The Sixth Sense: A Novel

In Short

Published in 1915, Stephen McKenna’s The Sixth Sense is a witty, dramatic novel of Edwardian high society disrupted by the militant women’s suffrage movement and the mysterious telepathic gifts of a young aristocrat. Returned expatriate Simon Aintree observes a gilded London world where political fanaticism, secret kidnappings, and romantic rivalries collide. At the center stands "the Seraph," a fragile young man whose unnerving intuitive perception—the titular sixth sense—allows him to feel the distant distress of others. McKenna’s novel endures as an evocative chronicle of pre-1914 ideological conflict and emotional strain.

The Story

After twenty years spent wandering the world and making a fortune in the South African diamond fields, middle-aged Simon Aintree returns to London to find the capital transformed by fast motorcars and intense political friction. Reconnecting with his brother Brian, a conservative High Court judge, Simon takes custody of his bright, romantic nineteen-year-old niece, Gladys. Soon, Simon is drawn into the inner circle of the aristocratic Roden family and their wide network of politicians, socialites, and agitators.

Among them is the striking Joyce Davenant, an uncompromising militant suffragette whose tactics involve arson, raids, and open defiance of English law. Joyce’s radical activism alarms her conservative suitors and friends, including the stern, ambitious MP Nigel Rawnsley, who seeks to silence the suffragettes by stripping Parliament of private members' time. In retaliation, militant factions escalate their campaign, kidnapping the young son of a prominent cabinet minister.

Amid these escalating social battles moves "the Seraph," a pale, delicate young man possessing an extraordinary, hypersensitive perception—a mysterious sixth sense that allows him to discern hidden physical presences, read subtle emotional currents, and experience sudden, agonizing premonitions of loved ones in distress. The Seraph is deeply in love with the proud, imperious Sylvia Roden, but their relationship is fraught with misunderstandings, pride, and sharp quarrels.

When Joyce falls gravely ill while hiding from the authorities, Simon and the Seraph secretly harbor her in Adelphi Terrace to save her from immediate arrest. As Nigel Rawnsley uses his political influence and police cordons to hunt down the militants and recover the missing child, Sylvia herself vanishes, swept into the chaos. Driven by a blinding, unexplainable psychic pull, the Seraph collapses under the mental strain before embarking on an obsessive search to find Sylvia, guided only by his uncanny inner radar.

Elsie Davenant, Joyce's sister, gallantly sacrifices her own social reputation to mislead Nigel and protect the Seraph from legal prosecution for harboring a fugitive. Guided by his inexplicable intuition, the Seraph ultimately locates Sylvia, whose ordeal in captivity has broken her haughty exterior and laid bare her true feelings. With Joyce recovering and the political storm momentarily spent, the main figures scatter abroad to heal. Simon marries and orchestrates a quiet reconciliation, arranging for Sylvia and the Seraph to reunite across the globe on Christmas Day.

How It Unfolds

An exile returns Simon Aintree arrives back in London after two decades abroad, marvelling at the dangerous motor traffic in Pall Mall. He meets his grown niece Gladys, reunites with his brother Judge Brian Aintree, and assumes responsibility for her social upbringing.

An uncanny sensitivity During a weekend gathering at Brandon Court, the house guests debate whether human perception is limited to five senses. The Seraph demonstrates an unexplainable ability to sense distant arrivals and hidden objects, revealing his extraordinary intuitive gift.

Escalation and outrage The conflict over women’s suffrage turns dangerous when Parliament blocks suffrage legislation and militants retaliate by kidnapping a cabinet minister’s young son in Hyde Park. Joyce Davenant openly defends militant tactics to a warning, skeptical Simon.

Illness and sanctuary When Joyce suffers a severe physical breakdown while fleeing the law, Simon and the Seraph shelter her in their Adelphi Terrace apartment. They covertly enlist a trusted physician to treat her while avoiding Nigel Rawnsley’s relentless police search.

The inner compass Sylvia Roden vanishes unexpectedly, throwing her family into panic. Overwhelmed by agonizing premonitions and severe physical exhaustion, the Seraph sets out into the night to track her down using only his intuitive psychic link.

Sacrifice and reunion Nigel closes in on the Adelphi Terrace flat, but Elsie Davenant falsely claims she was living there to protect the Seraph from arrest. The Seraph rescues Sylvia, and the core group eventually departs England to rebuild their lives overseas.

The People

• Simon Aintree: A wealthy, pragmatic bachelor returned from South African diamond fields. He acts as a genial, somewhat cynical narrator and guardian who arranges practical solutions for his friends' frantic dilemmas.
• The Seraph: A frail, intensely sensitive young man gifted with telepathic intuition. He wants to protect Sylvia and live in peace, but his overwhelming sixth sense subjects him to severe nervous exhaustion.
• Sylvia Roden: A proud, fiery, and fiercely independent young woman. She resists social control and clashes with the Seraph, but her secret imprisonment strips away her arrogance and reveals her underlying vulnerability.
• Joyce Davenant: A brave, uncompromising militant suffragette leader. She willingly risks her health, freedom, and social standing for her political cause, defying all warnings from her conservative peers.
• Nigel Rawnsley: A rigid, ambitious Member of Parliament and zealous opponent of suffragette militancy. He uses legal authority and relentless surveillance to hunt down agitators, acting as an unyielding inquisitor.

In Its Own Voice

"He knows it's there," said Gartside. "He's got a sense of distance. If that isn't a sixth sense, what is it?"

Simon and his companions debate the limits of human perception while observing the Seraph's unnerving ability to navigate unknown spaces and anticipate events without physical sight.

"She tossed the laws of England in the air as a juggler tosses glass balls, and when one fell to the ground and shivered in a thousand pieces she was ready to pay the price with a smiling face..."

Simon reflects on the reckless, captivating courage of the militant suffragettes as they confront the full power of the British legal establishment.

"I'm going to find Sylvia." ... "Where is she?" I asked. "I don't know." "Then how are you going to find her?" "I don't know."

The Seraph prepares to step out into London during a mental crisis, driven entirely by an inexplicable intuitive pull toward the missing woman he loves.

What It's Really About

The Sixth Sense explores the friction between rigid traditional structures and the disruptive forces of modern change in early twentieth-century Britain. Through the suffragette movement, Stephen McKenna examines how systemic political exclusion breeds radical fanaticism, testing the limits of law, personal loyalty, and social convention.

Underneath its political intrigue, the novel investigates non-rational forms of human connection. The Seraph’s psychic gift serves as an extended metaphor for profound empathy—an overwhelming capacity to feel another person's pain that the cynical, rule-bound world cannot comprehend or control. McKenna asks whether true understanding between individuals requires stepping beyond intellectual debate and surrendering to direct emotional perception.

Why Read It Today

The Sixth Sense offers a fascinating, highly atmospheric glimpse into Edwardian England on the precipice of seismic political and social transformation. Readers who enjoy classic British social satire, witty conversational repartee, and historical fiction centered on the women's suffrage movement will find much to admire. McKenna captures the sparkling, high-strung tone of Mayfair drawing rooms alongside the underground tension of political raids and police surveillance.

The novel demands some patience with its period pacing, lengthy philosophical discussions on sensory perception, and the casual class assumptions typical of 1915 popular fiction. Certain minor subplots rely on dramatic melodrama, and modern readers may occasionally find the narrative's handling of political ideology complex and ambiguous.

However, the book rewards the reader with vibrant, sparkling dialogue, compelling character dynamics, and an unusually sympathetic, atmospheric depiction of empathy as a literal psychic force. The quiet warmth of Simon's narrative voice and the haunting vulnerability of the Seraph make it a deeply memorable period piece about love, conviction, and intuition.