Rating: 
Summary: A Pretty Good Book, Could Have Been Better
Review: A friend, who along with me is a great fan of romances, handed me this book during school, telling me it was a fablous book. She had seen the movie, and had gotten the book afterwards. As I read this, I found it intresting, but a little slow. It is a very predictible book, but what really got me is the character development. That was the best part of the whole book! This book is worthwhile, but I have read better.
Rating:
Summary: Good youthful effort by Alcott
Review: According to a note on the text in the Penguin Classics edition, "The Inheritance" was written by Louisa May Alcott when she was only 17 years old. This novel tells the story of Edith Adelon, an Italian orphan who lives with the aristocratic Hamilton family. This is a sentimental, romantic story about love, treachery, and a family secret. Class stratification is a significant theme.Yes, the characters are fairly shallow, the plot is predictable, and the dialogue is often very stiff and corny. But I found "The Inheritance" quite charming and enjoyable. The mild suspense leads ultimately to a satisfying conclusion. Along the way are some memorable scenes, such as a sequence involving the creation of historical tableaux. The Penguin Classics edition includes an excellent, substantial introduction by Joel Myerson and Daniel Shealy. They discuss Alcott's remarkable life and career and place "The Inheritance" in literary and cultural context.
Rating:
Summary: Good youthful effort by Alcott
Review: According to a note on the text in the Penguin Classics edition, "The Inheritance" was written by Louisa May Alcott when she was only 17 years old. This novel tells the story of Edith Adelon, an Italian orphan who lives with the aristocratic Hamilton family. This is a sentimental, romantic story about love, treachery, and a family secret. Class stratification is a significant theme. Yes, the characters are fairly shallow, the plot is predictable, and the dialogue is often very stiff and corny. But I found "The Inheritance" quite charming and enjoyable. The mild suspense leads ultimately to a satisfying conclusion. Along the way are some memorable scenes, such as a sequence involving the creation of historical tableaux. The Penguin Classics edition includes an excellent, substantial introduction by Joel Myerson and Daniel Shealy. They discuss Alcott's remarkable life and career and place "The Inheritance" in literary and cultural context.
Rating: 
Summary: An undiscovered treasure? Unfortunately not
Review: After the recent publication and success of the long lost "The Long Fatal Love Chase", researchers have been energetic in their unearthing of more "undiscovered/unpublished" Alcott manuscripts. I have read and enjoyed the rather sensational and lurid "Love Chase" but it was interesting pulp fiction! The same cannot be said for the first novel Alcott wrote and never published. "The Inheritance" is a sentimental Victorian love story that traces the fortunes of one Edith Adelon as she eeks out a living on the charity of the wealthy Hamiltons. Chance throws the very eligible Lord Percy into her life as well as the temptress, Lady Ida who tries to wreck her opportunity at love and respectable marriage. The true identity of Edith's birth is introduced rather sloppily and then she lives happily ever after with her true love. It is rather fortunate that Alcott did not attempt to pen "Little Women" at this stage and the maturity she demonstrated in that work would have done wonders on this novella
Rating: 
Summary: The Greatest Love
Review: Alcott's first novel is a tale of the greatest love one human being can show another--that of friendship, respect, and honor. I find Lord Percy and Edith model characters of the way men and women should treat each other (both sexes). Excellent picker-upper-of-a-story, too. How can you not helped but be inspired by their examples, especially in contrast to Lady Ida and Lord Arlington. 5-stars in my book--it's a keeper!
Rating:
Summary: Dramatic love story
Review: Edith Adelon is an orphan that was taken in by a rich family. She lives as both a servant and a member of the family. She meets Lord Percy, and they fall in love with each other, but a jealous Lady Ida tries her hardest to keep them from being together. It isn't what is considered typical Alcott; it is a love story, taut with drama and betrayal. It is simplistically written and sketchy, but it is still written with the Alcott charm. I enjoyed it very much, but I don't rate it as one of my books to recommend.
Rating:
Summary: A Charming Romance
Review: For a young lady at seventeen, I was impressed by the writing which obviously developed more as she grew up. This book was charming and it deserves five stars for the well character development and the plot which took me so far into the lives of everyone involved. As for the plot, I was astonished how much I was taken into each of the lives and empathized for the protagonists. The love and desire Lord Percy possessed for Edith was not only noble, but it encouraged me that there are still those who seek righteousness and purity. The story was simply delightful and I like to think Miss Alcott enjoyed the writing very much uplifting pure and innocent love. Bravo to the youth writer and to those who love sweet stories of true love or of classic writings, this is a charming romance to read.
Rating:
Summary: Some rather harsh reviews...but what a piece of work!
Review: I agree with the reader from Illinois...sure, it's not the best piece of work in the world, but you can see her talent and how she and her writing matured, making her one of the most popular authors. The story itself is very good, and the character development impressed me. It is somewhat predictable, but what do you expect from an aspiring 17 year old author? I actually saw the TV movie first (that aired in 1997), and I enjoyed that so much that I wanted to read the book. I've been looking for the movie ever since, and finally just found it on video after searching for 3 years. (Drop me an email if you haven't found it yet...its hard to find) I would recommend both the book and the movie to anyone who enjoyed Alcott's "Little Women" and/or LM Montogmery's "Anne of Green Gables" series.
Rating:
Summary: This book had a lovely romantic twist to it!:)
Review: I am not a great fan of Mrs. Alcott, but when I began reading this book, I was immeditaly hooked. The plot was so interesting and something happened in each chapter--and whatever happened always had to do with Edith--wheather it was Lady Ida cursing her or Lord Percy admiring her--it always had to do with her. This book had a romantic feel to it, and it wasn't how I would have expected it to be. The romantic part was kept hush-hush amongst the charecters--but the irony of it was everyone knew about it. I really enjoyed this book and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a new summer book. It's great!
Rating: 
Summary: BAD
Review: I can see why it wasn't originally published. The main character was to sweet and nice. I couldn't stand her! Don't waste your time on this book. Read one of L.M. Alcott's more popular fictional works.
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