Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Victorian Fabulosity! October 31, 2008
M. J. Saxton (Dewsbury, West Yorkshire United Kingdom)
The epitome of high Victorian three volume wonderfulness.
If you're a fan, you can't do better than read this. Lady Audley has more than one secret, really, and Mary Elizabeth Braddon seems to have added to the list after she thought of the title, but who cares?
There's a touch of Ann Radcliffe and the Brontes mixed with Mrs Gaskell and Anthony Trollope. It's about time it was serialised on the BBC.
Robert Audley is not a shirt-rippling hero, but it's very easy to sympathise with his predicament. There is also a feeling that Ms Braddon changed her mind over who he should marry halfway through writing. In fact, the construction of the novel is fairly transparent as an ongoing piece of writing.
There are some recognisable human frailties here, and a great deal of artifice; no problem with that - it's what entertainment is all about.
Terriffic Whodunnit October 23, 2008
Brownbear101 (London United Kingdom)
This is a tremendous page-turning whodunnit with a fabulous cast of characters set against a richly detailed and authentic 1850's Home Counties backdrop.
Braddon is especially good at contrasting the hero, Robert Audley, against his newly acquired young aunt, Lady Audley. Robert starts the book as a foppish wastrel and Lady Audley as a girlish accessory for Lord Audley. Robert's search for the missing George Talboy causes both Robert and Lady Audley to show steel and determination as they lock horns in a mortal conflict. Even though the reader pretty much knows whodunwhat from the start it's still gripping as Robert strips away the layers of the secret. The action flows thick and fast - the book was written as a weekly serial so there are plenty of cliffhangers and false trails.
The supporting cast includes a great smorgasbord of characters, showing all sides of humanity and in many cases spinning their fate out of their own selfish and unselfish actions. It's not quite Hardy but it's a lot more fun.
The greatest strength of the book is that the chracters are fully formed and sympathetic, even when foul deeds are being done they are not incomprehensible in ordinary human terms.
I loved it and I wish someone would write a whole series of Robert Audley books.
 The Victorian Sensation Novel June 26, 2008
History Fan (Staffordshire)
Having purchased this book because it was mentioned in another, non-fiction, book that I was reading, I was hooked from the first page and had read it over a long weekend - what joy - the story was gripping and the characters believable and I even felt sorry for the "villainess" of the story. The story cracked along at a tremendous pace and kept me engaged throughout.
If you enjoy the novels of Wilkie Collins, you will really enjoy this story.
Sensational March 16, 2008
Didier (Ghent, Belgium)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
'Lady Audley's Secret' is one of the many (over eighty!) novels Mary Elizabeth Braddon wrote, and like many of them, this title first appeared in installments in popular magazines ('Robin Goodfellow' and the 'Sixpenny Magazine') before being published in 3 volumes in 1862.
'Lady Audley's Secret' is a quite spectacular read, with a very simple but equally effective plot: when the elderly baronet Sir Michael Audley marries the much younger ex-governess Lucy Graham and makes her the Lady Audley of the title, his nephew Robert Audley before long begins to suspect there's more to Lady Audley than meets the eye. The disappearance, during a stay at Audley Court, of his longtime friend George Talboys, triggers him to begin investigating her past.
The entire novel is dominated by these two opposing characters: Lady Audley as the beautiful heroine, cunning and willing to go to any length for her own position and advancement, and Robert Audley as the (until then) idle but nonetheless very capable barrister, who finds himself (for the first time in his life) compelled to take action. From mere acquaintances they slowly but inexorably develop into mortal enemies, as Robert peels away layer after layer of Lady Audley's secrets.
I cannot express how thoroughly I enjoyed this novel. The plot may develop slowly, but that gives all the more room for the develoment of the characters, and they are the main pojnt of this novel. Mary Elizabeth Braddon was until recently an author I had scarcely heard of, but I'm glad I discovered her, and will definitely try to find other works by her. Last but not least I should mention the fine introduction by Jenny Bourne Taylor and Russel Crofts, which gives a very good insight into the themes of 'Lady Audley's Secret' and its place in Victorian literature.
A Victorian Gem November 10, 2006
Snapdragon (London)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
There is a reason why Thackeray and Dickens were big fans of Mary Elizabeth Braddon. This novel is a Victorian gem!
Lucy Graham is a governess until she strikes it lucky and manages to charm Sir Michael Audley into marrying her. Apart from a tempestuous realtioship with her new step-daughter, Alicia, all is quiet at Audley Court until a visit from Sir Michael's neice and his friend George Tallboys.
George suddenly disappears, but there is more to the disappearance than meets the eye, and what is Lady Audley keeping to herself?
Blackmail, possible murder, arson and one of the greatest villanesses I've ever come across, this book has it all.
Suspend all disbelief and enjoy. Highly recommended.
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