Mohawks: A Novel. Volume 3 of 3

In Short

M. E. Braddon’s Mohawks: A Novel (Volume 3) brings its multi-volume saga of early eighteenth-century London society to a dramatic, atmospheric conclusion. The plot follows the reformed rake Lord Lavendale, his devoted friend Herrick Durnford, and Durnford’s new bride Irene as they unearth dark secrets surrounding the wealthy, sinister Vyvyan Topsparkle and his elusive valet, Fétis. Blending sharp social satire of Walpole’s court with gothic melodrama, debt-riddled escapes, and tragic romance, the novel has endured for its vivid historic canvas and its unsparing portrait of high-life hypocrisy.

The Story

The volume opens as London’s social wheel turns back to the capital. The newly crowned King George II and Queen Caroline reign over a brilliant court, where the dazzling Lady Judith Topsparkle holds court alongside her inscrutable, elderly husband, Vyvyan Topsparkle. Beneath the sheen of modish gaming tables and high assemblies lies an undercurrent of deep corruption.

Meanwhile, Herrick Durnford elopes with Irene, a young woman raised as the daughter of the brooding Squire Roland Bosworth. Returning to London, they lodge with Durnford’s lifelong friend, Lord Lavendale. Lavendale—once a notorious libertine and Mohawk reveller—has miraculously transformed into a serious parliamentary orator and statesman, though his frail health signals an impending collapse. The newly wedded pair seek the Squire’s forgiveness, but Bosworth furiously disowns Irene, revealing that he had hoarded his fortune to marry her into a ducal house. In doing so, he drops a hint of a deeper mystery regarding Irene's true lineage.

Durnford and Lavendale investigate the past, unraveling a decades-old crime. Through old letters preserved from a dead infant's father and the frantic, sleep-talked confessions of Topsparkle’s valet, Fétis, they discover that Irene is not Bosworth’s biological daughter, but Topsparkle’s own ignored granddaughter. Her mother was the child of an Italian woman whom Topsparkle and Fétis had poisoned forty years earlier in their Soho home.

As the law cannot easily touch the powerful Topsparkle, Lavendale confronts him directly, forcing the old voluptuary to recognize Irene’s claim, though Lavendale holds Topsparkle’s cowardice in total contempt. Fétis, consumed by fever, guilt, and terror of the past, is thrown into Marjory’s—a squalid, smallpox-infested sponging-house in Shoe Lane. In a frantic bid for freedom, the elderly valet climbs out a window, slides down a rain pipe, and flees into the midnight streets of London.

Lavendale, knowing his own life is drawing to a close, retreats to his ancestral estate, Lavendale Manor, for Christmas. He is reunited in love with Lady Judith, who pledges to marry him once her marriage to Topsparkle is severed. But on Christmas Eve, a haunting phantom warns Lavendale of his immediate demise. Surrounded by friends, festive holly, and rustic music on New Year’s Eve, Lavendale dies peacefully on a garden bench in Lady Judith’s arms.

In the aftermath, Topsparkle’s fortune passes to Irene. Squire Bosworth reconciles with his adopted child, settling his estate upon her and Durnford. Lady Judith is left to mourn her lost love, returning to Lavendale Manor each New Year’s Eve to keep vigil where he passed.

How It Unfolds

The season opens London society awakens to a brilliant new reign as King George II and Queen Caroline host a gaiety-filled court, while Lady Judith Topsparkle reigns over high-stakes, exclusive card parties in Soho.

The clandestine match Herrick Durnford and Irene marry at Curzon Street Chapel and take up residence at the Bloomsbury home of Lord Lavendale, enjoying a brief period of domestic calm and modest shopping before confronting the past.

The father’s wrath Squire Roland Bosworth reacts with furious cruelty to his daughter’s marriage, disowning her entirely because her elopement destroys his long-calculated scheme to marry her into a ducal family.

The rake turned statesman Lord Lavendale shocks the House of Lords by delivering a brilliant, dignified speech, abandoning his past life as a notorious Mohawk reveller to become the political fashion of the town.

The valet’s torment Topsparkle’s trusted servant, Fétis, yields to high gambling, heavy drinking, and feverish sleep-walking, blurting out references to Venice and long-buried crimes that arouse Lavendale’s suspicion.

The past exposed Old letters confirm that Irene is actually Topsparkle’s granddaughter, the descendant of an Italian mistress whom Topsparkle and Fétis murdered decades ago in their Soho mansion.

Escape from the sponging-house Trapped in a disease-ridden debtors' prison in Shoe Lane, the ailing Fétis recklessly climbs out a window, slides down a water pipe into the yard, and escapes into the bustling midnight traffic of Fleet Street.

Christmas at Lavendale Lavendale gathers his closest friends and his beloved Lady Judith at his country estate for a festive Christmas gathering, despite receiving a grim apparition’s warning of his imminent death.

The final curtain Lavendale dies in Judith's arms on New Year’s Eve, leaving his estate to Durnford and Irene, while a heartbroken Judith spends her remaining years returning annually to mourn him.

The People

• Lord Lavendale: A former infamous rake and Mohawk reveller who reforms into an eloquent member of the House of Lords. He seeks to make amends for his wasted youth, protect Durnford’s bride, and secure the love of Lady Judith before his failing body gives out. He dies peacefully on New Year's Eve.
• Herrick Durnford: Lavendale's steady, loyal friend who marries Irene for love rather than money. He resolutely uncovers the mystery of Irene's birth and eventually assumes the Bosworth name and estate.
• Irene Durnford: Raised as Squire Bosworth’s heiress, she rejects the empty splendor of high society for a modest, devoted marriage to Herrick. She turns out to be Vyvyan Topsparkle’s disowned granddaughter.
• Vyvyan Topsparkle: A wealthy, aged, highly polished hypocrite who conceals a dark history of poisoning his Italian mistress. He coolly acknowledges Irene only when confronted with undeniable proof, remaining fundamentally heartless to the end.
• Louis Fétis: Topsparkle’s long-serving French valet and confidant. A man of refined tastes and secret guilt, his feverish gambling and sleep-talking reveal his master's crimes before he makes a desperate escape from prison.
• Lady Judith Topsparkle: A brilliant, highly courted society beauty trapped in a marriage of convenience with Topsparkle. She harbors a deep, enduring passion for Lavendale and is left permanently grief-stricken by his early death.

In Its Own Voice

"The house in Soho was thronged with hoops and high heads, and although only ladies were allowed a seat at any of the tables, the men soon forced an entrance, and assisted as spectators, sometimes betting furiously on the progress of the game."

Describing the manic, fashionable card-parties hosted by Lady Judith Topsparkle.

"It was not so much that the oration itself had been really fine and had vividly impressed those who heard it, but it was rather that such dignified opposition, such grave invective, and sound logic came from a survivor of the Mohawk and of the Calf's Head Clubs..."

Reflecting on society's shock at Lord Lavendale's dramatic transformation into a serious parliamentary orator.

"These rooms were full of ghosts, Lady Polwhele, till this dear lady, taking Judith's hand and kissing it, exorcised them all by her magical presence."

Lord Lavendale answering his guests' playful questions about whether his ancient country house is haunted.

What It's Really About

Beneath its rich historical backdrop of Georgian assemblies, coffeehouses, and court intrigue, the novel argues that moral redemption requires active atonement rather than mere regret. It contrasts the shallow, transactional nature of aristocratic life—where daughters are traded for titles and debts are hidden behind coded jargons—with the genuine integrity of unvarnished affection. The narrative poses sharp questions about accountability and time: can decades of hidden violence and greed truly be erased by wealth and social standing? Through the contrasting fates of the unrepentant Topsparkle, the tormented valet Fétis, and the dying yet spiritually renewed Lavendale, Braddon highlights how character ultimately dictates whether one's legacy ends in peaceful reconciliation or solitary, lingering rot.

Why Read It Today

Modern readers who enjoy the historical texture of William Makepeace Thackeray or the dramatic flair of Victorian serial fiction will find much to admire in Braddon’s work. She paints eighteenth-century London with remarkable specificity, capturing everything from the squalor of Shoe Lane sponging-houses to the polished elegance of St. James's. The prose is clear, confident, and steeped in authentic period detail, offering sharp observations on class, vanity, and double standards.

Readers should be prepared for the formal conventions of late Victorian popular fiction: the plot relies on dramatic revelations, tragic timing, and sudden death-bed turns. Additionally, as this volume represents the conclusion of a three-part novel, it moves rapidly to resolve long-standing subplots regarding parentage and inheritance. Yet the book avoids cheap sentimentality. Its portrayal of Lavendale’s terminal illness and Lady Judith's quiet, lifelong grief provides a genuinely touching core. It stands as an engaging, atmospheric story of crime, court life, and final reckonings that lingers well after the last page.