This is Alcott as you have never seen her before - gothic, and gloriously unsettling A young governess arrives at a grand country house and quickly wins the confidence of its family. Humble and modest, Jean Muir seems to embody every virtue expected of her. But beneath her meticulous performance lies a will sharpened by resentment, ambition and rage. BRIEF ENCOUNTERS: classic novellas and captivating stories, to be read in a single sitting or savoured over days