Specify Books Conducive To Lady Audley's Secret
| Original Title: | Lady Audley's Secret |
| ISBN: | 0192835203 (ISBN13: 9780192835208) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Paperback | Pages: 455 pages Rating: 3.76 | 19603 Users | 1181 Reviews
Explanation Concering Books Lady Audley's Secret
whatever could be Lady Audley's secret? could it be... murder? miscegenation? malfeasance? misdirected malevolence ending in tears, tragedy, and general tawdriness? an assumed identity? flatulence? that not-so-fresh feeling? bigamy? bigotry? child abuse? child abandonment? une affaire de coeur? une affaire de blanchiment d'argent? well, all or some of those things may or may not be a part of this novel - but they are not the secret in question. Lady Audley's terrible, terrible secret is...(view spoiler)[ha! did you actually think i was going to tell you? think again, sucker! (hide spoiler)]
this ripping victorian yarn is a tale of deceit and possible death, of class barriers breached, a man gone missing, long-held love and quick infatuation, uptight upper class twits mercilessly skewered and drunken lower class buffoons broadly lampooned. it has brilliant and ambitious Lady Audley and her equally ambitious but rather less brilliant servant. it has one of the more charming protagonists i've come across - the lazy, well-meaning, animal-loving young barrister Robert Audley, whose favored activities are smoking his pipe and napping. it has mystery, intrigue, vengeance, and dark rainy nights where evil deeds are afoot. and hey, guess what, it subverts paradigms! sorta.
Mary Elizabeth Braddon was a popular writer of what appears to be a million potboilers during everyone's favorite english time period, The Victorian Era. nowadays she is practically unknown. that's rather sad because she deserves much better. the novel is stylish and very easy going down. it is the opposite of a torturous experience - it is delightful! and beautifully written as well: a winding but briskly paced narrative with fascinating and often amusing characters, fun twists and turns, overstuffed with lavish description and poetic imagery, and - best of all - an ironically formal and sneakily caustic authorial voice. the wonderful wit in this novel is delicious. delicious! i just used that word to describe a novel! i feel like Oscar Wilde. or Dame Edna.
if you've read this one, then you know the real selling point: LADY AUDLEY ROCKS! the english class system is no barrier to her dreams. i'd hesitate to call her a feminist icon, but she knows how to make things happen and how to take care of business. such a great villainess. and i barely consider her to be villainous.
some spoilers follow ... but i'm still not giving away Lady Audley's secret. mainly because i think it is a rather tedious secret and one of the weaker elements of the novel.
i am confident that Braddon knew exactly what she was doing when she crafted the character of Lady Audley. this wondrous psychopath utterly rejects her so-called 'place in life' as some drudge in a small town. she uses the weapons she has at her disposal to get ahead: her doll-like beauty, her sweet and cheery smile that lights up a room and makes you feel like you are the most important person in that room, her perfect poise and her perfect manners, her truly phenomenal talent at lying, and her quick-thinking ability to promptly push an annoyingly threatening fellow right down a well. throughout the novel, i was 100% on Lady Audley's team. i love seeing class systems scorned by the underclass and i love seeing them mercilessly dismantled - even if it is a brief and inevitably foiled uprising. Spartacus!
so yeah, Lady Audley: i love her. her pride, her machinations, her capacity for violence, her elegant skill at avoiding public confrontations with annoying nobodies like resentful stepdaughters, clingy first husbands, and nosy young barristers. oh, Lady Audley, you are the dreamiest of mercenaries!
Itemize About Books Lady Audley's Secret
| Title | : | Lady Audley's Secret |
| Author | : | Mary Elizabeth Braddon |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Oxford World's Classics |
| Pages | : | Pages: 455 pages |
| Published | : | 1987 by Oxford University Press (first published 1862) |
| Categories | : | Classics. Fiction. Mystery. Historical. Victorian. Gothic. Literature. 19th Century. Historical Fiction |
Rating About Books Lady Audley's Secret
Ratings: 3.76 From 19603 Users | 1181 ReviewsWrite Up About Books Lady Audley's Secret
An entertaining Victorian Era novel that is similar to The Woman in White. They both were part of the short lived "Sensation" genre of novels from mid 19th century England, although Lady Audley's Secret doesn't quite measure up to The Woman in White. The beautiful but devious Lady Audley was far and away the most interesting character in the novel. Her nemesis, Robert Audley, nephew to her husband, was so condescending and snobish, that I found myself pulling for the narcissistic, murderous,This was recommended to me as a cross between Austen & Heyer but other than the abundance of grey eyes (Heyer) this book didn't remind me of either author - more like Conan Doyle or Poe.Fortunately I love Conan Doyle & Poe.Fast paced at the start, the book slowed down about three quarters of the way through with a lot of exposition and a lot of melodramatic angst. & for modern tastes, (view spoiler)[ The Hero telling The Villainess his plan of action (& not just once!) was
SOLD on what they called during the day sensation novels. What a remarkably well crafted story! The characters are so well conceived! Not only am I now interested in other books written during this (Victorian) time period but especially THIS author, what a fan Ive become! I could liken the unfolding of the secret to be a bit like a buffet - we are given so much, in fact, in terms of clues and hints, that I began to feel concerned that perhaps they were spilling all the beans and I, being very
I loved this historical novel. The secret is discovered early on by the reader, but the suspense is built while you wait for everyone else to find out. Very cleverly done.
whatever could be Lady Audley's secret? could it be... murder? miscegenation? malfeasance? misdirected malevolence ending in tears, tragedy, and general tawdriness? an assumed identity? flatulence? that not-so-fresh feeling? bigamy? bigotry? child abuse? child abandonment? une affaire de coeur? une affaire de blanchiment d'argent? well, all or some of those things may or may not be a part of this novel - but they are not the secret in question. Lady Audley's terrible, terrible secret is... (view
A slight mix for me. Definitely an interesting novel, gripping, engaging with some wonderful characters and interesting insights into Victorian society - a 5-star until the last quarter, but I'm not sure how I felt about the ending. Nonetheless, definitely one that I need to think about more and that I'd love to study!
This is a sadly forgotten but great 19th century sensation novel that rivals some of Wilkie Collins' best books such as The Woman in White and the Moonstone. Its also one of the first to feature a female villain which wasn't typical of early literature. Nevertheless, this dynamic creates an interesting character study which discusses female motives and what they are capable of despite their beauty and grace. This is a great book and it definitely needs to move closer to the top on your to-read
0 Comments