Hidden Hand

Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte SouthworthProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 492K words
Chapters: 50

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Hidden Hand by Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte SouthworthAuthor: Southworth, Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte, 1819-1899,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Aug 30, 2009

Editor's review

Hidden Hand is one of the representative works of E. D. E. N. Southworth, a bestselling nineteenth-century American novelist, and belongs to the genre of convoluted family saga and emotional suspense. Taking "the hidden hand" as its thread, the novel unfolds around secrets of birth, conspiracy, and the fate of women; its narrative pace is more gripping than that of much popular fiction of its day, its characters are clearly divided into good and evil, and its conflicts are concentrated. As a public-domain Project Gutenberg e-book, it preserves the original text and serves as a sample for observing how nineteenth-century American popular literature drew the mass readership through suspense and domestic ethics. In reading, one may note how the author uses secrets and misunderstandings to drive the plot, and the agency of female characters in adversity. For readers studying the history of popular fiction, women's writing, and mass reading culture, this is an easily accessible primary text; general readers would do well to enjoy it as an old-fashioned melodrama rather than judge it by the psychological depth of the modern novel.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy nineteenth-century domestic sensation fiction
Literature students studying American popular fiction and women's writing
Readers interested in themes of hidden parentage, conspiracy, and women's fate
Readers seeking free public-domain texts to understand early popular reading culture

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer modern psychological realism and complex characterization
Readers impatient with coincidence and clear-cut good and evil in old-fashioned melodrama
Specialists requiring detailed scholarly annotation and author biography research

Reading tips

Map the main characters and secret threads first to avoid confusion in the middle chapters
Treat "the hidden hand" as a structural thread and note how it surfaces in different chapters
Slow down where coincidences cluster and consider why the author uses chance to advance moral conflict
After reading, compare with women's fiction of the same era and note how good-versus-evil opposition and female agency are handled

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What does the title "Hidden Hand" refer to in the book?

The "hidden hand" in the title serves both as a plot thread and a symbol, usually linked to behind-the-scenes manipulation, secret intervention, and mysteries of parentage. Its specific reference is revealed gradually as the plot advances, and readers can treat it as a suspense thread running through the whole book.

Is this book similar in style to the author's other works?

Southworth is known for intricate plots and intense domestic sensation fiction, and this book follows the same path of secrets, misunderstandings, and women surviving adversity. Readers familiar with her other works will recognize similar popular narrative appeal; those new to her can use this book as an introductory sample.

What should I keep in mind when reading the electronic edition?

This is a public-domain electronic text, mainly plain text, and may lack a modern introduction and notes. It is advisable to mark characters and clues yourself, and not to struggle over old spellings or long sentences word by word—grasp the main plot first, then return to details.

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About the author

Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth Author · American · 1819–1899

Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth (1819–1899) was one of the best-selling popular novelists in nineteenth-century America. Over her career she wrote more than sixty novels, most set against family life and the post-war South, and she was known for portraying self-made men and independent, resilient women. Her plots are intricate and emotionally intense, with sentimental and romance elements, and her works circulated widely among women readers of her time. Representative works include The Hidden Hand, Ishmael, For Woman's Love, and Capitola's Peril. The library holds thirteen of her works, covering novels and domestic fiction. Public information on her early education and specific biography is limited, yet her novels occupy a place in the spread of nineteenth-century American popular literature and have influenced later popular fiction writing.