Lady Audley's Secret

by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, M.E. Braddon Maxwell, Mary Elizabeth Maxwell

Book Overview

This Victorian bestseller, along with Braddon's other famous novel, Aurora Floyd, established her as the main rival of the master of the sensational novel, Wilkie Collins. A protest against the passive, insipid 19th-century heroine, Lady Audley was described by one critic of the time as "high-strung, full of passion, purpose, and movement." Her crime (the secret of the title) is shown to threaten the apparently respectable middle-class world of Victorian...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0192835203
• ISBN13: 9780192835208
• Release Date: October 1998
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.7" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

Lady Audley’s Secret

I was very disappointed to come to the end of an excellent book and find two of the last pages missing, pp 444 and 445. It was necessary for the climax of the story and therefore vital. I don’t know how many books were printed thusly.

One of my favorites

The story begins as Miss Lucy Graham, a beautiful and mysterious governess, meets the wealthy widower, Sir Michael Audley. Sir Audley falls desperately in love with Lucy and begs her to marry him. Lucy agrees to the marriage, but doesn't tell Michael she is already married to a man she hasn't seen in three years and believes him to be dead. Lucy's husband, George Talboys, unexpectedly, returns home to find his wife's father has declared her dead and buried. This is where the mystery begins! Does George find his wife who has married another man? What will happen if and when he does? I've read several Victorian novels in the past, but this is definitely one of my favorites. It has everything a good read should have--romance, murder, suspense, a surprise ending. It is fast moving and holds the reader's interest. The author has become one of my favorites and I'll certainly look for more of her books in the future. Expect more reviews to come.

A Forgotten Gem

This book is a wonderful forgotten gem. Although it was written nearly half a century before, this book belongs on the shelf next to stories such as Du Maurier's "Rebecca." It is a mystery that takes place at a manor much like Manderly, but the characters are different and the reader wonders who is really the hero (or herione). Mary Elizabeth Bradden wrote her best for this book. In fact, the author always thought of this book as her favorite. I know it is one of mine.

More of a guilt novel than I mystery I think...

...I was suprised at how much I liked this book. I am not one for Victorian "sensationalists" preferring swashbuckling but Miss Braddon (as she was then called) is a great writer who gives explainations for her character's wild behavior. Considered quite a trashy novelist in her day, her stories are much tamer than what is on network television.Read, enjoy this escapist novel

A classic and delightful read for any century!

One of the most widely read murder mysteries of the 19th century is still a worthwhile adventure today. Mary E. Braddon delivers a thoughtful masterpiece of suspense. After craftily engaging her reader, Braddon gives one the illusion of knowledge. We begin to believe that we know and understand the "secret" and are simply waiting for the mystery to unfold. Yet beware! We are not as knowing as we think, the text is not as simple as it appears. Full of exciting twists and unnerving psychological profiles, _Lady Audley's Secret_ is a must-read thriller! As a birdseye view of Victorian England, it is superb. As a literary lesson in character development, it is unmatched. As an intriguing, can't-put-it-down plot, it is excellent. In a word, it is timeless