Alice Wilde: The Raftsman's Daughter

# Museum Catalog Note

Alice Wilde: The Craftsman's Daughter by Mrs. Metta V. Victor is a forest romance serialized in this 1860 Beadle dime novel issue. The narrative opens with Ben Perkins, a mill hand, attempting to retrieve logs from a creek when Alice Wilde, the beautiful daughter of raftsman David Wilde, passes by in her skiff. Alice rows downriver singing while her father returns home from selling a large timber raft, accompanied by the fashionable young stranger Philip Moore. Moore plays flute to accompany Alice's voice, creating what she mistakes for an echo. The story establishes romantic tension as the reserved Alice captivates Moore despite her rustic upbringing. At the log cabin home, servants Pallas and Saturn prepare supper while discussing their master's protective jealousy toward his daughter and distrust of city gentlemen. Ben's arrival reveals his own romantic interest in Alice, creating a love triangle. The narrative emphasizes Alice's graceful innocence, her father's devotion, and mounting complications as suitors appear.