We all know Little Women. The squeaky clean, morally upright girls who, with Marmee's help, always do the right thing. Not many people know that Louisa May Alcott published a lot of stories, mostly thrillers, under the name of A.M. Barnard.
Behind the Mask is, perhaps, the most well-known of these and is printed in a rather nice little edition by Hesperus Press.
It is a work of sheer brilliance. It tells the tale of the Coventry family and their new governess Jean Muir. Little do the family know that Jean is not what she seems and she will scheme, deceive and manipulate to get exactly what she wants.
If you like your tales with a bit of edge and you would like to see a different side to Louisa May Alcott then you should read this and revel in it's delicious darkness!