Customer Reviews

Aurora Floyd (Oxford World's Classics)

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"Aurora Floyd" may not be the best novel Mary Elizabeth Braddon wrote -- the honor goes to "Lady Audley's Secret" -- but, the book is still intriguing because of the contrast it makes with the other book and many other contemporary novels, especially "Jane Eyre." And if you don't have these historical interest, the book is pretty interesting thanks to its good storytelling.

[The following paragraph about the story includes mild spoilers.]

"Aurora Floyd" follows the history of the heroine of the same name, who has a shady past left in France. Aurora, unrestrained morally in her youth, hides some secret, but still attractive enough to make the two heroes fall in love with her. Without telling the nature of the secret, Aurora, strong-willed and candid, gives a clear warning to one of them, proud Talbot Bulstrode, that he may one day regret his rash action if he dares to marry her. While he vanishes from her to marry other woman, tame and tender-hearted Lucy, the other suitor meek John Mellish succeeds in winning her heart, and he immediately marries her, not knowing her secret. As the time goes on, however, her hidden secret emerges from the past, and finally catches up with Aurora, living now quietly in a countryside. She must face the past, but how? While she is tormented by the sense of guilt, her husband began to suspect something wicked is going on.

The story is melodramatic, but it is the merit of sensation novels, the genre in vogue during the 1860s, and Braddon, as she showed in her previous (actually written almost at the same time) "Lady Audley's Secret," is very good at handling the subject. It is notable, however, that the author intends to do something different this time, spending more pages on the analysis of the psychology of the characters. The result is a mixed bag; sometimes she shows good descriptions of characters with a witty touch, which reminds us of Thackeray, the story sometimes gets slower because of too much philosophy. Compared with the fast-paced "Lady Audley's Secret," her new experiment may look somewhat damaging.

But as a whole, the book is agreeable, and after you finish two-thirds of the book, Braddon makes the plot speedier. The last part includes one of the earliest examples of detective story, and a good (but short) portrayal of detective Joseph Grimstone's work is still fascinating. But the greatest merit of the book is its sub-text dealing with incredibly violent passion of Aurora, whose image is clearly mocking the typical angelic image of Victorian women. One of the book's scenes, in which the heroine gives a shower of blows with her whip to her stable-man who bullied her dog, caused sensation and scandalized some critics. The description is still impressive today.

In conclusion, "Aurora Floyd" is a fairly gripping story, even though it is not the best place to start reading her books or Victorian novels. If you think you are familiar with those Victorian novels, or want to read one of the effect following the impact of Bronte's "Jane Eyre," try it.

Trivia: Braddon lived long (died in 1915), and before her death, she even watched the filmed version of her own "Aurora Floyd." Her life story is as intriguing as a story she wrote.

[NOTE ON THE TEXT] Oxford University Press's "Aurora Flyod" uses the later edition of the book while Broadview Press's uses an earlier edition. The former one is considerable changed from the latter, so for the academic use you must be careful.

Having devoured Trollope, Willkie Collins, I happened onto Aurora Floyd and was truly surprised to find such an outstanding story so beautifully written. A dark secret revealed, a murder and a love story, this is a wonderful book.

Beautiful Aurora is spoiled and petted but she carries a dreadful secret. As a young woman she impulsively marries her father's groom, leading him to pay the unsuitable suitor off.. But it will all come back to haunt her later, when she marries again. Among the most compelling "neglected" works of Victorian fiction.

"Aurora Floyd" was an extremely popular Victorian "sensation novel" when it was first published in book form in 1863 (it had originally appeared as a magazine serial). The novel went through many printings and editorial changes--the Broadview edition attempts to create a definitive text by going back to the first publication, and trying to retain only those revisions that were clearly intended by the author.

I would recommend the novel for fans of Victorian fiction. The heroine is unusual in a number of ways (e.g., she's an expert on horses and racing), and her romantic life does not follow the usual pattern. I don't think the book is as well-constructed as Braddon's most well-known work, "Lady Audley's Secret"--it rambles a bit, and the author's constant rhapsodies about the beauty of her heroine become tiresome--but it is worth reading for its historical interest, engaging plot, and memorable characters. Some of Brandon's ramblings are actually quite entertaining, though some readers may feel that they slow down the story. Fans of detective novels will probably enjoy the serious attention paid to the work of London sleuth Mr. Grimstone in the later part of the book--though most will be surprised that, as a humble employee in the early days of the police force, he sometimes chooses his working methods in order to maximize his personal gain.

The 1998 version of the Broadview edition that I read contains a number of illuminating essays on "Aurora Floyd", Mary Elizabeth Braddon, and Victorian "sensation" literature in general, some from Braddon's own era. It also contains copious footnotes, many of which were interesting and educational. However, one footnote, in Chapter 23 (p. 351 in my version of the book), contains a MAJOR spoiler that the editors should not have included in that spot, as it reveals the secret upon which much of the suspense of the plot is built.