Lady Audley's Secret (novel)

Lady Audley’s Secret is a Victorian-era novel by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. First published in 1862, the novel was one of the first “sensation" novels of the era. Sensation novels often included elements of murder, adultery, and illicit love affairs, all of which were meant to shock and excite prim and proper Victorian readers. Lady Audley’s Secret was first published in serial form in the magazine Robin Goodfellow.

Background

Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s life was almost as sensational as some of her novels. Born in London, England, in 1835, Braddon’s parents separated when she was a child. As a young woman, Braddon began a stage career under a pseudonym with her mother’s assistance. At the time, being an actress was not a respected career in most circles. Therefore, Braddon performed under the name Mary Seyton for several years in productions staged mostly outside of London.

Braddon was also a writer. As a young woman, she found a patron in John Gilby, who commissioned her to write poetry. Later, she began writing for Irish publisher John Maxwell, with whom Braddon would have an affair. Their relationship was particularly scandalous because Maxwell was already married, but his wife was in a mental hospital.

Braddon’s first book—The Trail of the Serpent; or Three Times Dead—was published in 1861. However, her most famous novel, Lady Audley’s Secret, was published the following year. It was first published in serial form in Maxwell’s magazine. Then, it was republished in Sixpenny Magazine.

The same year Lady Audley’s Secret was published, Braddon had her first child with Maxwell. They finally married 1874, and the couple had several more children. Two of Braddon and Maxwell’s sons would go on to become novelists like their mother.

Braddon was an extremely prolific writer, churning out novels and short stories year after year. She also founded her own magazine, Belgravia, in 1866. While the magazine did feature sensation stories, it also included essays on subjects such as science and travel. Braddon also edited another magazine.

Although she was known for her sensation novels, Braddon wrote other types of fiction, including supernatural short stories. In 1896, Braddon published the vampire short story “Good Lady Ducayne.” This Gothic tale was published a year before Bram Stoker’s Dracula was printed. Braddon and Stoker were actually friends who had known each other since Braddon’s days in the theater.

Braddon continued writing into her seventies. Experts note that her later works were not quite as sensational as her most famous novel. Braddon published more than eighty books during her life. She died in 1915 at the age of 79. Her final novel, Mary, was published the year after she died.

Overview

Lady Audley’s Secret tells the story of a beautiful but poor young governess named Lucy Graham. Graham transcends social class to marry Sir Michael and become Lady Audley. However, there is more to Sir Michael’s young wife than anyone knows.

Robert Audley is Sir Michael’s nephew. Although he is a lawyer, he shows little interest in practicing his profession. Instead, he visits with friends. One such friend, George Talboys, has recently returned to England from Australia after making his fortune there. George is on a mission to find his wife and son, whom he abandoned three years earlier because he could not provide a proper life for them.

Robert and George soon learn that George’s wife, Helen, is dead. Lieutenant Maldon, Helen’s father and George’s father-in-law, has been caring for their young son, Georgy, since her death. George tries to deal with his wife’s death. In the meantime, he makes Robert Georgy’s legal guardian should anything happen to him. George spends the next year trying to get over the loss of his wife.

During this time, Robert continually makes plans to bring George to visit his uncle and his new wife, but Lady Audley always cancels on them. Eventually, Robert and George come to Audley Court for another visit. Although Lady Audley and Sir Michael are not at home once again, Lady Audley’s maid shows the two men a portrait of the beautiful lady of the house. George becomes upset after seeing the picture, and the men leave the estate. The following day, George goes missing. Robert immediately begins searching for his friend. Robert learns that George was at Audley Court just before he disappeared, which prompts him to investigate.

Robert visits Lieutenant Maldon to find out more about where George could have gone. Maldon says that George went back to Australia. However, Robert notices a half-burned telegram in the fireplace. It appears to tell Maldon what to say if anyone comes looking for George. Growing worried that his friend may have been murdered, Robert begins cataloguing the evidence he finds.

Robert eventually begins to question his mysterious young aunt’s background, which leads him to find that Lady Audley has been lying to him about why she couldn’t visit with him and his friend George. This leads to Robert suspecting that Lady Audley and George’s deceased wife might be the same person. Fearing for young Georgy’s safety, Robert sends his charge away to boarding school so he will no longer be in the same household as his lying grandfather, Maldon.

Robert then goes to Audley Court to suggest to Lady Audley that anyone involved in George’s disappearance might want to leave the country. Lady Audley becomes indignant at his insinuations, and she tries to kill Robert by burning down the boarding house where he is staying. Her plan fails though, and she is forced to confess that she pushed George down an abandoned well on the property. The lady reveals that her own mother was committed to a mental hospital, and she believes she has inherited this madness. She says that poverty drove her to leave her husband and son behind to seek wealth and status as a new woman. Her fate, however, is to die of illness in a foreign mental hospital as the rest of the novel’s characters—including George, who did not actually die—live happy lives.

Scholars note that the character of Lady Audley evokes both compassion for her plight and scorn for her crimes. Some literary experts credit Braddon with being one of the first writers to use outward beauty to mask the ugliness of her main character’s soul, something many other authors would later do to great effect. Modern scholars have even mused that Lady Audley, who wanted a life of wealth and privilege more than anything else (even her son), was one of the first truly feminist protagonists.

Bibliography

Allingham, Philip V. “Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835-1915), the ‘Queen of Sensation’—Life and Works.” Victorian Web, 25 May 2007, www.victorianweb.org/authors/braddon/bio.html. Accessed 18 Mar. 2019.

“Braddon, Mary Elizabeth (1835-1915).” Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia, vol. 2, edited by Anne Commire. Yorkin Publications, 2002, pp. 878-79.

Fisher, Benjamin F. “Braddon, Mary Elizabeth.” The Encyclopedia of the Gothic, vol. 1, edited by William Hughes. Wiley-Blackwell, 2013, pp. 78-79.

“Lady Audley’s Secret Summary.” LitCharts, 2019, www.litcharts.com/lit/lady-audley-s-secret/summary. Accessed 18 Mar. 2019.

“Mary Elizabeth Braddon, 1837–1915.” University of Adelaide, 2015, ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/b/braddon/mary‗elizabeth/index.html. Accessed 18 Mar. 2019.

Mason, Simon. “Lady Audley’s Secret.” The Rough Guide to Classic Novels. Rough Guides, 2008, pp. 304-305.

Miller, Lucasta. “Sweet Sensation.” Guardian, 8 Aug. 2003, www.theguardian.com/books/2003/aug/09/featuresreviews.guardianreview14. Accessed 18 Mar. 2019.

Sweet, Matthew. “Sensation Novels.” British Library, 15 May 2014, www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/sensation-novels. Accessed 18 Mar. 2019.

Williams, Rhiannon. “Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon—Review.” Guardian, 4 Feb. 2012, www.theguardian.com/books/2012/feb/05/lady-audleys-secret-braddon-review. Accessed 18 Mar. 2019.