The Abbot's Ghost, or Maurice Treherne's Temptation by Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott (November 29, 1832 - March 6, 1888) was an American novelist and poet best known as the author of the novel Little Women (1868) and its sequels Little Men (1871) and Jo's Boys (1886).[1] Raised by her transcendentalist parents, Abigail May and Amos Bronson Alcott in New England, she also grew up among many of the well-known intellectuals of the day such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

A basic introduction to the ancient system of astrology based on the Chinese lunar calendar from the author of Simple Feng Shui. Introduced by the emperor Huang Ti between 2700 and 2600 B.C.E., Chinese astrology is based on the culture’s lunar calendar, which is made up of five cycles of twelve years each, with a complete cycle taking sixty years. According to legend, Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed earth, but only twelve came to pay their respects. To honor them, he named a year after each animal in the order that they appeared: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. These became the twelve astrological signs that determine your personality, behavior, and proclivities according to the year and time of day you were born. This age-old practice tells you what to expect—in life, career, and romance—in the coming years. Featuring illustrations and tables, this guide makes this exacting science and art of divination and personal analysis accessible to Western readers.

Six years before she wrote Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, in financial straits, entered "Pauline's Passion and Punishment," a novelette, in a newspaper contest. Not only did it win the $100 prize, but, published anonymously, it marked the first in the series of "blood & thunder tales" that would be her livelihood for years. In Behind a Mask, editor Madeleine Stern introduces four Alcott thrillers: "Pauline's Passion and Punishment," "The Mysterious Key," "The Abbot's Ghost," and the title story, "Behind a Mask." First published in one volume in 1975, they are regarded as Alcott's finest work in this genre.