Behind a Mask by Louisa May Alcott

I just read this for school and really liked it. Here is the review I wrote on goodreads and a link to a great librivox recording of it by Elizabeth Klett.

The wealthy Coventry family hires a captivating young governess named Jean Muir. Talented, witty, passionate and wise, one by one they fall under her spell. However, readers soon discover that Jean is not all that she seems. Will the Coventrys discover the truth before it is too late?

"Behind a Mask" is supposed to be a thriller, but to me it felt like a Bronte novel (which is to say, possibly thrilling to the average ninteenth century Catherine Morland type). I actually liked it quite a lot more than "Little Women", the book for which Louisa May Alcott is best known. It was exciting, and almost as enticing as it's heroine. And what a character! I don't know whether to think about her with repulsion or awe...or both. It's a short book, and I'd especially suggest it to Alcott, Bronte, or even Austen fans looking for a darker version of the classic poor-but-brilliant governess tale.

Behind a Mask on librivox