Customer Reviews

Lady Audley's Secret (Penguin Classics)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The 1860s in England saw the boom of "sensation novels" which is best represented by the gripping thrillers "The Woman in White" and "The Moonstone," written by Wilkie Collins. Immediately after the success of the former one, Mary Elizabeth Braddon wrote "Lady Audley's Secret," which also became an instant bestseller, quickly making her a celebrity. But, in more than one sense, as you see later.

The story of Braddon's book is clearly inspired by Collins's "The Woman in White" (especially by Laura's story), but it is quite unfair to call "Lady Audley" a poor imitation. (And remember, Collins's story is also said to be based on a French book recording actual crime cases). Lady Audley takes a more defying view on the Victorians, roles of women in particular, and that's the real reason she was such a "sensation," and is again getting our attention now.

The story goes like this: Lucy, a governess without family, is loved by Sir Michael Audley, a rich landowner of Audley Court, Essex, and marries him to the chagrin of some people who look at her as an adventuress. No matter how people think, however, they are living happily.

In the meanwhile, George Talboys, after his long, hard days in Australia searching for goldmine, finally comes back to London, after many years, with money to make his wife happy. But when he encountered his old friend Robert Audley, nephew of Sir Michael, he accidentally knows that his beloved wife is no longer alive.

Those two seemingly unrelated events begin to get entangled after George's sudden missing. Robert starts his own investigation, as if beckoned by a fate, and he, collecting evidences, gradually comes to one inevitable conclusion.

And ... let me say this first; "Lady Audley" is an absorbing book, but absorbing not in the way a good detective story is. The "secret" in point is, one often mistakes, NOT the secret you can easily discover in the early stage of the plot. (You must wait to see the nature of Lady's secret at the end of the book, which is still controversial.) The story is melodramatic and sometimes predictable, but the real virtue of the book is the portrait of the strong-willed heroine, who dares to challenge the social codes of women in Victorian era.

The book is full of action that you might find in any potboilers, shocking for the comtemporary people, which includes: murder, arson, secret passage, blackmail, you name it. But the way Braddon handles them is always steady and well-controlled, and at some places they look unexpectedly modern, reading like a movie script, anticipating the cinematic treatment in the early 20th century (this had been made into films three times in silent-film days, and once on TV even in 2000) Her book has many flaws, surely, but should be never called dull.

Mary Elizabeth Braddon, when she was working on this book, was living with John Maxwell, ambitious publisher in debt, and she was the main provider of income. While living together (and John was still married to another woman in asylum, which makes an interesting parallel with George Eliot), she wrote with a frantic speed. Through 1861-62, when she wrote "Lady Audley's Secret," -- and she was also writing for cheaper periodicals under false name! -- Braddon confesses that she wrote the Third Book (the final third part) of the "Lady Audley" in a fortnight. Considering the fact, the book is incredibly tight, and infallibly engaging.

I read this for a Victorian literature class, and sandwiched as it was between the imposing density of Middlemarch and Dickens, it was a real holiday. "Lady Audley" was written for pure narrative pleasure, and it delivers big-time. I had no idea Victorian literature could be this tantalizing. It's really kind of trashy, falling into the sensational genre, but don't let that deter you - it'll keep you up at night AND provide the romantic bygone otherness of say, a Jane Austen novel. It's also an interesting window into Victorian femininity, undermining as it does the ideal of the passive angel in the house, and replacing her with a kind of femme fatale anti-heroine. (Everyone in my class enjoyed it, even the whingers who typically bemoan everything on the reading list.) A really good read.

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

...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

It's unfortunate that opinions regarding the story, Braddon's style, and/or Victorian novels in general make the little star rankings lower for this particular edition. In fact, the edition is quite good; the introduction is superb, the footnotes are very useful for those of us who easily forget our Classical references, and the appendices are chock full of relevant information. Like the story or not, this edition is wonderful.

This novel tells the story of a beautiful woman whose secret becomes her undoing.
She uses her beauty, helplessness, and coquettish manner to achieve her end desires, but behind the innocent facade is a woman who is clever, manipulative and ruthless.
Lucy's secret and her extreme desire to keep it ruins the lives of the people around her (as most closely guarded secrets do).
I can't say anymore without giving the plot away.
The secret may be obvious, but the actual path to its discovery, its revelation, and aftermath shape the novel.
I could hardly put this book down and will certainly re-read it to see if I missed something the first time. A marvelous read - you will enjoy it if you like Victorian novels.

A very readable Victorian mystery, I guess it would qualify in today's market as a cozy. I understand that Braddon was influenced by Wilke Collins, and therefore it is advantageous to also read The Woman in White, a generally more complex novel.

In any case, the first half of Lady Audley's Secret is compelling in its set-up of the mystery that follows, and I read it very quickly as it kept calling me back to it. The rest of the book, while still interesting, is spent observing the Lady's nephew (through marriage) as he attempts to discover the circumstances of the disappearance of his good friend which he believes is related to the Lady's "secret." The reader easily guesses much of the circumstance of the novel, although it's not quite as simple as it appears. It is also important to note that Braddon plots rather deftly and she savors the development of the novel's progression.

I did have some trouble getting through the last 100 pages of the book, as there was very little left for the reader to do but follow around the nephew's movements as he attempted to prove his theory. And, while Braddon does offer a twist at the end, it is not entirely unexpected, and so is not as effective as it could have been. Still, there is much to like about this book; in contains all the elements of Victorian society and, as such, has several layers within which it serves its audience. Not a must read, but if you're interested in Victorian literature, this is a book which was a sensation during the author's lifetime and may well be worth a look into.

During Mary Elizabeth Braddon's lifetime, she was most famous for the convoluted plots she hatched, and she hatched a nestful, publishing more than eighty novels. (She was also famous for living what was then considered a 'scandalous' life, and for having many of the major characters in her books do the same.)

But when Thackery said, "If I could plot like Mrs. Braddon, I should be the greatest novelist in the world," I don't think he meant it as a compliment. I think he was saying that she herself would be a great novelist, if only she could WRITE!

That's the catch with this book, for example. The characters are memorable, the plot is extravagantly complex, the insights into what makes society tick, or not, are right on the money. But the writing style . . . well, to put it simply, there isn't any. No consistent Point of View. No deft turns of phrase. There isn't a sentence you'd care to quote anywhere in the book.

If only there had been a Hollywood in her day! She'd have been a great screenplay writer, where style doesn't matter. That's why the story makes good movies and TV specials, and that's why it has long since dropped out of sight as a book.

I sought it and read it because of a recent PBS 'Mystery!' presentation. It seemed so far ahead of its time in dealing with what we now call "Women's Issues" that I assumed-- wrongly, as it turns out-- that its disapearance from literary history was due to a backlash against its view of societal injustice. Well, that view was inserted by the people who wrote the screenplay for the BBC production that became the PBS special. It isn't in the book. The author totally condemns her central character and has no particular sympathy for her at all. It took a modern scriptwriter to discover that the story could be used as a metaphor for the oppression of women.

No, I'm afraid that the reason for the book's disappearance from literary history is that it doesn't qualify as literature. Wilkie Collins' famous 'The Woman in White' explores basically the same theme, but does it with verve and style. In comparison, "Lady Audley's Secret" is flat and colorless. Any well-educated eighth grader could have done better.

I give the book three stars nevertheless, for its characters and plot-- which are fabulous, in both meanings of that word.

I read three Tasha Alexander novels with a wonderful character, Lady Emily Ashton. The third book in the series was "Fatal Waltz". Throughout the book, Lady Ashton kept giving "Lady Audley's Secret" to her friends and family to read because she thought it was so splendid. I had never heard of the book and decided if Lady Emily Ashton loved it, it must be good! :) Thank You, Tasha Alexander, the author of those three books.

I just finished Lady Audley's Secret and must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. While parts of the book were somewhat wordy, the characters, plot and ending were fabulous. Lady Lucy Audley was easy to dislike.... A perfectly wretched and evil woman. Barrister Robert was easy to like even though he was lazy and took his life and position for granted. Baronet Michael was easy to see as blind/naive/lovestruck/foolish, but who wouldn't want a husband who adored you so much? He was such a mensch. George was.....interesting? Sometimes a bit high strung (the passage from Australia...can you say HYPER??) and somewhat depressing to be around (poor Robert!) And the plot held me until the end.....which I loved. The book's ending made me sigh and smile. I like that. It ended just as I wanted it to...which almost never happens for me.

"Lady Audley's Secret" was an unexpected delight and I'm happy I read it. I would recommend "Lady Audley's Secret" if you enjoy Historical/Victorian mysteries. While you're at it, try Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily Ashton series! They too are very enjoyable.

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.