num_pages: 111
description: When demure Scottish governess Jean Muir arrives at the wealthy Coventry household, the family couldn't be more thrilled with their new young resident. But Jean proves to be no meek and mild governess, but rather a proud and passionate woman with a mysterious past. As she begins to weave her duplicitous spell, the Coventrys quickly surrender one by one to her 'innocent' charms, all quite beguiled by her grace and beauty. Soon the men are quarrelling for her attention, and the women beside themselves with jealousy. Delighted with her success, Miss Muir sets her sights on the highest prize--an association which will secure her future and put an end to her scheming; but she has only three days to claim her victory before the truth, behind her mask, will be exposed.A world apart from the type of domestic fiction that Louisa May Alcott is generally associated with, Behind a Mask is a dark and ingenious study of deception and betrayal, in which Alcott reveals the ruthless power of a woman scorned.
language: English
title: Behind a Mask
titlecomplete: Behind a Mask (Hesperus Classics)
characters: Hester Dean, Lillian Trevlyn, Gilbert Redmond, Barbara Saint Just, Edith Snowdon, Gerald Coventry, Pauline Valary, John Coventry, Paul Jex, Maurice Treherne, Richard Trevlyn, Manuel Laroche, Edward "Ned" Coventry, Sir Jasper Treherne, Jean Muir, Bella Coventry, Lucia Beaufort, Octavia Treherne, Lady Alice Trevlyn
genres: Historical Fiction, Womens, Gothic, Literature, Classics, Mystery, Feminism, Romance, Fiction, 19th Century
ratings_count: 1959
places: England, United Kingdom
publisher: Hesperus Press Limited