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The Cleverdale Mystery; or, The Machine and Its Wheels: A Story of American Life — Key Ideas to Explore

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Authors: Wilkins, W. A. Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2013 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Detective and mystery stories; New York (State) -- Fiction; Political corruption -- Fiction Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 71,759

Reading time 312 min

Text sections 7

The catalog record for The Cleverdale Mystery; or, The Machine and Its Wheels: A Story of American Life — Key Ideas to Explore provides practical reading context through 71,759 words, 5 hr 12 min estimated reading time, and 7 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 17.9 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Detective and mystery stories,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #42333

W. A. Wilkins's 1882 novel blends a Lake George mystery with political machine intrigue, following George Alden's rise from bank teller amid caucuses, corruption, and domestic sacrifice. The narrative shifts between scenic description and rapid plot turns, with a preface that frames the story as a moral lesson woven from reality and fiction.

Editorial Edition Score 4.7/5

★★★★★ ★★★★★

Calculated from edition completeness, EPUB availability, text structure and catalogue metadata. Not a user rating.

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Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg42333

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BEAUTIFUL LAKE GEORGE.

The world is full of charming spots that seem to be the original site of Paradise, but none show more perfectly the grace and grandeur of the Creator's handiwork than Lake George. Its limpid waters reflect the outlines of numerous islands--one for each calendar day of the year, yet each possessing beauties distinctly its own. The mirror of the lake's surface is framed by mountains of varying shape and size, yet each with special charms, while between them nestle lovely valleys, over which the eye never tires of roaming. In summer, every isle, hill, and valley is glorious with verdure; in winter they are dazzling in snowy vesture; but no matter what the season or condition, the lake and its surroundings are a constant source of delight to those who are fortunate enough to dwell on its shore.

It is to the credit of humanity that Lake George is a favorite place of resort during the summer, and that hundreds of families delight in building permanent summer homes there. Beautiful villas, picturesque hotels, tasteful cottages, unique cabins, and snowy tents abound on the water's marge, and pleasure boats of all sorts dance gaily on its waves. The vulgar, the dissipated, and stupid classes that haunt summer resorts seem to avoid Lake George; even humanity seems to endeavor to be in keeping with its surroundings at this beautiful retreat, and fair women, robust, active men, and healthy children are the rule at this modern Eden.

On the forward deck of a steamer that ploughed its way through the crystal waters on a bright summer day in 187- was a small party, consisting of Hon. Darius Hamblin, Mrs. Hamblin, Miss Belle Hamblin, and two little boys, George and Willie, aged respectively ten and six, with their nurse.

The Hon. Darius, a man of fifty-five, had served his district as New York State Senator at Albany for two terms. He possessed excellent judgment, and knew this so well that no one could help seeing that he was vain and inclined to be arbitrary in his manner. Mrs. Hamblin was a small, brown-haired lady, with whom time had dealt so gently that the unwelcome and indelible lines of approaching age had been sparingly distributed across a sweet and placid countenance.

Devoting her whole attention to the wants and pleasures of her children, she was not merely a kind mother, for with dignity and power she held the reins firmly in her grasp, although the high-spirited boys tightly champed the bits.

While the mother, as she sat on the steamer's deck, was all attention to her youthful treasures, the father discussed the politics and finances of the country with several gentlemen whom he chanced to meet. Thoroughly engrossed in conversation, he scarce noticed his daughter Belle, who, affectionately taking his arm, called attention to a landing the steamer was about to make.

As the boat drew in, there was seen a gathering bevy of males and females. Small row-boats hovered near the little coves surrounding the dock, and as great waves from the _Horicon's_ paddles dashed their snow-crested tops upon the rocks, the little craft danced upon the water, some girlish voices uttering exclamations of fear for their owners' safety. Several persons leaving the steamer were quickly surrounded by friends gathered to meet them.

In a moment the captain cried, "All aboard!" The engine resuming its work, the paddle-wheels lashed the water, many little boats shooting out into the swell. Those on the steamer eagerly watched the merry throng on the dock or the still happier ones rocked by the "rollies."

"Oh, papa," exclaimed Belle, "this is delightful! See that party on the little island--isn't it a funny sight? See that gentleman shaking a frying-pan over his head! See the other campers washing dishes in the lake! Oh, how I shall enjoy this month! We are to stop at the next landing, and in ten minutes will leave the boat. Oh, isn't it delightful!"

The father rising took his daughter by the arm, his manner indicating unbounded love and parental pride. Belle Hamblin was a beautiful girl scarcely nineteen years of age. Of medium height, she possessed a faultless form combining exquisite symmetry and grace. Full of animation when speaking, her tender blue eyes flashed intelligence and goodness, captivating every one who came within their reach.

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The preface to The Cleverdale Mystery announces a deliberate blend: “the warp of the fabric is reality, the woof fiction, the coloring domestic.” This editorial note traces how that fabric is stitched. The novel opens with a scenic set piece on Lake George—a storm-tossed lake that gives way to scheming politicians in a hotel room. The voice oscillates between leisurely description and brisk, almost journalistic, reporting of caucuses and conventions. Wilkins, a newspaper editor, often compresses time: a chapter may cover an election or a betrayal in a few paragraphs, while a character’s backstory unfolds over several pages. The result is a pace that mirrors the machine it depicts—sometimes grinding slowly, sometimes lurching forward.

A Preface That Promises a Fabric of Fact and Fiction

The author’s preface is unusually direct about method. Wilkins writes that he hopes “to impart information to some; reflect their own character to others; possibly point a moral, and by the tale interest the reader.” He then describes the book as having a “warp of … reality, the woof fiction, the coloring domestic.” This is not a conventional mystery preamble; it reads like an editor’s mission statement. The phrasing suggests that the political machinery—the “Machine and Its Wheels” of the subtitle—is drawn from life, while the mystery plot is the fictional thread. The domestic “coloring” is evident in the long, detailed backstory of George Alden’s family: his sister Fannie’s self-sacrifice, his father’s mental decline, and the careful accounting of savings and mortgages. These domestic passages are written in a plain, almost documentary style, contrasting with the more melodramatic scenes of political scheming.

Shifting Gears: From Lake George to the Caucus Room

The narrative voice changes markedly between the opening chapters and the political sections. Chapter I, “Beautiful Lake George,” uses a descriptive, almost touristic register: the lake is “tempest-tossed,” and the prose lingers on scenery. But by Chapter IX, “The Caucus,” the language becomes terse and procedural. Characters like “Hon. Darius Hamblin” and “Cyrus Hart Miller” are introduced with titles and epithets that signal their roles in the machine. The dialogue in these sections is clipped, full of deals and double meanings. For instance, the character list includes “Sargent — Purchasable commodity, convenient to his owner,” a blunt label that foreshadows how the narrative treats him. The pace accelerates: elections are won or lost in a single chapter, and the mystery itself—the “Cleverdale Mystery” of the title—is deferred until Chapter XXXIV. This structural choice means the reader must track both a whodunit and a political thriller, with the former often subordinated to the latter.

Domestic Interiors and the Weight of Money

Wilkins repeatedly returns to domestic scenes that ground the political intrigue in economic reality. The extended biography of George Alden (spanning several chapters) is filled with precise sums: “his sister’s savings of two hundred dollars added to his own fortune of two hundred and fifty.” These details are not mere color; they establish the financial pressures that drive characters. Fannie Alden’s music class, the mortgage on the family house, and George’s decision to become a salesman rather than pursue a profession all create a world where money is a constant concern. The narrative voice here is sympathetic but matter-of-fact, reporting hardship without sentimentality. This contrasts with the later, more sensational episodes—such as “The Attempted Suicide” or “The Cruel Letter”—where the prose becomes more dramatic. The shift in tone between these domestic passages and the political machinations gives the novel a dual texture: one part earnest family chronicle, one part cynical exposé.

Readers approaching The Cleverdale Mystery should be prepared for a work that resists easy categorization. The mystery promised by the title is only one thread; the novel is equally invested in the mechanics of political corruption and the quiet heroism of domestic life. Wilkins’s background as a newspaper editor shows in the brisk, reportorial style of the caucus scenes, while the family backstory reveals a more deliberate, novelistic pace. Pay attention to the chapter titles—they often signal a change in tempo, from “Beautiful Lake George” to “A Dirty Job.” The book rewards those who read for both plot and texture.

Years have passed since I first shelved The Cleverdale Mystery, yet its quiet picture of a man undone by hidden machinery—political, mechanical—still lingers. That same longing for truth beneath bright surfaces drew me later to The King of Diamonds: A Tale of Mystery and Adventure — Reading Notes. They share a certain hush before the reveal, a patient turning of keys. Warm company on a slow evening.