Lady Audley's Secret
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''Lady Audley's Secret'' is a
sensation novel The sensation novel, also sensation fiction, was a literary genre of fiction that achieved peak popularity in Great Britain in the 1860s and 1870s.I. Ousby ed., ''The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English'' (1995) p. 844 Its literary forebears i ...
by
Mary Elizabeth Braddon Mary Elizabeth Braddon (4 October 1835 – 4 February 1915) was an English popular novelist of the Victorian era. She is best known for her 1862 sensation novel ''Lady Audley's Secret'', which has also been dramatised and filmed several times. ...
published in 1862. John Sutherland. "Lady Audley's Secret" in ''The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction'', 1989. It was Braddon's most successful and well-known novel. Critic John Sutherland (1989) described the work as "the most sensationally successful of all the sensation novels". The plot centres on "accidental
bigamy In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...
" which was in literary fashion in the early 1860s. The plot was summarised by literary critic
Elaine Showalter Elaine Showalter (born January 21, 1941) is an American literary critic, feminist, and writer on cultural and social issues. She influenced feminist literary criticism in the United States academia, developing the concept and practice of gynocr ...
(1982): "Braddon's bigamous heroine deserts her child, pushes husband number one down a well, thinks about poisoning husband number two and sets fire to a hotel in which her other male acquaintances are residing". Elements of the novel mirror themes of the real-life Constance Kent case of June 1860 which gripped the nation for years.. Ppg. 217-18 A follow-up novel, ''
Aurora Floyd ''Aurora Floyd'' (1863) is a sensation novel written by the prominent English author Mary Elizabeth Braddon. It forms a sequel to Braddon's highly popular novel ''Lady Audley's Secret'' (1862). Plot Aurora Floyd is the spoiled, impetuous, but ...
'', appeared in 1863. Braddon set the story in
Ingatestone Hall Ingatestone Hall is a Grade I listed 16th-century manor house in Essex, England. It is located outside the village of Ingatestone, approximately south west of Chelmsford and north east of London. The house was built by Sir William Petre, and ...
, Essex, inspired by a visit there. There have been three silent film adaptations, one UK television version in 2000, and three minor stage adaptations.


History

''Lady Audley's Secret'' was partly serialised in ''
Robin Goodfellow In English folklore, Puck (), sometimes known as Robin Goodfellow, is a domestic and nature sprite, demon, or fairy. Origins and comparative folklore Etymology The etymology of ''puck'' is uncertain. The modern English word is attested alre ...
'' magazine July–September 1861, then entirely serialised in '' Sixpenny Magazine'' January–December 1862 and once again serialised in ''
The London Journal ''The London Journal; and Weekly Record of Literature, Science and Art'' (published from 1845 to 1928) was a British penny dreadful, penny fiction weekly, one of the best-selling magazines of the nineteenth century. It was established by George ...
'' March–August 1863. It was published in 1862 in three volumes by William Tinsley. Braddon initially sold the rights to the Irish publisher John Maxwell, with whom Braddon also lived and had children. Maxwell published it in his ailing magazine ''Robin Goodfellow'', but Braddon did not labour much, writing the final third in less than two weeks. Not until it was published as a three-volume novel by William Tinsley did it become a success and allow Braddon to be financially independent for the remainder of her life. It also enriched her publisher William Tinsley, who went on to build a
villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
at Barnes, "Audley Lodge", with the profits. John Sutherland. "Braddon" in ''The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction'', 1989. Notably – given the theme of bigamy in the novel's plot – Maxwell himself was married to another woman, and so Braddon was unable to marry him until his wife died in 1874. When it became public that Maxwell and Braddon had been living in an "irregular" arrangement all those years, it caused a minor scandal during which all their servants gave notice. In 1997 a Wordsworth Limited edition was released with an Introduction by Keith Carabine from the
University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...
in which he states ‘In the latter half of the nineteenth century, everyone knew ''Lady Audley’s Secret.’''


Plot

The novel opens in June 1857 with the marriage of Lucy Graham and Sir Michael Audley. Lucy is a young, beautiful woman who enchants almost all who meet her. Sir Michael is a kindly, wealthy middle-aged widower. Lucy's past is unclear. Prior to getting married to Sir Michael she had served as governess for the children of the local doctor, Mr. Dawson, and before that she was in service with Mrs. Vincent. Very little is known about her prior to that. Shortly after the marriage Sir Michael's nephew, the barrister Robert Audley, welcomes his old friend George Talboys back to England. Three years before, though happily married, George's financial situation had been desperate. He left for Australia to seek a fortune in
gold prospecting Gold prospecting is the act of searching for new gold deposits. Methods used vary with the type of deposit sought and the resources of the prospector. Although traditionally a commercial activity, in some developed countries placer gold prospe ...
. Behind him in England he had left his young wife Helen, whom he is now anxious to get news of. He reads in the newspaper that she has died, and, after visiting her home to confirm this, he becomes despondent. Robert Audley cares for his friend, and, hoping to distract him, offers to take him to his wealthy uncle's country manor. George had a child, Georgey, who was left under the care of Lieutenant Maldon, George's father-in-law. Robert and George set off to visit Georgey, and George decides to make Robert little Georgey's guardian and trustee of £20,000 put into the boy's name. After settling the matter of the boy's guardianship, the two set off to visit Sir Michael. While at the country manor Audley Court, Lady Audley avoids meeting George. When the two seek an audience with the new Lady Audley, she makes many excuses and avoids their visits. During her absence a thunder storm confines George and Robert to the interior of Audley Court, and the two are shown a portrait of Lady Audley. Looking back toward his friend, Robert notes that George seems disturbed, and attributes his disturbed mood to the storm. Shortly thereafter George disappears. Robert is perplexed. Unwilling to believe George simply left with no notice, Robert begins to look into the circumstances of his disappearance. While searching for his friend, Robert takes note of the events surrounding George's disappearance. The name of Lady Audley repeatedly appears in these notes, and much to his distress, the evidence begins to collect against her. One night, he reveals his notes to Lady Audley, including that George was in possession of many letters of his former wife. Lady Audley sets off to London, where the letters were kept. Robert follows after her. However, by the time he arrives, he discovers that George's possessions have been broken into and the letters are missing. One possession, however, remains – a book with a note written by George's wife that matches Lady Audley's handwriting. This confirms Robert's suspicion that Lady Audley is implicated in George's disappearance; it also leads Robert to conclude that Lady Audley is actually George's supposedly dead wife. Suspecting the worst of Lady Audley and being afraid for little Georgey's life, Robert travels to Lieutenant Maldon's house and demands possession of the boy. Once Robert has Georgey under his control, he places the boy in a school run by Mr. Marchmont. Afterwards, Robert visits George's father, Mr. Harcourt Talboys, and confronts the Squire with his son's death. Harcourt listens dispassionately to the story. In the course of his visit to the Talboys' manor, Robert is entranced by George's sister Clara, who looks startlingly like George. Clara's passion for finding her brother spurs Robert on. In February 1859, Robert continues searching for evidence. He receives a notice that his uncle is ill, and he quickly returns to Audley Court. While there, Robert speaks with Mr. Dawson and receives a brief description of all that is known about Lucy's background. He hears that Lucy was employed by Mrs. Vincent at her school since 1852. To verify this claim, Robert tracks down Mrs. Vincent, who is in hiding because of debts. According to Miss Tonks, a teacher at Mrs. Vincent's school, Lucy actually arrived at the school in August 1854 and was secretive about her past. Miss Tonks gives Robert a travel box that used to belong to Lucy. Upon examining stickers on the box, Robert discovers both the name Lucy Graham and the name Helen Talboys. Robert realizes that Helen Talboys faked her death before creating her new identity. When Robert confronts Lucy, she tells him that he has no proof. He leaves to find more evidence, heading to Castle Inn, which is run by Luke Marks. During the night, Lucy forces Luke's wife, Phoebe, to let her into the inn, then Lucy sets the place on fire with the intention of killing Robert. However, Robert survives and returns to Audley Court and again confronts Lucy. This time, she says she is insane and confesses her life's story to Robert and Sir Michael, claiming that George abandoned her originally and she had no choice but to abandon her old life and child to find another, wealthier husband. Sir Michael is unhappy and leaves with Alicia to travel through Europe. Robert invites a Dr. Mosgrave to make a more astute judgment regarding Lucy's sanity, and he proclaims that she is indeed victim to latent insanity, which overpowers her in times of stress and makes her very dangerous to any and all. Lucy, under the name of Madame Taylor, enters a mental institution located somewhere in Belgium along the route between Brussels and Paris. While being committed, Lucy confesses to Robert that she killed George by pushing him down a deserted well in the garden of Audley Court. Robert grieves for his friend George until a dying Luke Marks contacts him. Before succumbing to injuries he suffered in the fire, Luke tells Robert that George survived Lady Audley's attempted murder. Luke then helped George escape, with George intending to return to Australia. Robert is overjoyed, and he asks Clara to marry him and go with him to Australia to find George. Clara accepts, but before they set out, George returns and reveals that he actually visited New York instead. The narrative ends with the death of Lucy abroad, and Clara and Robert happily married and living in a country cottage with George and his son. Robert's formerly infatuated cousin Alicia marries her once-spurned suitor, Sir Harry Towers, and Audley Court is left abandoned along with all of its unhappy memories.


Analysis and themes

''Lady Audley's Secret'' plays on Victorian anxieties about the domestic sphere. The home was supposed to be a refuge from the dangers of the outside world, but in the novel, the seemingly perfect domestic lady turns out to be a violent criminal who has not only tried to commit murder but who has also committed bigamy and abandoned her child. This unsettled Victorian readers because it indicated that the concepts of "the perfect lady/mother" and "domestic bliss" were more idealistic than realistic. In addition, anxieties about the increasing urbanisation of Britain abound; the city gives Lady Audley the power to change her identity because it renders its citizens effectively anonymous. The small town of Audley is no longer a refuge where everyone knows the life story of every neighbour; the residents of Audley must accept Lucy Graham's account of herself since they have no other information about her past. Other anxieties about unstable identity appear throughout the novel: Lady Audley's maid, Phoebe, resembles Lady Audley, thus banishing the idea of physical distinction between the upper and lower classes and therefore of any inherent superiority of the former. ''Lady Audley's Secret'' is, furthermore, a story about gender and class, and Lady Audley's objectionable upward mobility suggests a threat to the paradigm of social class. Madness is also a key issue. Lady Audley and others often converse about the meaning of this word, but many readers believe that Lady Audley is not mad. In fact, many critics view Lady Audley's deception as a feminist act in which a woman takes control of the direction of her own life. The novel mirrors many of the same themes from the real-life Constance Kent case of June 1860 that gripped the nation with headline news for years. The first instalment of ''Lady Audley's Secret'' came out almost exactly one year after the Kent murder. The novel, like the real-life case, featured a wicked stepmother (and former governess who married a gentleman), a mysterious and brutal murder in a country manor house, a body thrown down a well, and characters fascinated by madness. Constance Kent can be seen in many of the female characters in the novel: the murderess Lady Audley, the tomboyish Alicia Audley, the restrained Phoebe Marks and the lonely Clara Talboys.
Jack Whicher Detective Inspector Jonathan "Jack" Whicher (1 October 1814 – 29 June 1881) was an English police detective. He was one of the original eight members of London's newly formed Detective Branch, which was established at Scotland Yard in 1842.
, the detective and case investigator, can be seen in the character of Robert Audley.


Adaptations

;Films * ''Lady Audley's Secret'', 1912 (USA, black and white, silent) * ''
Lady Audley's Secret ''Lady Audley's Secret'' is a sensation novel by Mary Elizabeth Braddon published in 1862. John Sutherland. "Lady Audley's Secret" in ''The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction'', 1989. It was Braddon's most successful and well-known novel. ...
'' (aka ''Secrets of Society''), 1915 (USA, black and white, silent, directed by
Marshall Farnum Marshall Farnum (December 19, 1879 – February 19, 1917) was an American actor and film director. The youngest of the three Farnum boys, Dustin Farnum and William Farnum.Liebman p.89 Having directed first on stage, from 1913 he established hims ...
) * ''
Lady Audley's Secret ''Lady Audley's Secret'' is a sensation novel by Mary Elizabeth Braddon published in 1862. John Sutherland. "Lady Audley's Secret" in ''The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction'', 1989. It was Braddon's most successful and well-known novel. ...
'', 1920 (UK, black and white, silent, directed by
Jack Denton John Fleming St. Andrew Denton (11 September 1872 – 19 April 1949) was a British actor and film director of the silent era. Denton was born in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire and died at age 76 in Redhill, Surrey. Selected filmography Ac ...
) * ''Lady Audley's Secret'', 1949 (UK, TV, black and white) * ', 1978 (West Germany, TV, directed by Wilhelm Semmelroth) * ''Lady Audley's Secret'', 2000 (UK, TV, directed by Betsan Morris Evans) - (In the USA part of the ''
Mystery! ''Mystery!'' (also written ''MYSTERY!'') is a television anthology series produced by WGBH Boston for PBS in the United States. The series was created as a mystery, police and crime drama spin-off of the already established PBS show ''Masterpi ...
'' series.) ;Radio * ''Lady Audley's Secret'', 2009 (UK, BBC Radio 4) ;Stage * 1863 – adapted by Colin Henry Hazlewood, first performed at the Victoria Theatre, London, 1863. Hazlewood also dramatised Braddon's ''
Aurora Floyd ''Aurora Floyd'' (1863) is a sensation novel written by the prominent English author Mary Elizabeth Braddon. It forms a sequel to Braddon's highly popular novel ''Lady Audley's Secret'' (1862). Plot Aurora Floyd is the spoiled, impetuous, but ...
'' the same year. * 1930 –
Cambridge Festival Theatre The Theatre Royal was built in the Barnwell suburb of Cambridge, England, in 1816. It closed later that century but reopened as the Cambridge Festival Theatre from 1926 until 1935. The building, in which part of the interior of the theatre surv ...
: a "melodramatized version" of the novel including a "birthday fete" and Rustic Ballet. The part of Lady Audley was played by (Dame)
Flora Robson Dame Flora McKenzie Robson (28 March 19027 July 1984) was an English actress and star of the theatrical stage and cinema, particularly renowned for her performances in plays demanding dramatic and emotional intensity. Her range extended from q ...
and the performance was produced by
Tyrone Guthrie Sir William Tyrone Guthrie (2 July 1900 – 15 May 1971) was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at his ...
. It was preceded by a performance of Morton's ''
Cox and Box ''Cox and Box; or, The Long-Lost Brothers'', is a one-act comic opera with a libretto by F. C. Burnand and music by Arthur Sullivan, based on the 1847 farce '' Box and Cox'' by John Maddison Morton. It was Sullivan's first successful comic o ...
''. * 1971 – Chicago,
Goodman Theatre Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the lan ...
, adaptation by
Douglas Seale Douglas Seale (28 October 1913 – 13 June 1999) was an English film and stage actor. Early life Born in London, Seale was educated at Rutlish School in Wimbledon and trained for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Career He ...
Introduction to the Dover Edition by Norman Donaldson: Lady Audley's Secret
(1974)
* 1972 –
Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
, Seale adaptationBarnes, Clive (4 October 1972)
The Stage: 'Lady Audley'; Victorian Musical Is at Eastside Playhouse
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. Retrieved 1 December 2010 (debuted at Eastdale Playhouse in New York City on 3 October 1972)


In popular culture

''Lady Audley's Secret'' is involved in a subplot of ''
Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown ''Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown'' (1943) is the fourth volume in the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace. The book, along with the entire ''Betsy-Tacy'' and ''Deep Valley'' series, was republished in 2000 by HarperTrophy with a new cover art ill ...
'', the fourth book in the
Betsy-Tacy The ''Betsy-Tacy ''books are a series of semi-autobiographical novels by American novelist and short-story writer Maud Hart Lovelace (1892-1980), which were originally published between 1940 and 1955 by the Thomas Y. Crowell Co. The books are now ...
series by
Maud Hart Lovelace Maud Hart Lovelace (April 25, 1892 – March 11, 1980) was an American writer best known for the Betsy-Tacy series. Early life Maud Palmer Hart was born in Mankato, Minnesota to Tom Hart, a shoe store owner, and his wife, Stella (née Palmer) ...
. Betsy has read it and other books in the same genre, and aspires to write similar works.


References

;Further reading * * * * * * * *


External links

* * (ebooks, plain text and HTML) *
''Lady Audley's Secret''
at
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
(scanned books original editions) * Miller, Lucasta (9 August 2003)
"Sweet Sensation"
''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''. Retrieved 1 December 2010 * {{Mary Elizabeth Braddon 1862 British novels Fiction set in 1857 Fiction set in 1859 Novels set in the 1850s Novels first published in serial form Works originally published in British magazines Novels set in Essex Victorian novels British novels adapted into films British novels adapted into plays Sensation novels