Lady Audley's Secret
Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Paperback
(CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, June 5, 2016)
âFor the satisfaction of the curious, we may mention that Mary Elizabeth Braddon, born in London in 1837, has written for the press, upon a great variety of subjects, since she was sixteen years old; besides having produced several plays, and a volume of poetry. Her early prose fictions â âLady Lisle,â âThe Captain of the Vulture,â âThe Trail of the Serpent,â âRalph the Bailiff,â etc., did not attract much attention; but âLady Audleyâs Secret,â in which her skill as a sensational novelist was favorably exhibited, may be aid to have made her popular at a bound, and her subsequent productions have fully maintained the reputation thus established.â -American Literary Gazette and Publishers' Circular âWhile she always had a strong leaning toward exciting plots, many of her later books followed the modern trend of English society novels, and were as gentle and ladylike as the mildest of Mrs. Humphry Warâd stories.â -The Outlook Confronting bigamy, murder and madness, Mary Elizabeth Braddon most popular novel begs the question: Can women and men ever really depend on one another, even within marriage? When young Lucy Graham marries Sir Michael Audley all seems well and good. Sir Michael is thoroughly devoted to his new bride and Lady Audley takes great pleasure in her privileged position at Audley Court. But Sir Michael's daughter Alicia is frustrated and uncomfortable with her stepmother's girlish ways. Shortly afterwards, Sir Michael's nephew, the attractive but lazy barrister Robert Audley, welcomes back to England an old friend of his, George Talboys. The pair visit the Court for some sport, where George disappears in mysterious circumstances. Robert Audley is spurred into action, taking up the case with a newfound passion and energy. Like the best detective novels, and with some wonderful melodrama thrown in for good measure, the plot unravels at a quickening pace until the truth is revealed about Lady Audley's secret.