One-sentence summary: Naive Rosamond is seduced by the vile Philip Tempest and when she tries to leave him, he begins to obsessively stalk her.

Why did you get this book?: Alcott and potboiler fangirl.

Do you like the cover?: No, but there's nothing exciting about it. It looked a bit like a romance novel.

Did you enjoy the book?: Loved it, but I knew I would. The plot rests on a series of improbable coincidences so if you're a stickler for character development and tight plotting, don't bother. But if you like a good potboiler, dig in! ( )

http://bookchronicle.wordpress.com/20... ( )

I gave this novel and 3 star because I decide if I really like the story. I didn't enjoy reading about a cruel friend or lover and how he manipulated her life. But it was fast reading and it did keep interest going. ( )

Rosamond is a young woman of seventeen who is tired of her isolated, safe life with her unsentimental grandfather. When one of her grandfather's cardplaying students, Philip Tempest, enters her life, she is captivated by his charm and good looks. Tempest is a personable and determined man with dark secrets in his past, and an unfortunate resemblance to Mephistopheles. When he wins Rosamond from her grandfather in a card game, he sweeps her off in his yacht and marries her. They have a year of happiness (for Rosamond loves him too) until events conspire to reveal a secret that would drive Rosamond from him forever.

Rosamond is an interesting heroine and her penchant for escaping out of windows reminds me of Marian from Collin's The Woman in White. Philip Tempest is very much like Marcus Vinicius of Sienkiewicz's Quo Vadis in his utterly relentless pursuit of the woman he loves, but unlike Vinicius Tempest never repents. Yet for all that I could not dislike him... is it terrible that I was rooting for him til the bitter end? The hints of mythology and literary villainy added great atmosphere to the story.

A Long Fatal Love Chase was considered too sensational to be published during Alcott's lifetime, even though she did go back and try to expunge the scandalous parts. I have to say I enjoyed it a great deal more than Little Women. Classic though it is, I never could get over the moralizing that seems to appear on every page of LW. A Long Fatal Love Chase was different. Though the plot was somewhat contrived, the characters were interesting and I really did want to find out how things would end. I should have just looked at the title for that... ( )

very good indeed. Glad to see it in publication, and likely my favorite story and character of Alcott's. ( )