Dickens, Swinburne, and Macaulay all lavished praise on Hide and Seek, the third of Wilkie Collins&; novels (1854) and his first attempt at a mystery. In a letter to his sister-in-law, Dickens remarked: &;I think it far and away the cleverest novel I have ever seen written by a new hand &;. In short, I call it a very remarkable book.&; In this early effort, we find Collins &; considered English fiction&;s first detective novelist &; experimenting with the detective story and honing the skills of narrative and plot construction brought to such a high level in his later masterpieces, The Woman in White and The Moonstone.Besides its mystery-story elements, Hide and Seek succeeds as a warm, entertaining tale that blends domestic comedy, pathos, humor, and a smattering of social protest. It also enabled Collins to introduce a gallery of memorable characters: Mary Grice (nicknamed Madonna), the gentle deaf-mute whose mysterious origins and tragic early life form the basis of the novel; the engaging and voluble Zach Thorpe, of whom Mary is enamored; her guardian Valentine Blyth &; a failure as an artist but a success as a human being &; and Matthew Marksman, the strange and wild woodsman who finally unravels the shocking story of Mary&;s true origins.Hide and Seek is a distinct departure from the lurid melodrama of Collins&; second novel, Basil, and a milestone in the author&;s progress toward maturity as a novelist. In its pages readers will find the ingenious plot construction and storytelling skill that Collins felt to be the true calling of the novelist.Admirers of Wilkie Collins &; and Victorian fiction in general &; will savor the novel&;s vivid descriptions of exciting events, its sustained power of imaginative suggestion, and the author&;s shrewd and compassionate depiction of Victorian manners and morals. Read Less