Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) was an American novelist. She is best known for her 1868 novel "Little Women," set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts. "The Abbot's Ghost," written under the pseudonym "A. M. Barnard," features protagonists willful and relentless in the pursuit of their own aims. Written in a fiery style which was wildly popular at the time, her pseudonymous works achieved immediate commercial success.