The Hidden Child by Louise Fein

 

The Hidden Child by Louise Fein.

Published 2nd September 2021 by Head of Zeus.

From the cover of the book:

From the outside, Eleanor and Edward Hamilton have the perfect life, but they're harbouring a secret that threatens to fracture their entire world...

London, 1929.

Eleanor Hamilton is a dutiful mother, a caring sister and an adoring wife to a celebrated war hero. Her husband, Edward, is a pioneer in the eugenics movement. The Hamiltons are on the social rise, and it looks as though their future is bright.

When Mabel, their young daughter, begins to develop debilitating seizures, they have to face an uncomfortable truth: Mabel has epilepsy – one of the 'undesirable' conditions that Edward campaigns against.

Forced to hide their daughter away so as to not jeopardise Edward's life's work, the couple must confront the truth of their past – and the secrets that have been buried.

Will Eleanor and Edward be able to fight for their family? Or will the truth destroy them?

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It's easy to think that ideas about genetic purity are confined to the past along with people like Adolf Hitler and his Nazi acolytes, and that we now come across such visions only in the pages of history texts and Dystopian fiction. However, Louise Fein's excellent second novel The Hidden Child, makes us think again by examining in shocking clarity how the ideas on which Hitler based his philosophy came from thinking that was widespread in the early 20th century through the eugenics movement, even throughout the USA and the UK .

Fein introduces us to the subject via the fictional Hamilton family. Living in London in 1929, the Hamiltons seem to have the perfect life. Eleanor Hamilton is the epitome of feminine perfection of her era - the dutiful mother to young Mabel with another child on the way, caring sister to Rose, and loving wife of WWI hero Captain Edward Hamilton - and all seems rosy in their leafy corner of Surrey. Edward is making a name for himself in the right circles as an exponent of the eugenics movement and their future is bright.

However, when Mabel develops epilepsy the Hamiltons are forced to confront their eugenic principles. Epilepsy makes Mabel one of the 'undesirables' Edward is so very keen to remove from society, not to mention the fact that this brings into the question the purity of his own and his wife's genetic credentials. As Mabel's condition becomes too advanced to hide from prying eyes, and with Edward's reputation at stake, she is secretly consigned to a barbaric treatment regime in an institution from which it is unlikely she will ever return.

Eleanor is destroyed by the fate of her daughter and comes to question the beliefs that Edward still holds so dear now the consequences of such thinking have touched their own family. How can she abandon her daughter and bring up another child as though Mabel no longer exists? Perhaps the ambitious ideas that Edward and his colleagues are so determined must become the foundation of government policy are not the solution they claim to be? As Eleanor discovers that Edward is harbouring secrets that call into question not just his theories, but the very nature of the man she thought she knew so well, can she remain the dutiful wife everyone believes her to be? There must be another way...

There is so much I want to praise about this book! It is a compelling and emotional tale that pulls you in with its intimate portrayal of a family shattered by a twist of fate, that draws heavily on Fein's own experience as the mother of a child with epilepsy. It kept me engrossed from the first page to the last, shining a light on some very uncomfortable historical facts, while entertaining and educating about the customs, attitudes, anxieties and struggles of the wider time and place in the way that only a talented author can. In setting this tale against the backdrop of the huge social changes that played out between the wars Fein skilfully touches on practically every aspect of what marks this era as so fascinating, alongside her examination of eugenics.

Fein pulls no punches in laying out the ideals of the popular eugenic movement of 1929, and I defy you not to be both disturbed by the views espoused, and horrified by the familiar names of some of the people that supported its ideology, and yet, by and large these were ordinary people who genuinely believed their intentions were for the good of society which makes it all the more chilling. As someone with a background in psychology, I was aware of some of these details, but even I was shocked to learn how widespread these views were, and of the sheer scale of the atrocities visited upon the poor souls dubiously deemed unfit. It's particularly distressing to think of the end results of these views, and there are many moments when hindsight gives you a shiver up the spine at the hints of things to come at the hands of eugenics supporters like Josef Mengele. 

But there is so much more, dear reader... 

In keeping with the theme of the story, Fein tells us a lot about the views of epilepsy and the barbaric forms of treatment meted out to sufferers, including small children - and the suspicion of new treatments by the establishment. Much of this is distressing and difficult to read, as it should be to our modern sensibilities, but in choosing epilepsy as her subject Fein also makes us think about the perception of disability both then and now. The notion that a person with epilepsy could be labelled as worthless to society from childhood is particularly upsetting I think, as I have had the pleasure to know more than a few wonderful children with this condition during my time as a school librarian - and I am pretty sure I am not alone in this. Does anyone really have the right to decide the worth of another's existence? 

I did enjoy the way Fein includes epilepsy itself as a character in the novel, with asides that break in at pivotal times in Mabel's story, personifying it in a way that contrasts its harsh nature with the cruelty of humankind. It's quite a brilliant story device, and actually builds rather a lot of tension into the story with some lovely misdirection.

Through the beautifully drawn characters we come to understand the wider events that have shaped them into who they are, and the paths they are destined to follow. There are lovely touches of glamour from descriptions of location, decor and clothing; of the dying days of the country house party set with fast cars and a desperate need for fun to chase away the shadow of the Great War; and of sojourns to exotic locations in Europe; but alongside this beguiling side of the era we get a glimpse at how poverty overshadows many lives, and some interesting observations on the aspiring middle classes.

There are myriad threads about women's emancipation and their reluctance to return to the domestic sphere after enjoying the freedoms granted to them through their wartime efforts, including sexual freedom and the greater availability of birth control - particularly through Rose's story and Eleanor's dawning frustration with her lack of intellectual freedom. In addition, Fein goes to great efforts to ensure we understand what is happening in the political sphere that is provoking a call for better rights for working men and women and a change in the social order, leading to unrest among all the classes. 

I was also struck by the moving way she delves into the lives of those who returned from the trenches as changed men, often profoundly physically damaged and mentally scarred. The way this is used to great effect in motivating Edwards's actions in particular is rather clever, and this lends him a realistic complexity, making him a much more sympathetic character with scope for redemption than he might otherwise appear given some of the things he does in these pages. 

I could go on and on... but I very much want you to go and read it to discover its delights for yourselves. This really is an astonishingly good novel on every single front that tugs mercilessly on the heart strings, and thrums with the love of family and the bonds of motherhood, but if that was not enough, it also does what the very best kind of historical fiction should do by highlighting exactly how history can teach us lessons about our own time. Many of the ideas rooted in the eugenic philosophy still receive support today, despite our beliefs that we live in more enlightened times, and we need to be wary that so called solutions are not taken to extremes in many areas of life in the name of progress. Danger lies in the fear and suspicion of those we see as different, and the all too persistent need for humankind to blame its misfortunes on others. If this tells us anything, it is that a desire to improve the lot of others through kindness, acceptance, and compassion should be the real focus of our lives, and making decisions on pseudo-science and false conclusions should be avoided at all costs. An important lesson indeed.

There is so much to reflect on here, all tied up in an incredible novel that made me sob with both sadness and joy. Louise Fein's writing is truly wonderful, and I am aching for more - her debut People Like Us has just moved to the top of my reading pile so keep your eyes peeled for my thoughts on it soon! 

The Hidden Child is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to  Head of Zeus for sending me a prof of this novel in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Louise Fein is the author of People Like Us, her debut novel. It is a story of forbidden love and the brainwashing of a nation, set in 1930's Leipzig, and was inspired by the experiences of her family who fled Leipzig as refugees in 1933. The novel has been published in thirteen territories and has been shortlisted for the RSL Christopher Bland Prize 2021, as well as for the RNA Historical Novel of the Year award 2021. Her second novel, The Hidden Child, is set in 1920's England and tells the story of a couple who are ardent supporters of the burgeoning Eugenics movement, until their own daughter turns out to be not quite perfect. She holds an MA in creative writing from St Mary's University, London, and lives in Surrey with her family.