The Baron's Gloves

by Louisa May Alcott, Stephen W. Hines (Editor)

Two rather young women, Amy and Helen, traveling with an older uncle, are doing the "tour" of Europe, and are supposedly soaking up education but secretly yearning for adventures and romance. At this wish for adventure, a pair of gloves suddenly drops beside them from a balcony above their hotel room near Coblentz. Ah, whose gloves? The two young men who enter the lives of these ladies are rich and eligible adventurers traveling through Europe, and agree to play a prank on the young women by becoming aides to their uncle.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Romance

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1868

About the author

Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known for writing the novel Little Women (1868) and its sequels Good Wives (1869), Little Men (1871) and Jo's Boys (1886). Raised in New England by her transcendentalist parents, Abigail May Alcott and Amos Bronson Alcott, she grew up among many well-known intellectuals of the day, including Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Alcott's family suffered from financial difficulties, and while she worked to help support the family from an early age, she also sought an outlet in writing. She began to receive critical success for her writing in the 1860s. Early in her career, she sometimes used pen names such as A.M. Barnard, under which she wrote lurid short stories and sensation novels for adults that focused on passion and revenge.
Published in 1868, Little Women is set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts, and is loosely based on Alcott's childhood experiences with her three sisters, Abigail May Alcott Nieriker, Elizabeth Sewall Alcott, and Anna Bronson Alcott Pratt. The novel was well-received at the time and is still popular today among both children and adults. It has been adapted for stage plays, films, and television many times.
Alcott was an abolitionist and a feminist and remained unmarried throughout her life. She also spent her life active in reform movements such as temperance and women's suffrage. She died from a stroke in Boston on March 6, 1888, just two days after her father's death.

Reviews

[Lilirose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uno dei tanti racconti che la Alcott inviava alle riviste per sbarcare il lunario prima del successo di Piccole donne e che si è rivelato esattamente quello che prometteva di essere: un piacevole divertissement senza alcuna pretesa letteraria.
E' la storia di due cugine in viaggio per l'Europa, tra piccole avventure e romantiche facezie; una commediola sentimentale che però ha il merito di ironizzare sul genere a cui appartiene, infondendo ritmo e verve ad una vicenda altrimenti frivola. Contribuisce allo scopo anche la scrittura vivace e brillante (d'altronde parliamo pur sempre di una grande autrice).
Poco altro da dire, la Alcott riesce a confezionare un raccontino più che dignitoso anche quando scrive prodotti in serie.

[Ariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was really easy to read but was the exact book I wanted to read...Romance with a little mystery. It certainly was super easy to read and some people may not like the slow pace, but I needed to read a book like this so it worked out.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely bellow my reading level but still a really good book. I read it on the car ride home and really enjoyed it.

[Hadlai · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first Alcott I’ve read since childhood and it’s truly like taking a romp through the female imagination. The kindred spirit was strong on page one (especially when several of my own haunts—the Rhine, Heidelberg Castle, etc.—are so prominent). I came away with plenty of ideas for enchanting illustrations.
However, I can’t help but be disappointed with the ending. It’s like she was attempting a Northanger Abbey -style satire of gothic romance, but where NA was a comedy from the start, The Baron’s Gloves plays it straight until the end. Ironically, the twist toward realism in the final chapter forced a greater suspension of disbelief than the fantastic intrigue leading up to it had. Indulgent as it may seem, I think the story would have been not only better but more enjoyable if it had remained a 100% homage to romance.

[Alejandro Lugo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Baron's Gloves, nestled within Louisa May Alcott's' collection "Proverb Stories," is a delightful blend of silliness, mystery, romance, and a dash of adventure. This short story encapsulates the essence of an easy and enjoyable read.

Alcott masterfully weaves a tale that explores themes of kindness and compassion, making it not just entertaining but also absorbing. The characters and their antics add a whimsical touch, creating a charming narrative. If you're in the mood for lighthearted yet meaningful story, this story is a worthy choice. A four-star recommendation for its unique blend of genres and timeless themes.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ecco uno di quei racconti lunghi che Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), al pari del suo alter ego letterario Jo March, scrisse per i periodici votati al genere gotico e thriller, di più ampio apprezzamento popolare. In realtà I guanti del Barone, (pubblicazione originale a puntate del 1868), è forse il primo dei testi che mostra la “doppia anima” della Alcott scrittrice: se da un lato Louisa recupera l’espediente di un mistero da risolvere – qui rappresentato da un paio di guanti senza proprietario – , dall’altro prende le distanze dai toni sensazionalistici e sorride di quegli stessi stratagemmi del filone a tinte fosche in cui si era già cimentata così bene (pensiamo, ad esempio, al cupissimo Un lungo fatale inseguimento d’amore).
Come spiega Marco Catucci nella ricca prefazione all’edizione italiana, con la sempre ottima traduzione di Elisabetta Parri, questa storia esplora una dimensione stilistica più intima e personale della Alcott, che decide di attingere dal proprio bagaglio di esperienze. Se con il suo best-seller Piccole donne riuscirà a trasporre su carta l’intenso legame con le sue adorate sorelle, qui è l’esperienza di viaggio in Europa con l’ereditiera Anna Weld, che Louisa accudisce e accompagna per lavoro, a fungere da spunto.
La trama ruota infatti intorno a due ragazze inglesi, tra loro cugine, Helen e Amy, che seguono il proprio zio in un viaggio tra Germania e Svizzera. La più giovane, Amy, esprime il desiderio di un’avventura che possa movimentare la loro tranquilla vacanza. Ed ecco che si troveranno a indagare su un paio di guanti maschili, rinvenuti sul balcone della stanza d’albergo in cui alloggiano a Coblenza, e soprattutto sul proprietario di essi…
L’ironia è una delle chiavi di interpretazione delle vicende narrate, che mescolano la parodia del genere gotico (anche qui si citano i romanzi di Ann Radcliffe, proprio come ne L’abbazia di Northanger di Jane Austen; inoltre sia Helen che Amy sono due appassionate lettrici, alla stregua di Catherine Morland) con la commedia dei sentimenti. I ritratti di Helen e Amy anticipano le sorelle March e i loro vezzi, desideri e difetti, così come tra i giovani personaggi maschili si nasconde il prototipo di Laurie. Devo confessare che la vera sorpresa è stata scoprire come tale figura sia nata da un’amicizia che Louisa strinse con Ladislas Wisniewsky, durante il soggiorno con la Weld a Vevey (si rimanda alla già citata introduzione per ulteriori dettagli).

La recensione a quattro mani con la mia amica Vera continua qui: https://perseinunbuonlibro.wordpress....

[M6 Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say? I loved this book. It's certainly just a wonderful read for girls of any personality. Very funny...and it has a super unique plot, not one I've ever read before. But, of course, in the end the guy gets the girl.

[Sarah Coller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh...didn't really love it. Definitely fanciful Victorian romantic silliness. So, I suppose it's a great "be cozy and chill" sort of a read---but not a lot of depth. Lots of flowery and dramatic "thous" and "shalls". I'll save it because it's Alcott, but not sure I'll read it again this decade.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not Alcott’s best short story. This is one of many in which she over-uses speech when she should use description or private thoughts. I am struggling as well to think up a good excuse for the chaperone and two men to lie for so long to the main characters.

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a sweet little story!

[Adrienne Organa · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first piece of work by Alcott that I hated. It was disgusting, promoting manipulation and deception over women by men. I was shocked and appalled.

[Kereesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

"See," she says, pointing at her book "I don't hate Louisa May Alcott. I gave this book a 3! A 3 damnit!"

[Julia Koehn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is both fiction and mystery. It was a little confusing in some parts, because the characters were very mixed up, but it straightened out at the end. I enjoyed it.

[Kathy Nealen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little novella with some humor and a happy ending, not so preachy like some of Alcott’s shorter works.

[Alicia Terrill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know if it counts as being read if I read the first two-thirds and then skimmed the rest, but I just couldn't get into it. I love Alcott, but I just couldn't focus and didn't really enjoy her sensational writing. Oh well . . .

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite short stories!!! It has a bit of adventure, romance, and mystery to please almost anyone.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

So cute and funny!