Colin Clink, Volume 2 (of 3)

In Short

Colin Clink, Volume 2 is a mid-nineteenth-century English serial novel by Charles Hooton that blends melodrama, social satire, and gothic intrigue. Picking up the sprawling fortunes of its titular youth, this middle volume follows Colin as he flees rural Yorkshire for the bewildering streets of London. Meanwhile, back in the provinces, a sinister country doctor named Rowel goes to murderous lengths to conceal a wealthy man he has illicitly confined in an asylum. Richly detailed in its depiction of Victorian lowlife, the novel has endured as a vivid, unvarnished portrait of period class struggles and institutional cruelty.

The Story

The narrative opens in Yorkshire amidst tense domestic intrigue. At Miss Sowersoft’s farm, the servant girl Fanny is cruelly interrogated and turned adrift for keeping a secret entrusted to her by a physician. That physician, the villainous Dr. Rowel, finds himself in a desperate battle of wits with the unscrupulous lawyer Skinwell. When Skinwell threatens to expose Rowel’s profitable, illegal incarceration of James Woodruff—Fanny’s long-lost father, whom Rowel keeps imprisoned in a private asylum—Rowel acts with ruthless speed. Taking advantage of an accident that leaves Skinwell insensible, Rowel poisons the lawyer to silence him permanently. Before dying, however, Skinwell whispers the truth about Woodruff to Fanny.

When Colin Clink learns of the atrocity from Fanny, he resolves to investigate. Driven to escape local vengeance and the hostility of Miss Sowersoft’s brutish foreman, Palethorpe, Colin hides under hay-trusses in a wagon and flees to York, eventually making his way to London. There, the wide-eyed youth is plunged into a confusing, noisy metropolis. He rents a squalid attic from Mrs. Popple, visits tavern concerts, falls briefly under the spell of a dying singer, Miss Wintlebury, and gets swindled out of his scarce funds. His nemesis, Palethorpe, pursues him to London on Miss Sowersoft’s orders, but Colin turns the tables on the drunken brute, dumping him into a muddy bricklayer’s pit.

To survive, Colin takes employment as a live-in laborer for Peter Veriquear, an eccentric, dismissive dealer in old bones and bottles in Bethnal Green. Defending the bone-yard at night with the thigh-bone of a horse, Colin continues to display a fierce, honest spirit. His noble character attracts the attention of Squire Lupton, a wealthy gentleman who takes Colin under his wing, offering him an education, financial backing, and decent lodgings.

Yet dark family secrets soon collide. Back in Yorkshire, Dr. Rowel cleverly foils attempts by Fanny and her lawyer ally, Sylvester, to rescue Woodruff from captivity by moving the prisoner to a secluded forest setting. Meanwhile, Colin’s grandfather, Jerry—consumed by a vengeful crusade against Squire Lupton over past wrongs—attempts to murder the Squire. After a violent confrontation on a cliffside, Jerry leaps into the river. In the aftermath, the Squire and Colin confront the shocking truth of their relationship: Squire Lupton is Colin’s biological father, making the murderous Jerry Colin’s own maternal grandfather. The volume ends with Colin torn between loyalty to his newly revealed father and terror for his grandfather’s fate.

How It Unfolds

A servant turned adrift Miss Sowersoft and Mrs. Clink corner young Fanny, demanding she reveal what Dr. Rowel told her in confidence. When Fanny refuses to break her word, Miss Sowersoft accuses her of unchastity, and her mistress threatens her with immediate dismissal.

A fatal silence administered Dr. Rowel quarrels fiercely with the lawyer Skinwell, who threatens to expose the doctor's corrupt practices. When Skinwell suffers a fall, Rowel takes advantage of the patient's unconscious state to administer a lethal powder, though the dying lawyer manages to whisper his secret to Fanny before expiring.

Flight to the metropolis Having discovered the plight of Fanny’s father, Colin assists in a rescue plan but is forced to flee Yorkshire to escape accusation. He hides inside a hay wagon bound for York before embarking on a confusing journey to the roaring streets of London.

Misadventures in Bethnal Green Short on money after being enticed by town pleasures, Colin takes a job with Peter Veriquear, an absurdly evasive bone-and-bottle merchant. While guarding the warehouse in his nightshirt, Colin heroically wields a horse’s thigh-bone to fend off suspected intruders.

An unexpected benefactor Squire Lupton encounters Colin in London, recognizes the young man's inherent nobility, and promises to provide him with an education and fine lodgings. Shortly thereafter, a dramatic confrontation on a cliff exposes the Squire as Colin's biological father, while Colin's vengeful grandfather leaps into the river below.

The People

• Colin Clink: The spirited young protagonist who seeks to establish himself in the world despite his illegitimate birth. He desires independence and justice for his friends, overcoming urban poverty and danger to gain the favor of his upper-class benefactor.
• Dr. Rowel: A cunning, ruthless physician who keeps James Woodruff locked in a private madhouse for personal gain. Driven by fear of exposure, he stops at nothing—including fatal poisoning and deceptive prisoner transfers—to protect his reputational and financial interests.
• Fanny: A loyal, soft-hearted servant girl who remains steadfast in her promises despite severe abuse from her employer. She seeks to discover the truth about her long-lost father and secure his freedom from Dr. Rowel’s clutches.
• Squire Lupton: A wealthy gentleman burdened by past misdeeds and an unfulfilling marriage. He seeks redemption by patronizing Colin, only to be confronted by the shocking reveal of his paternal connection to the boy.
• Palethorpe: Miss Sowersoft’s arrogant, bullying foreman who harbors a bitter vendetta against Colin. He travels to London specifically to track down the boy, but his own drunkenness repeatedly leads to his undoing.
• Peter Veriquear: A delightfully maddening Bethnal Green bone-and-bottle dealer who employs Colin. He lives by a rigid philosophy of minding his own business and ignoring everyone else's.

In Its Own Voice

“She has compromised herself, just as such a young face-proud hussy was sure to do.”

Miss Sowersoft expresses her bitter prejudice against Fanny when the young servant refuses to reveal Dr. Rowel's secrets.

“London seemed to him a Babel, and himself one of those who were lost utterly in the confusion of tongues...”

The narrator captures Colin’s overwhelming sensation of sensory overload upon his initial arrival in the bustling capital.

“If you want a situation, young man, that is your business, and not mine.”

Peter Veriquear greets Colin with his signature circular, evasive logic when the youth applies for work at the bone shop.

What It's Really About

At its core, Colin Clink, Volume 2 critiques the institutional corruptions and social hypocrisy of Victorian England. Through Dr. Rowel's illegal madhouse, Hooton attacks the terrifying ease with which sane individuals could be stripped of liberty and buried in private asylums for private profit. The book also examines the rigid cruelty of the class system: servants like Fanny are presumed guilty of moral failings without evidence, while wealthy figures operate above the law. Underneath the sensational plot of murder and disguise lies an exploration of illegitimacy and identity. Colin’s struggle to remain honest despite temptation highlights Hooton's belief that moral integrity is an internal quality, entirely independent of noble birth or societal status.

Why Read It Today

Modern readers who enjoy the sprawling, atmospheric world of Charles Dickens or Wilkie Collins will find much to admire in Charles Hooton’s work. The novel offers a fascinating, unvarnished glimpse into 19th-century English life, contrasting rural Yorkshire farmsteads with the smoky, chaotic alleys of Bethnal Green and Shoreditch. Hooton writes with vibrant descriptive energy, balancing genuine gothic tension with moments of sharp comedic relief—such as Colin’s surreal employment under the eccentric Mr. Veriquear.

Prospective readers should be prepared for typical period hurdles, including long-winded dialogue, melodrama, and heavy regional dialects. The middle-volume structure also leaves several plot lines unresolved. However, for those who appreciate authentic Victorian social satire, memorable caricatures, and dramatic plot turns, Colin Clink, Volume 2 delivers a thoroughly entertaining and historically rich reading experience.