On the Hidden Hand

I honestly love this book. I was slow to start it when I saw on Goodreads that it was 500 pages long, but I knew it was important given that it was the first American novel to sell one million copies. From the start, I knew that I would be in for a ride. With such recognizable, distinctive characters like Old Hurricane, Capitola Black, Colonel Le Noir, Traverse Rocke, and Black Donald, Southworth’s book runs at a nice clip balancing intrigue with action and character-building. At time, the book reads a bit melodramatic, but it doesn’t significantly take away from the rest of the plot.

I was disappointed, however, that the book ends on such a large cliff-hanger. I had no idea that this work had a sequel, and I sorely wish that it could have been a self-contained story. I’m sure I’ll read the sequel at some point, but there are so many sub-plots and none of them are resolved at the end of this story. Even with book series, stories should be self-contained and there is nothing here that’s self-contained.

Finally, someone needs to do an analysis of blackness in this story (maybe there already is one, but I’m not aware of it). Many of the characters are referred to as black in some way or another (although white, Capitola’s surname is Black, Colonel Le Noir is the overarching villain, Black Donald is a more immediate villain and he is described as having a “black soul”) and there is a sprinkling of southern racism throughout the entire text. For instance, in the first chapter, Southworth refers to slaves on Old Hurricane’s manor as “darkies.” Woof. I get that racism was widespread in antebellum America, but I’ve read many early American books and none of them have the same level of discussion of black-ness as there is here. Even Sheppard Lee, Written by Himself doesn’t have the same level as this one.

Nevertheless, I flew through this thing, and Southworth’s writing is captivating (if filled with clichés). It’s a must-read for those who enjoy early American literature.