LMA wrote The Inheritance in 1849 when she was 16/17. Joel Myerson and Daniel Shealy found it among the Alcott papers in Harvard's Houghton Library as described in this article. It was published for the first time in 1997, two years after A Long Fatal Love Chase. A movie came out the same year, starring Cari Shayne and Thomas Gibson (Dharma and Greg/Criminal Minds). Another movie came out in 2013. I've only seen the first but they're both better than this tedious book.
Chapter 1
Lord Percy arrives to visit his friend Arthur. Arthur tells his sister amy, his cousin Ida, and his mother Lady Hamilton that Percy fell in love with his cousin, but he heard his brother say her name in his sleep and Angelica Schuyler-like, left them to be happy together until they both died. Percy is "devoted to his aged mother" and "admired for the generous deeds he has done and the blameless life he has led." Edith is also in the room, sitting with tears in her eyes. Percy comes in and wants to visit the estate's ruined chapel. Lady H and Edith stay behind. Percy hears Edith playing organ and singing and Arthur explains Edith is an orphan the dead Lord Hamilton "brought home from Italy when but a child." She teaches Amy music, painting, and Italian. Edith's exact age is never given, while Amy is sixteen.
Chapter 2
Descriptions of the character's personalities.
Chapter 3
Edith plays the harp for them. Lady H reminds Amy that her governess shoudn't socialize with her friends. Amy's like why not? Ida likes Percy but frowns because he bows too low to Edith. We learn that Edith's mom was an opera singer, Ida suggests this might not be true, and Arthur's like HDU. It's a love triangle!( Read more... )
Next up is Hospital Sketches, which is much better. Go read it.
Chapter 1
Lord Percy arrives to visit his friend Arthur. Arthur tells his sister amy, his cousin Ida, and his mother Lady Hamilton that Percy fell in love with his cousin, but he heard his brother say her name in his sleep and Angelica Schuyler-like, left them to be happy together until they both died. Percy is "devoted to his aged mother" and "admired for the generous deeds he has done and the blameless life he has led." Edith is also in the room, sitting with tears in her eyes. Percy comes in and wants to visit the estate's ruined chapel. Lady H and Edith stay behind. Percy hears Edith playing organ and singing and Arthur explains Edith is an orphan the dead Lord Hamilton "brought home from Italy when but a child." She teaches Amy music, painting, and Italian. Edith's exact age is never given, while Amy is sixteen.
Chapter 2
Descriptions of the character's personalities.
Chapter 3
Edith plays the harp for them. Lady H reminds Amy that her governess shoudn't socialize with her friends. Amy's like why not? Ida likes Percy but frowns because he bows too low to Edith. We learn that Edith's mom was an opera singer, Ida suggests this might not be true, and Arthur's like HDU. It's a love triangle!( Read more... )
Next up is Hospital Sketches, which is much better. Go read it.