A Whisper in the Dark

Louisa May Alcott

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(3.1 stars; 9 reviews)

A Whisper in the Dark was published anonymously in 1877 and again in 1889, this time attributed to Louisa May Alcott, along with A Modern Mephistopheles. This story is a far cry from Alcott’s usual light fare for children. It’s a dark and melodramatic tale about Sybil, a young girl of seventeen, an orphan under the guardianship of her uncle and raised by a “Madame Bernard,” who is kind but tells her little of her origins. She slowly pieces together the truth, falling in love along the way but, after a misunderstanding, is imprisoned and nearly driven mad. This sensational novella is likely an example of the kind of story that Alcott’s Little Women character Jo March pumps out to buy “comforts for” the March family until she comes to her senses and burns all the manuscripts, realizing that they “are trash, … each … more sensational than the last.” - Summary by Winnifred Assmann (1 hr 50 min)