The Wiles of the Wicked

In Short

Wilford Heaton, a young gentleman of means living in London, plunges into a perilous conspiracy after being lured into a house where a violent crime is committed. Left blind and framed, he undergoes a miraculous operation that restores his sight, only to discover later that six full years of his life have vanished into total amnesia. During those missing years, his identity was hijacked to amass immense wealth. To clear his name and protect the woman he loves, he unpicks a web of European political intrigue, money lending, and royal identity secrets, ultimately securing peace, love, and safety.

The Story

Wilford Heaton is twenty-five, financially independent after inheriting a comfortable income, and living in quiet London chambers when his life shatters. Drawn into a strange encounter with an unseen woman named Edna, he suffers temporary blindness. While helpless in her elegant residence, he hears Chopin played on a piano, followed by smashing glass, a scream, and a male voice exclaiming that a woman has been killed. Before he can grasp the horror, he is tricked by men pretending to be police, forced to sign a paper, bound, and pushed down a flight of wet stone steps toward the river Thames to die.

Surviving the fall onto the river's slimy edge, Wilford returns home only to find a mysterious female intruder escaping his rooms. Soon after, a doctor named Slade arrives, claiming he can restore Wilford's sight. The operation succeeds, but Wilford's troubles only intensify. He falls deeply in love with Mabel Anson, yet his attempts to draw closer to her uncover disturbing clues, including a stolen gold pencil belonging to the dead man from the night of the crime.

Mystery quickly turns to horror when Wilford receives a blow to the head and wakes up to a startling reality: six entire years have passed without his knowledge. He has lived an unconscious second existence. In this lost period, he has somehow acquired a grand estate called Denbury, opened massive financial offices in Old Broad Street, married an unwanted woman who is now dead, and signed away fortunes under the influence of scheming associates like Dr. Britten and Gedge, who treat his confusion as madness.

Stripping away his beard and adopting disguises, Wilford wanders through London to reclaim his life. He traces Edna's movements to a City moneylender named Morrison and uncovers a plot tied to stolen Bulgarian state treasury funds involving high-level conspirators Roesch and Gechkuloff, as well as a homicidal patient named Natalie Joliot. Confronting the conspirators, he also discovers the astonishing truth about his beloved Mabel: she is actually Her Imperial Highness the Archduchess Marie-Elizabeth-Mabel of the Hapsbourg-Lorraine line, living incognito to escape the stifling pressures of the Vienna Court after her mother's tragic assassination.

With the villains extradited or committed, the financial scams dismantled, and the true events of the fateful night illuminated, Mabel chooses to give up her royal status. Adopting a lesser title, she marries Wilford, dividing her idyllic, peaceful days between his scrubbed estate and her ancestral castle in the Tyrol.

How It Unfolds

The fatal trap Wilford loses his sight, gets bound by ruthless men in a riverside house after witnessing a murder by ear, and is thrown down stone steps toward the river Thames.

A second chance at vision Doctor Slade arrives offering a cure for Wilford's blindness, performing a delicate operation that successfully restores his sight despite Wilford's initial distrust.

Clues in the dark While courting the beautiful Mabel Anson, Wilford produces a small gold pencil taken from the murder scene, causing Mabel to turn pale and recognize the item.

Six lost years After a blow to the head, Wilford awakes to find six years of memory wiped clean, discovering he now owns vast businesses, a country estate, and massive bank accounts.

The City investigation Disguising himself by shaving his beard and altering his clothes, Wilford visits his own colossal offices in Old Broad Street and tracks suspects through London streets.

Unmasking the royal secret Wilford confronts Mabel in her private salon, discovering both her enduring love for him and her true identity as an Imperial Archduchess seeking freedom from Court life.

The People

• Wilford Heaton wants to uncover the truth behind a violent murder and reclaim his lost memories. He faces physical attacks, blindness, amnesia, and a massive conspiracy aimed at using his name for fraudulent business schemes. By the end, he transforms from a naive Oxford graduate into a determined, happily married man living under a chosen pseudonym.
• Mabel Anson (Archduchess Marie-Elizabeth-Mabel) wants a quiet, independent life away from the rigid expectations and tragedy of the Imperial Court in Vienna. She faces threats from political schemers who know her past. Ultimately, she renounces her high royal status to marry Wilford.
• Edna Grainger wants to preserve a dangerous crime secret and pull strings from behind the scenes using false names. She manipulates Wilford while he is blind, but eventually escapes to the Continent through royal clemency.
• Dr. Britten and Gedge want to exploit Wilford's period of unconsciousness by forcing him to sign massive cheques for business deals. They attempt to dismiss his genuine amnesia as lunacy, but their control crumbles when Wilford breaks free of their influence.

In Its Own Voice

"My head reeled, and weakened as I already was, all knowledge of things became blotted out."

— Wilford describes his terror as he is pushed down stone steps toward the river.

"The small gold pencil which I had inadvertently used was the one I had taken from the pocket of the dead unknown on that fateful August night."

— Wilford realizes a casual moment has exposed a key clue to Mabel.

"I have loved you from the first moment that we met at the colonel's, long ago--you remember that night?"

— Wilford re-declares his affection to Mabel after years of separation and missing memories.

What It's Really About

The story centers on the fragility of human identity and how easily a person's life can be hijacked when memory fails. It explores the tension between public status and private freedom, contrasting the cold, fraudulent world of high-stakes financial crime in London with the hidden nobility of European royalty. Wealth is shown as both a dangerous magnet for villains—who attempt to use Wilford's signature to siphon thousands of pounds—and an unnecessary burden. Ultimately, the plot argues that true happiness requires shedding artificial titles, deceit, and social pomp in favor of an honest, quiet life devoted to personal affection.

Why Read It Today

Fans of early Edwardian mystery, dramatic sensationalism, and lost-identity tropes will enjoy this fast-moving tale. The narrative carries a distinct period atmosphere, bouncing between smoke-begrimed Strand chambers, high-society London drawing rooms, and murky riverside trapdoors. Reading it feels like stepping straight into a classic serial, complete with sudden revelations, secretive anonymous letters, and bold disguises.

Readers should note that the story relies heavily on dramatic coincidences, rapid plot twists, and melodrama typical of its era. The dialogue can feel formal or staged, and the plot shifts rapidly from gritty crime to high-society romance. However, the unique premise of a hero losing six years of his life while unknowingly running a massive financial empire keeps the momentum going, offering an enjoyable, atmospheric slice of vintage popular fiction.