booklady's Reviews > Hide and Seek

Hide and Seek is Collins’ third novel and first mystery. The novel neatly divides into two distinct sections, “The Hiding“ and “The Seeking” with an opening chapter about the youth, Zach Thorpe. In the Introduction to the Dover edition of the book, the American Collins’ biographer, Nuel Pharr Davis, claims that the prologue as well as long passages of “The Hiding“ are “consistently and indiscreetly autobiographical.” If so, the young Wilkie experienced a rather grim Victorian childhood under a strictly religious father. The Intro also asserts Collins was probably emboldened to do this because of his friendship with Charles Dickens who had recently written his own semi-autobiographical novel, David Copperfield. Collins dedicates his novel to Dickens.

Hide and Seek is a fine read, an interesting story. Collins introduces memorable characters: Mrs. Peckover, the wife of a clown; Valentine Blyth, a sentimental man, who walked away from a life of wealth for the love of art, married to his beloved invalid wife; Zach, an energetic, charismatic but directionless youth; Mat, a mysterious vagabond returning from America, having made his fortune but lost his scalp who befriends Zach; the pretty deaf-mute, Mary, also called, “Madonna,” among others.

There is pathos surrounding Madonna’s birth and the mystery of her parentage. But there’s also some fine humor. One scene in particular where Valentine is trying to explain his painting of Christopher Columbus to his audience was particularly good for a number of reasons. It gives a window on Victorian entertainment in vogue, prevalent understanding of history, (completely unPC for today, but much like what I learned growing up) and medical science, and that competitions between professions were as common then as now.

Although not up to The Moonstone, which I love, not at all bad.

Cannot remember when I picked up this little gem, but it made me look up Collins on Amazon; discovered most of his novels are available for free kindle download. He is not Dickens, but there are evident traces of his mentor.