Describe Books As 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
Point Appertaining To 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 |
Interpretation 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!
Rating Appertaining To Books Lady Audley's Secret
Ratings: 3.76 From 19603 Users | 1181 ReviewsCommentary Appertaining To Books Lady Audley's Secret
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-readThings are not always as they appear, if there's a lesson to be learned from this book...there it is in a nut shell. There was a major curve ball thrown at the end and I was pleasantly surprised. I guess this is what was considered "chick-lit" in the 1800s. Bigamy, murder, lunacy, etc. Good deal!
Lady Audley's secret is yet another Victorian 'sensational' novel I read for the year. My first such experience was The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. I have read that Collins and Ms. Braddon are known as the best authors of the genre and that Lady Audley's secret is regarded as a rival to The Woman in White. This knowledge made me want to read the book, and when a group to which I belong was intended upon reading this I couldn't resist the urge to join in. I'm very much glad that I did. Told
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!
LADY AUDLEY'S SECRET's title would suggest that the book holds in its pages something that would deeply scandalize the reader. I suppose, the fact that it didn't surprise me, when the ominous secret was finally revealed, says something about what our society has grown accustomed to, as well as the fact that I read too many crime novels;-)That being said, I did rather enjoy reading this book. The story flowed well, and the style of Braddon's writing is very accessible. I read this for a lit
Loved this...great fun. 4.5-stars, rounded down. As I read Lady Audley's Secret, I kept thinking of Poe, Conan Doyle and Anne Bronte. A nice combination, if I must say so myself. Braddon has created an interesting story line and a creepy environment in which to plunk down her motley set of characters. I loved the conflicting ideas that are present within Lady Audley herself and especially enjoyed the myriad ways she is viewed by the other characters in the story. Her secret did surprise me, and
Wow. This is one of those gems that normally I wouldnt have picked up but am so glad that I did. I think it gets slack because it is a mystery/suspense story that early on you kind of figure out who did what..but if you are a lover, appreciator and admirer of good story telling, continue on even though you think youve figured it out. Let the author peal back the layers to the what and how for you. I dont want to even mention the plot because honestly, I knew this book dealt with a secret and
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