The Strand Magazine - Issue 60, 2020

In this issue

In our 60th issue, we’re proud to present an unpublished Louisa May Alcott story, Aunt Nellie’s Diary, published here for the first time, is told from the perspective of a single and insightful forty-year-old woman who is responsible for the care of her teenage niece. Her niece’s beautiful, worldly friend is staying with them over the summer, as is a young man—Nellie’s friend’s handsome son. According to scholars, Aunt Nellie’s Diary was written when she was quite young; nevertheless Alcott displays sharp psychological insight into the characters who inhabit the seemingly carefree world of picnics, masked balls, and cozy carriage rides.

Alcott scholar Professor Daniel Shealy provides an introduction which looks at the historical and biographical context of this gem. Set during Gilded Age America, this 9,000 word story provides romance, the idyllic world of a time gone by, and characters who served as the inspiration for her future masterpieces.

Among our other short stories in this issue, David Marcum challenges Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to enter the world of international intrigue with “The Home Office Baby.” Against the backdrop of a diner, John Floyd serves us a heaping spoonful of menacing mobsters on the loose in “Biloxi Bound.” And last but not least, the inimitable Eoin Colfer with “Kevin of the Dead” invites us to meet a vampire who drives a stake into our stereotypes of the undead.