A Simpleton: A Story of the Day was published by Chapman & Hall in 1873, and it is one of Reade’s more straightforward novels — the story of a good man undone by a bad marriage and redeemed by his own abilities and courage.
Dr. Christopher Staines is the “simpleton” of the title — a brilliant young physician whose intelligence does not extend to understanding women. He marries Rosa Doolittle, a beautiful but vain and extravagant woman whose spending drives them into debt. When the marriage collapses, Christopher goes to southern Africa, where he practices medicine among the Boer settlers and the native populations, and eventually discovers diamonds in the Kimberley region.
The African sections are the most interesting part of the novel, both for Reade’s research into the early diamond rush (he drew on published accounts of the Kimberley discoveries of 1867–1871) and for his treatment of race, which is complicated: he depicts the African populations with more respect than most of his contemporaries, while still operating within the assumptions of Victorian imperialism. The medical scenes — Christopher treating diseases in conditions of extreme deprivation — have the authentic detail that Reade’s research method guaranteed.
Collecting A Simpleton
First edition (Chapman & Hall, London, 1873): Three volumes, cloth.
Market values:
- First edition, three volumes: $60–$150
- Single-volume editions: $8–$20