate on story rather than what you think the public does or doesn't want. The news is delivered much the same way, only more tabloid sensation than the boys in Newsies.
This is just a reenactment using actors of me in the library feeling stifled by wholesomeness just like Ms. Alcott. I didn't take photos at the time.

"I wanna read sexier stuff! I was alive for nearly three months of the '70s! How many of these *beep* books are there gonna be?"
Rosamund lives on a crappy island with her crappier grandfather (or was he her uncle?). She has no friends, never gets to do anything. She's pretty desperate. Straight out of any trashy gothic horror story, a mysterious rogue appears just as she's wishing to be taken away.
Grandpa barters her away to the man in a card game. Rosamund is delighted by the man because any company seems like good company after what she's had.

Any guy seemed cool after the guys I knew. Any steamy book seemed good. Maybe it was fun to write this stuff. Alcott probably shared filthy letters with L.M. Montgomery.
Oops, forgot to mention that his name is Philip Tempest. He has a creepy little slave boy that he "saved" who lives with him on the yacht he takes Rosamund away on. Rosamund falls for the boy, and the sexing. It's only when she discovers that their marriage is false (Philip is already married! Gasp!) that she starts to think that maybe all of that sex isn't changing his soul and he just might be a creep who has slave boys on his ship, among other things like bullying women.

Rosamund runs away and he always finds her. Eventually, she stays in a convent to fall in love with a priest.
Tempest isn't giving up his ass until he's done with her. True love will not prevail. That's The Thornbirds.
Alcott didn't try to pretend Tempest was an okay man. He gets away with it because he's a psycho killer like in a Rutger Hauer movie. Or the Energizer bunny. Unfortunately, it still reads like a silly gothic novel despite that. I didn't like that whole had to be married thing over being a total creep thing.
Bonus points for the nuns!
It'd probably make a better (as in bad tv) movie starring some fun actors. (less)

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Apr 09, 2010 Adrianna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

Recommended to Adrianna by: Cafe Libri Group

Shelves: fiction, suspense, cafe-libri

Review Dedication: Many thanks to Cafe Libri Yahoo Group member and now Cafe Libri Lunch Community member Cari for her help with the research for the review.

This was one of the best emotional roller coaster rides a book has taken me on in a long time. I have never been a fan of Louisa May Alcott's books because they always felt a little too wholesome. A Long Fatal Love Chase, however, shows that Alcott was able to write about the darker sides of human nature, especially as it concerned obsession...more

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Sep 09, 2009 Teri rated it 4 of 5 stars

[Did I loan this book to someone? I'm so bummed, I hate losing books and I can't find it!:]

I had so much fun reading this book. It was considered too "sensational" to be published during Alcott's lifetime so of course it's pretty tame over 100 years later. A woman discovers that her husband isn't what she thought him to be and tries to leave him which makes him want her all the more. Hence the "chase". It's definitely not (note the underline, Michael) Little Women!

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Jul 13, 2008 Tara rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Tara by: Ruthie, UTA Book Club

Shelves: uta-bookclub, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I had a really hard time with this book because the antagonist in the story is just horribly manipulative, controlling, and scary. For the first almost 3/4 of the book, I felt like I just had to endure Tempest's evil nature. Having said that, it did keep me reading in hopes to find some resolution and peace for Rosamond in the end. Well, peace of some degree came for a time in the form of a dear, attentive, true friend, Ignatius the priest. I loved watching this relationship form with he and Ros...more I had a really hard time with this book because the antagonist in the story is just horribly manipulative, controlling, and scary. For the first almost 3/4 of the book, I felt like I just had to endure Tempest's evil nature. Having said that, it did keep me reading in hopes to find some resolution and peace for Rosamond in the end. Well, peace of some degree came for a time in the form of a dear, attentive, true friend, Ignatius the priest. I loved watching this relationship form with he and Rosamond, a stark contrast to Rosamond and Tempest's relationship. It was just full of goodness. It is when this dear priest appeared more frequently in the book that I most enjoyed reading it.

There was one point in the book when I felt compassion for Tempest as he appeared to have a conscience and some hope of goodness (only appeared, nothing really existed). It was when he returned to his ex-wife's place, discovered his son was alive, and gave Rosamond the information from her grandfather. My compassion didn't last beyond that moment, and Tempest proved he had no goodness as he killed Rosamond in attempting to destroy Ignatius, as he plunged a dagger into his own chest, and as he attempted to take and have Rosamond, even in the grave. His dying words were, "Mine first-mine last-mine even in the grave!" What a horrible man!

I loved Ignatius's peace and confidence in the end, after losing his true love. When Tempest is trying to take Rosamond's body and is saying she is his, Ignatius says, "She is mine and you can never take her from me, for in time I shall rejoin her in a blessed world where such as you cannot enter. Nothing can part us long; our love was true and pure, and though forbidden here it will unite us forever in the beautiful hereafter." I loved that, in a way and eventually, Rosamond will get her happily ever after. I loved, too, that the idea of eternity, heaven, and continued relationships is brought forth. I thought this ending resulting in Rosamond's death was really perfect for the story. She would have never been free from Tempest had one of them not died. The love between her and the priest could have never resulted in union. So, while I hated to see Rosamond die after suffering so much and having such little happiness, I think that her happiness will yet be great.

In conclusion, it really didn't like the story for the most part, but the conclusion intrigued me and the characters caught my attention in the end.(less)

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Apr 13, 2013 Carly rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: children

Exactly what it says on the tin.
A romantic and tragic tale of love and passion and betrayal and despair. Rosamond Vivian lives alone on an island in the Mediterranean when the mysterious Philip Tempest appears (Island? Tempest? It's a reference to Shakespeare! How literary!) in answer to her despairing prayer for adventure. Their passion is mutual, at least at first, but ah, love is such a tender flower, so easily bent and broken between the steel-tipped boot of fate. Rosamond runs, Phil pursues...more

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Feb 19, 2010 Henry rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club

Considering this book was written in 1866 it was quite good. I am sure for books of that era it was unusual to have such a strong female lead character as Rosemonde and such a pure evil suitor as Phillip. Although she could have been considered the damsel in distress, she neither asked for accepted assistance from those around her. mainly because she found she could trust no one. Rose was cunning, smart, worldly, thoughtful, brave, independent and courageous. All traits that were very unique for...more

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Adrianna Great and succinct review, Henry! I wanted to read King's review of it, but I don't have an account for The New York Times. Mind copying the review he...more
Mar 26, 2010 05:55pm

Henry Adrianna,

Thanks for the kind words. I read your review and found it very thoughtful and detailed. You explored it at great depth. Great job!

Regarding...more
Mar 29, 2010 07:20am

Adrianna Emailing the article would be great! Here's my info: ambayer(at)gmail(dot)com. Thanks for sending it my way! I didn't want to sign up for the site, lo...more
Mar 29, 2010 07:58am

May 12, 2009 Katie(babs) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-want-to-have-babies-with-the-book

A Long Fatal Love Chase has a true obsessed villian, a heroine on the run from him and a man she loves but can never have. For fans of Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre, this book should be read and kept on your keeper shelf.

Rosamond our heroine wants adventure and to live life. She is bored nd borderlined depressed. She thinks her savior comes to her as an old friend of her grandfather's. Philip marries Rose and whisks her away. Things seem to be perfect in their marriage. Philip and Rose have an...more

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Dec 11, 2012 Connie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, ylto-alphabet-challenge, around-the-world, challenge13, challenge2013, book-vipers-a-z-challenge

Louisa May Alcott has always been one of my favorite authors, but in A Long Fatal Love Chase we are introduced to a completely new Alcott writing style. She did not publish this book, which was written for magazine serialization, probably because it was considered too scandalous during her lifetime. This book is a romantic thriller that address women's issues important to Alcott.
I found myself wondering if this was the kind of book Jo March might have written since it has all the elements of he...more

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Jun 14, 2008 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

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 Rosamond is clas...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Blackribbon31 rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I really loved this romance, even though it was a bit ridiculous at times. Its writing was surprisingly playful (with the big reveal at the end of each chapter). Rosamond's loneliness and the isolation of the island put her in the perfect position for Tempest to swoop in. She was a bit wary of him, and despite her youth, she still understood what it was to move on from a romance. I loved how he assumed her response from a failed relationship would be her withering away and she calmly responds th...more I really loved this romance, even though it was a bit ridiculous at times. Its writing was surprisingly playful (with the big reveal at the end of each chapter). Rosamond's loneliness and the isolation of the island put her in the perfect position for Tempest to swoop in. She was a bit wary of him, and despite her youth, she still understood what it was to move on from a romance. I loved how he assumed her response from a failed relationship would be her withering away and she calmly responds that she would move on and forget. She wasn't even offended by his comment, she simply corrected him and it bothered him (assuming he had her pegged). And surprised again when she was willing to jump off the boat and swim back had things not gone her way. He was used to pushovers.

I know it's horrible to think but I really loved Tempest. And yes, in my mind his name was only Tempest, and he was a wonderful villain. He didn't demand her to be at his side at all times, he was confident he imprisoned her even as she was technically free in the world. And he liked that she got away at times, she obviously kept him busy. It was only toward the end he panicked but it made sense he would do that.

The writing never seemed lazy to me, as many romances tend to do toward the end, (go on autopilot). The chase in the ships was a bit much, I think a more intimate fight would have been better, a physical combat would have been more natural. It's probably not a great thought to have but I would have loved it if Rosamond literally fought for her life, and obviously I would have wanted things to go differently. I just think the ships distances the readers from the narrative and the erratic emotions at play.

Father Ignatius was an okay character, he would have been better if there was more to the novel, which is short. He definitely should have been set up better (given his identity). This is pretty good for a potboiler, it would have been such a superior romance/thriller if Alcott had been more invested in it. Overall, I think this is great novel for anyone wanting to get a little into romance. (less)

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Aug 17, 2012 Biogeek rated it 4 of 5 stars

A highly readable Gothic romance which was considered too racy to be published when Alcott first submitted these chapters. The author of such wholesome fare as Little Women and Jo's Boys
The novel is primarily an exploration of obsessive love. Both the heroine and her Mephistophelean lover/guide Tempest (only one of many Shakespeare references in the novel) are led by their passions down a path of no return from the moment they see each other in chapter 1. The action takes us through France, Ital...more

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Jul 06, 2011 Boogenhagen rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. A Long Fatal Love Chase -- this is a true gothic story and while I respect various opinions that it is a stalker book, a statement for feminism and a tale of escape from abuse, to me this book is a dark romance. Tempest could be an early prototype for Anne Stuart's H's and I have wanted to ask her if she ever read this book.

The story is an interesting juxtaposition between innocence and carnality and has a lot of duality. The very name Rosamond has dual meanings -- it can mean either "pure rose"...more A Long Fatal Love Chase -- this is a true gothic story and while I respect various opinions that it is a stalker book, a statement for feminism and a tale of escape from abuse, to me this book is a dark romance. Tempest could be an early prototype for Anne Stuart's H's and I have wanted to ask her if she ever read this book.

The story is an interesting juxtaposition between innocence and carnality and has a lot of duality. The very name Rosamond has dual meanings -- it can mean either "pure rose" intimating innocence and chastity or it can mean "rose of the world" meaning knowledge and carnality. That double meaning pretty much describe the h of the book. Rose is drawn to the forbidden and Phillip Tempest is the greatest attraction she ever meets. Tempest is compared to Mephistopheles, and like Meph of old, Tempest is both seducer and guide but it is Rose's will that makes it so. She is a woman who likes dark passions and she is determined to experience them. Rose has a yen for bad boys and Tempest really fits the bill. Tempest is a liar, murderer and thief but he is also passionate and romantic.

When Roseleaves Tempest, it isn't out of fear, it is a combination of shame and furious anger plus Rose's determination that Tempest is going to suffer. She may love him more than life, but she is going to win this contest of wills and he will come begging. She tries to justify herself by saying the love of a good woman can save Tempest, but in actuality she is in thrall to his sexuality and he is going to have to work hard for his love slave, and in that light, the whole running off and him chasing her scenario's become a kind of extended foreplay.

Curiously, Tempest never himself physically abuses Rose or even speaks harshly to her. I believe Tempest truly loves her and IMO Rose takes off on this long, varied journey more to keep him interested in her charms and focused on his predatory instincts. Tempest is the cat and she is the mouse who really wants him to pounce and play. Rose is very aware that Tempest has more sophisticated tastes and her inexperience is not a bonus. She has enough perception to realize that Tempest wants a challenge and she feels she is up to the task.

In the eyes of the world, her relationship with Tempest is disgraceful at the very least and thus her internal conflict between wanting to be acceptable in the world and her craving for the passion Tempest brings her. Taken together her anger at his deception, her lust for him and also her ladylike morality all blend together to create a passion that is both wonderful and hateful to her. Rose was raised to be good, her head tells her she needs respectability and social status, her heart just wants to be passionate with Tempest and there is no real way to reconcile the two. Rose also thinks she wants to be free but she has the need to submit/depend to a more dominant power and this conflict plays out in her vacillation between Tempest and Ingatius and the power struggle between the two.

Her love for Ignatius has a dual role as well. He becomes her conscious and he becomes her forbidden lure. Again Alcott choses to emphasize the duality that this story has so much of. Iggy wants Rose like no other woman ever but he is a priest and it is his purview to emphasize the virtues of the time. Pure love with no physicality except in the bonds of marriage, obeyance to duty and respectability - these are Iggy's precepts and it is more his will that Rose is expressing when she says she hates Tempest. It is Iggy's determination that keeps her running even when she doesn't have to anymore and it is his words of forbidden love that keep Rose on the straight path until the end. I suspect that had Iggy been the one to die, Rose and Tempest would have again run off together and that just wasn't socially acceptable at the time. Alcott uses heavy foreshadowing throughout the story and so when Rose tells Tempest " You will never have me again this side of death." It is a good bet that the ending will not be a traditional HEA.

Alcott was reputed to be greatly enamored of the works of Charlotte Bronte, especially Jane Eyre. Many of the elements in the beginning of this story are a sort of homage to JE. The age difference between Rose and Tempest, the emphasis on the goodness/innocence of Rose. The "mad wife" allusion and the bigamy. I suspect she also had a fondness for Emily Bronte if the ending of the book is anything to go by, she certainly seemed to like Heathcliff given Tempest's resemblance in many aspects. The ending of this book strongly resembles Heathcliff's death and supposed reunion with Cathy in the hereafter.

Tempest, once again becoming the dominating force in Rose's life and ousting his rival permanently, finally succeeds in getting Rose in his full possession once again. Granted he kills her and then himself, but I have a feeling that LA secretly thinks they are together in eternity but overtly gives the impression of tragic justice done. Tempest's final words of "mine in the grave" further convince me that the deaths at the end are really meant to be an HEA but the only acceptable way LA could get the couple together was to kill them and hope for a better afterlife.

Ultimately, A Long Fatal Love Chase can be interpreted in a lot of ways, but for me it was a really good love story and an intriguing lesson at what lies under the surface of a lady who I had always thought of as an entertaining, beloved but kinda moralistic author.
(less)

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Mar 05, 2011 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, suspense, novel

Fans of Victorian romances will love A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott (yes, the author of Little Women), but it follows the conventions of the genre almost to a fault, making it unbearable for other readers.

I only warn you because even as a confessed lover of Victorian novels, I found the first few chapters almost unbearably tedious. We are introduced to our beautiful and innocent, yet daring heroine Rosamond Vivian and the darkly dashing antagonist Phillip Tempest. Unsurprisingly Ro...more Fans of Victorian romances will love A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott (yes, the author of Little Women), but it follows the conventions of the genre almost to a fault, making it unbearable for other readers.

I only warn you because even as a confessed lover of Victorian novels, I found the first few chapters almost unbearably tedious. We are introduced to our beautiful and innocent, yet daring heroine Rosamond Vivian and the darkly dashing antagonist Phillip Tempest. Unsurprisingly Rosamond is an orphan living with her cold and distant grandfather, craving adventure and human affection. So no one is surprised when she's easily swept away by the dangerous Tempest. Once Rosamond begins to realize his evil nature & decides to leave Tempest, though, the story really picks up. Many of the twists and turns are still easily guessed, but are told in such a compelling fashion that whether or not you can see them coming is one of the least important parts of the story. Unfortunately I shouldn't have read this book so soon after finishing Reading the Romance by Janice Radway (one of the reviews I'll be posting shortly) because it left me totally judging everything about this book and how it fits into the larger romance genre, so maybe some of the predictability came from that.

When I saw that this book was considered too scandalous to be printed in Alcott's lifetime, I immediately assumed that it was because of some sort of sexual content, but that isn't really the case. Instead the base cruelty of Tempest, which leads him to terrifying lengths in his pursuit to reclaim Rosamond, and pushes her equally far in her attempts to rid herself of her pernicous stalker, seem to be the reason for the much delayed publication of this novel. While on the one hand he's your stereotypical bad guy, every time that cliche would weaken his power over Rosamond, he suddenly breaks away from the mold and shows himself to be even more clever and ruthless than you expect. All the while Rosamond has to learn to think like him, while still remaining the sweet person she is. Mixed into all of that is commentary on women's attempts to escape abusive relationships that ring surprisingly true today. There are also fertile fields for commenting on what the strong relationships Rosamond creates with both males and females say about gender roles, but I'm all commented out.(less)

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Sep 04, 2010 Tonya rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, literary-classic, romance, thriller, would-recommend

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. My love for this book really knows no bounds. It was recommended to me by a very good friend and I can now see why. This is the kind of story other gothic romance / thrillers strive to be but fall short of becoming. The villain is crafty and cruel, selfish and truly evil. The heroine is very brave and strong without it seeming unnatural or impossible for the time she lives in. The side characters are memorable and used well without taking away from the main characters.

What I found really fantast...more My love for this book really knows no bounds. It was recommended to me by a very good friend and I can now see why. This is the kind of story other gothic romance / thrillers strive to be but fall short of becoming. The villain is crafty and cruel, selfish and truly evil. The heroine is very brave and strong without it seeming unnatural or impossible for the time she lives in. The side characters are memorable and used well without taking away from the main characters.

What I found really fantastic about the side characters were the strong women shown who weren't made out to be jealous or petty toward Rosamond, but were shown to help her be her friends. It's something you don't really see enough of in stories, so it adds a wonderful and unexpected dimension to an already deep story.

The weakest part of the story, in my opinion, is the sub-plot of Ignatius' love for Rosamond. However, even this serves the purpose of clearly defining her choices. There's Tempest representing the temptation to give in to pleasure and the easy path and there's Ignatius who, by his own struggle between love and duty, represents the more difficult but ultimately right path of forgoing temporary happiness and pleasure.

Now, while being the representations of these two choices could lead to the characters being cardboard cut-outs, they are instead skillfully given depth by Alcott. Even Tempest, who could be nothing more than a caricature, is given a bit of humanity in that he did love his son and was thankful the boy was alive. Ignatius could have been represented as almost saintly, but we do have some human moments, such as when he slips up during the confrontation in the moor and attacks Tempest for insulting Rosamond.

To be honest, the icing on the cake –what really tips this story from 4 stars to 5– is the small and subtle foreshadowing we have for the ending given at the very beginning of the story when Tempest talks about the vision he saw in a mirror. Add to that the ending which was so perfectly dramatic and dark and I can't help but love this book.(less)

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Apr 14, 2010 Jeffrey Taylor rated it 4 of 5 stars

This novel was never published during Louisa's lifetime, possibly because it presented Rosamond as a more independent woman than most male readers would have found acceptable. It's a very dramatic, Gothic novel and was written early in her career. The reason for the rejection given by Louisa Alcott's editor was that its 24 chapters was too long for serialization. Since each chapter was constructed to stand alone as an individual installment, each builds to a dramatic ending. After 24 chapters of...more

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Oct 27, 2009 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm reading all of Louisa May Alcott's early thrillers - but not all together, whew! They are overblown, heaving page-turners, usually with impossibly noble/beautiful/charming/accomplished heroines who either make a mistake in their choice of love interest or are pursued unwillingly. As I begin each of these I think well I want to read them all so I'll just keep going, and then almost inevitably I get caught up by Alcott's plotting or writing style and end up enjoying the book. They are not grea...more

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Sep 01, 2009 Laura rated it 2 of 5 stars

What I really liked about this book was the plot, which reminded me of Tess of the D'Ubervilles, as it circles around an innocent young woman who is taken advantage of-then hounded by-a man she tries to resist... Also, I recognized in Tempest a little bit of Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre, especially in his manner of speaking and spoiling the object of his affections, Rosamond. The comparisons to Mephistopheles early on were persistent throughout the book, reinforcing the idea that he was of a dem...more

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Aug 30, 2009 Meredith (Austenesque Reviews) rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you read the novel, Little Women and you think you know Lousia May Alcott, think again! This book is not about a family of girls making homespun quilts!

This is a suspense/thriller. With many tragic moments and unsettling events.

A restless girl at the age of 18 desires to lead a romantic and adventureous life. The only problem is she is trapped with her grandfather in home with no visitors or diversions! Until one day a mysterious man comes to call.

Our heroine finally escapes her grandfathe...more

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Aug 29, 2009 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-for-a-bookclub

I read this for one of my bookclubs, and it was a very interesting and different read. I loved Little Women as a girl, and I read some of Alcott’s gothic short stories also written under a pseudonym (Louisa May Alcott Unmasked Collected Thrillers) in a college literature class. This book was an interesting middle-ground between the two as it contained no supernatural elements, but had nothing like the happy ending of Little Women. Another reviewer commented that this book was the type of novel J...more

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Jul 13, 2011 Jen rated it 3 of 5 stars

I am surprised to give this 3 1/2 stars. I really wasn't expecting much going into it!

This novel was an unpublished ms. discovered a few years ago & published for the first time since it was too sensational to publish in Alcott's life. That info (along with the title) gives you an idea of the soap opera to follow. This book definitely reads like something the very dramatic Jo ofLittle Women would write! I enjoyed it on an academic level--particularly seeing Alcott in a new light and reading...more

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Apr 13, 2012 Maggie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am an adoring Alcott fan, from the Little Women period of my life/childhood (which includes all her books of that family, Little Men, Jo's Boys, etc.). I had to pick this book up when I saw it in a used bookstore, even if its title and back cover synopsis sounded like a cheap Fabio-endorsed romance novel.

Thankfully, it wasn't as sordid as your typical romance novel, having been initially written during the repressed Victorian era. The plot was well-paced and intriguing, although the characters...more

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Feb 06, 2012 Deborah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Writers' lives are filled with those stories of early manuscripts filed away, rejected for reasons often having nothing to do with their merit, discovered long after the writer is gone. The mere existence of a book written before 'Little Women' but considered 'too sensational' for publication was bound to rouse the curiosity of Louisa May Alcott fans, in particular, and the literary world, in general, when it came to light in 1995. Of course, the title -- 'A Long Fatal Love Chase' -- suggests an...more

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Dec 17, 2009 kingshearte rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-faves, romance, to-re-read, fiction

"'I'd gladly sell my soul to Satan for a year of freedom,' cries impetuous Rosamond Vivian to her callous grandfather. Then, one stormy night, a brooding stranger appears in her remote island home, ready to take Rosamond at her word. Spellbound by the mysterious Philip Tempest, Rosamond is seduced with promises of love and freedom, then spirited away on Tempest's sumptuous yacht. But she soon finds herself trapped in a web of intrigue, cruelty and deceit. Desperate to escape, she flees to Italy,...more "'I'd gladly sell my soul to Satan for a year of freedom,' cries impetuous Rosamond Vivian to her callous grandfather. Then, one stormy night, a brooding stranger appears in her remote island home, ready to take Rosamond at her word. Spellbound by the mysterious Philip Tempest, Rosamond is seduced with promises of love and freedom, then spirited away on Tempest's sumptuous yacht. But she soon finds herself trapped in a web of intrigue, cruelty and deceit. Desperate to escape, she flees to Italy, France, and Germany, from Parisian garret to mental asylum, from convent to chateau, as Tempest stalks every step of the fiery beauty who has become his obsession."

I had forgotten how much I love this book, so I'm very glad something reminded me of it recently, and I decided to return to it while waiting for my next library book to come in. While it may seem otherwise, from a few of my recent book choices, I don't actually re-read all that many books. Very few of them are worth it. This one is. The characters are engaging, and the story is riveting, even though you pretty much know the ending even if you haven't read before. Despite knowing, you still find yourself hoping that maybe this time, she'll manage to escape and build a new life; maybe this time, Tempest won't find her. But then he shows up and you find yourself reacting almost as strongly as Rosamond does. My one complaint is that even after reading it a few times, I still don't fully understand exactly how the ending comes about. But aside from that one small detail, I really do love this book.

What makes it even more interesting, in a way, is when it was written, and who wrote it. I have not yet actually read Little Women, but from all accounts, it certainly bears no resemblance to this. It's almost unfortunate that Alcott is so much more well-known for Little Women, when apparently she's written quite a few thriller-type stories, and if they're all as good as this one, she deserves way more recognition for them than she gets. This story wasn't even published until more than a hundred years after it was written, because it was considered too sensational, especially, one assumes, from a female author. But unlike many books written that long ago, that can be good, but you don't always relate well to the characters, because their situations are so different form anything you're likely to encounter today, stalking is still a pretty current issue. It's also nice to see creepy behaviour in fiction actually treated as creepy behaviour. So often, characters in movies or books go to such extreme lengths to win the affections of their targets, and we think it's cute and romantic, but if someone did that in real life, it would be seriously creepy. It's just kind of interesting to see that same kind of relentless pursuit characterized as what it actually is: creepy, scary stalking.

Anyway, I really do love this book, and while I will leave it alone for at least long enough that it's not too fresh in my mind, I expect I will eventually read it again, at least once.(less)

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Jan 04, 2009 Kristi rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 04, 2012 Bre Cregor rated it 3 of 5 stars

I sent my mother the 2011 movie version of JANE EYRE ( love it!).
She watched it with my sister-in-law.
I happened to call the day they had watched it.
My mother gave the phone to my sister-in-law.
A literature discussion ensued.
"You have NEVER read JANE EYRE or WUTHERING HEIGHTS?" said I.
"No, but have you ever read Louisa May Alcott's book, A LONG FATAL LOVE CHASE?" said she.
"Say what? The author that wrote LITTLE WOMEN?"
"Yes."
"No."
My sister-in-law sent the book to my mother a few weeks later.
I hap...more

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Aug 11, 2010 Melody rated it 4 of 5 stars

Do you know that Louisa May Alcott had written A Long Fatal Love Chase two years before the publication of her well-known, beloved Little Women? Considered too sensational to be published in the author's lifetime (that was in 1866), this book was buried among her other papers and in 1993, this caught the attention of editor, Kent Bicknell, and through good fortune and a generous backer enabled him to purchase it the following year (This information was printed on the last page of the book).

18-ye...more

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Dec 11, 2010 Jane rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: borrowed

“I tell you I cannot bear it. I shall do something desperate if this life is not changed soon. It gets worse and worse and I often feel as if I’d gladly sell my soul to Satan for a year of freedom.”

A dramatic opening certainly, but those are the sort of words that I’d never expect to hear from the mouth of a Louisa May Alcott heroine.

As the pages turned though I realised that the speaker, Rosamond Vivian was a young woman driven to extremes by her situation. An orphan, she lives alone with her g...more

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Dec 21, 2008 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is different from anything else Alcott has written (that I have read). It is much darker in tone and action. It is the story of a young woman -unloved, innocent, and lovely- who falls in love with an older, more experienced man. Time reveals him to be a villian, unworthy of her love and companionship, and she leaves him. Thus begins the long fatal love chase.

I really enjoy the evolution of Rosamund's character. She is always strong-minded, with a determination to do right. One of my f...more

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Jun 19, 2010 Kari rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I picked this up a the bookstore it cause quite a stir as none of the counter dwelling devotees of Alcott knew she ever wrote a romance. Its chock full of nearly every cliched image known to romance fiction, but that's part of its charm I think. She was quite young at the time of its writing, and she wrote what she thought would sell, not necessarily her truest deepest work. That's why its so fun though! If you love Alcott you'll get a kick out of it for sure. The biography I read about she...more

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Aug 28, 2011 Lori rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I would actually probably give this a 2.5 or 2.75 star rating. I found this book in a bunch of books I read as a teenager. I loved reading Little Women and An Old Fashioned girl growing up. I was further intrigued with this book since it was considered to be "too sensational" to be published while Alcott was alive. Keep in mind it was written in 1866 so it is old-fashioned and increeeeeeeeeedibly melodramatic with a dash of chauvinism (which is interesting since Alcott was pro women's rights). H...more

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About Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on November 29, 1832. She and her three sisters, Anna, Elizabeth and May were educated by their father, philosopher/ teacher, Bronson Alcott and raised on the practical Christianity of their mother, Abigail May.

Louisa spent her childhood in Boston and in Concord, Massachusetts, where her days were enlightened by visits to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s...more Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on November 29, 1832. She and her three sisters, Anna, Elizabeth and May were educated by their father, philosopher/ teacher, Bronson Alcott and raised on the practical Christianity of their mother, Abigail May.

Louisa spent her childhood in Boston and in Concord, Massachusetts, where her days were enlightened by visits to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s library, excursions into nature with Henry David Thoreau and theatricals in the barn at Hillside (now Hawthorne’s "Wayside").

Like her character, Jo March in Little Women, young Louisa was a tomboy: "No boy could be my friend till I had beaten him in a race," she claimed, " and no girl if she refused to climb trees, leap fences...."

For Louisa, writing was an early passion. She had a rich imagination and often her stories became melodramas that she and her sisters would act out for friends. Louisa preferred to play the "lurid" parts in these plays, "the villains, ghosts, bandits, and disdainful queens."

At age 15, troubled by the poverty that plagued her family, she vowed: "I will do something by and by. Don’t care what, teach, sew, act, write, anything to help the family; and I’ll be rich and famous and happy before I die, see if I won’t!"

Confronting a society that offered little opportunity to women seeking employment, Louisa determined "...I will make a battering-ram of my head and make my way through this rough and tumble world." Whether as a teacher, seamstress, governess, or household servant, for many years Louisa did any work she could find.

Louisa’s career as an author began with poetry and short stories that appeared in popular magazines. In 1854, when she was 22, her first book Flower Fables was published. A milestone along her literary path was Hospital Sketches (1863) based on the letters she had written home from her post as a nurse in Washington, DC as a nurse during the Civil War.

When Louisa was 35 years old, her publisher Thomas Niles in Boston asked her to write "a book for girls." Little Women was written at Orchard House from May to July 1868. The novel is based on Louisa and her sisters’ coming of age and is set in Civil War New England. Jo March was the first American juvenile heroine to act from her own individuality; a living, breathing person rather than the idealized stereotype then prevalent in children’s fiction.

In all, Louisa published over 30 books and collections of stories. She died on March 6, 1888, only two days after her father, and is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord.(less)

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“Wild roses are fairest, and nature a better gardener than art.” — 117 people liked it

“He was the first, the only love her life, and in a nature like hers such passions take deep root and die-hard.” — 43 people liked it

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