The Vanished Child [Paperback]

Sarah Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 1997

New England, 1887. A millionaire is brutally murdered. The only witness, his young grandchild, mysteriously disappears . . . Eighteen years later, in Switzerland, a man with no memory is "recognized" as Richard Knight, the missing child. Thus begins a masterpiece of historical suspense, as one man's obsession leads him toward a shattering truth--and to a killer, still at large. . . .

"Stunning . . . Tells a grim tale of murder and duplicity in stately prose that subtly enhances the psychological horrors."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Has all the ingredients of a juicy novel: greed, suspicion, love, madness and amnesia. Sarah Smith pulls it all together with a rare talent for telling a complex story in beautifully simple language."
--San Francisco Chronicle

"[A] deliciously intriguing tale. . . An artful literary puzzler featuring the kind of thick period detail and narrative intricacy mastered by Charles Dickens. . . This one belongs on the permanent shelf."
--The Philadelphia Inquirer

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Smith's first novel is a stunning tale of amnesia, child abuse and murder in turn-of-the-century New England.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

A chance encounter with a stranger on a train platform tears Alexander von Reisden from his ascetic devotion to his chemistry lab, and plunges him into a 19-year-old mystery involving the murder of a wealthy Bostonian and the disappearance of his grandson. Is von Reisden, as the stranger first thought, the missing heir to the Knight fortune or is he the European aristocrat he always believed himself to be? Helping the Knights face the demons of their past, von Reisden is forced to confront his own. Employing subtle Jamesian touches and his milieu of turn-of-the-century Boston, Smith deftly explores both the actual and the psychological mysteries surrounding the case. Highly recommended.
- Cynthia Johnson Whealler, Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, Mass.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (September 23, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345418050
• ISBN-13: 978-0345418050
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #863,338 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable!, May 30, 2002

By 

"janmcalex" (Humboldt, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Vanished Child (Mass Market Paperback)

Although the scientific jargon of the opening pages almost changed my mind about reading "The Vanished Child," I trudged through and found one of the most intriguing mysteries I have ever read.

Alex or Richard? Is the up-and-coming young scientist an Austrian baron or a missing American heir? A fortune depends on his identity and more is at stake than money. This tangle of intrigue is intelligent and somewhat haunting. One reviewer complained that not all of the loose ends were tidied up and that is true, but it leaves you thinking and involved long after the final "The End."

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complex and charming., May 25, 2000

By 

Kate Savage - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Vanished Child (Mass Market Paperback)

The Vanished Child is marvelous. I am actually writing this review about 1 1/2 years after I read it and it is still very clear in my mind. I read a lot of books and sadly many of them are something I remember reading, but not being involved in. I find myself visiting with the characters in this book from time to time. I especially liked the scene where Peridita is given a feminist pin and tucks it under her hat to better contemplate it.

I enjoyed the prose, I found it charming. I did not find the characters to be overly modern. In fact, I think Sarah Smith got it right on the head. After all, we are talking about contemporaries of Nietzsche, Freud and Susan B. Anthony. The main characters (Alexander and Peridita) shared something of the outsider's perspective of Nietzsche, Freud and Susan B. Anthony. The respectable class would at best feel an uneasy tolerance of them. Perdita being blind AND an artist. Alexander dark, complex and brooding - - a bit like Heathcliff and look how things turned out for him!

Other than the Alienist, I cannot think of any other book set in this period that picks up and runs these complex elements of one of the most interesting periods of intellectual history. However, the Alienist is more of a face paced thriller and The Vanished Child is more cerebral. Both are well worth reading.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly engrossing, despite the flaws, January 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vanished Child (Mass Market Paperback)

I despise myself for how much I enjoyed this book. I read it to the exclusion of family, food, and sleep. It's been a very long time since I have enjoyed a novel so much.

The characters are well-developed and interesting, and the author's technique of writing from the points of views of the different characters is quite effective. Smith has really done her homework on Victorian customs and life. But...

But the answers to the purported mystery are obvious in the first twenty pages, leaving little suspense in that arena. And the main characters, at least, have very modern sensibilities that jar with the Victorian setting. And though this book is well-written, some of the prose is terribly self-indulgent.

And yet, in the end, I didn't care about any of those flaws. Even without mystery or Victorian ambiance, the story is still very rewarding and enjoyable.

(And those interested in Smith will find some excellent short stories by her in Future Boston, a fine sci-fi collection.)