Hidden Hand

By E.D.E.N. Southworth

Book Overview

In Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth's "Hidden Hand," a captivating tale unfolds, exploring themes of inheritance, social class, and the complexities of a woman's role in a changing world. This meticulously prepared edition revives a powerful work of historical romance and gothic fiction.

Dive into a narrative rich with intrigue as the story navigates the nuances of revenge and societal expectations. Southworth crafts a compelling heroine, a strong female lead who challenges the constraints of her time. Exploring the societal landscape of the United States, the novel presents a portrait of women's lives and their struggles for autonomy and justice. "Hidden Hand" remains a testament to the enduring power of storytelling, offering readers a glimpse into a bygone era through the lens of captivating fiction.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1023308037
• ISBN13: 9781023308038
• Release Date: March 2025
• Publisher: Anson Street Press
• Length: 226 Pages
• Weight: 0.71 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Must Read!

My first dive into "real" literature and now I'm hooked thanks to this book. Starts a little slowly, but hang on. Once the excitement starts, you can't put it down. Uses lots of coincidences for plot resolution as was common for the time period, but this does not detract from the excellent quality. Much fun to read and well worth your time.

Great 19th century story!

This novel, originally written in 1859, begins with Colonel Warfield, "Old Hurricane," being called from his cozy bed into a raging storm to hear the deathbed confession of an old, black slave. It seems that the evil Gabriel Le Noir had killed his brother and taken his pregnant sister-in-law into hiding. This old slave attended the birth of the twins--one stillborn boy, one living girl--and hid the girl and raised her by herself. This girl, Capitola, was now living in New York City and was 13 years old. Old Hurricane fetches the girl and has her live with him as his ward. Meanwhile, the story of Marah Rocke and her 18 year old son Traverse begins. She's a wholesome, suffering single mother. Traverse is noble and hard-working. They are befriended by Doctor Day and his lovely daughter Clara. Traverse and Clara fall in love, but first, Traverse must establish himself as a doctor and so on. Evil tidings befall, and their love is thwarted. Will it ever work out? Meanwhile, back at Hurricane Hall, Capitola grows up and is quite a pistol. She's spunky, disobedient, and thoroughly enjoyable to read about. She captures a notorious criminal and escapes from a few of them as well. But, how do these stories tie together? Who is Col. Warfield's nephew? His estranged wife? How do the evil Le Noirs fit into this story? Will Traverse be shot in the army? Will Clara be force to marry Craven Le Noir? All these tantalizing questions are answered in a clean, entertaining story which leaves you with a happy ending. If you enjoy adventure with a somewhat predictable outcome, morals entwined in your stories, and don't mind young men who would die for their mothers, then I recommend this book to you. It's not overtly heavy on the morality and sentimentality as some old reprints are. If you're a cynical old jade who doesn't want to spend 400+ pages reading about these folk, then go watch some TV.

19th Century Literature Rocks

I checked this book out of my local library and after reading it just had to have a copy of my own. It's a fantastic example of a 19th century "Popular", what we today call a Gothic-Romance. This is what all the ladies were reading and even though it follows the formula used by writers of the period, it's still an outstanding page-turner. Descriptions, characters and plot are all well developed and it moves along quickly and easily. I'm thrilled to see it available here for others to enjoy! 19th Century Literature really can rock if you let it!

Reclaiming sentimental fiction

Southworth's novel maniupulates many of the tropes of sentimental fiction in a uniquely subversive way. She stuffs it all within her pages- the damsel in distress, the dastardly villian, the orphan- but ultimately achieves a surprisingly feminist ideology. Her heroine, Capitola, is self reliant, creative, and genuinely heroic. She romps through Southworth's pages comically overturning many of the 19th century's most concretized stereotypes about femininity. All told, it is a marvelous read, deceptively subtle, surprisingly subversive, impossible to set aside once begun due to its breathless narrative rate. Well worth the investment.

Excellent!

I just loved this book. I started out reading it for a class, but the class was cancelled. I finished it anyway, and I think everyone should read this book. Capitola is sassy and brave and daring and smart.Everything a heroine should be!!