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Lady Audley's Secret is a sensation novel by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, written in 1862. It was originally produced in three volumes along with a serialized magazine version and, later, a single volume edition..

Lady Audley's Secret follows Robert Audley through his detective-like work in trying to uncover what happened to his friend George Talboy and who his uncle's wife, Lucy Audley, really is. Although the novel's content of bigamy and attempted murder was considered fairly immoral at the time of publication, it was extremely successful. It has been in print ever since its first publication.

Plot

The novel opens with the marriage of Lucy Graham, a beautiful, doll-like blonde, to Sir Michael Audley, a widower, in June of 1857. Lucy was an governess for the local doctor, Mr. Dawson. Previous to this time, Lucy was in service with Mrs. Vincent, and all that was known of her past was the fact of her being an orphan. Around the same time of the marriage, Sir Michael’s nephew, barrister Robert Audley, welcomes back to England an old friend of his, George Talboys, who has returned after three years of fortune-hunting in Australia.

George is anxious to get news of his wife, Helen, whom he left three years ago when their financial situation became desperate, hoping to return to her with Australian gold. Unfortunately, he reads in the newspaper that she has died, and after visiting her home to confirm this, has a complete breakdown. 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 it is then that George decides to make Robert little Georgey's guardian and caretaker of 20,000 pounds put into the boy's name. After settling the matter of the boy's guardianship, the two set off to visit Lord Audley.

While at Audley Court, the country manor, Lady Audley avoids meeting with George. When the two seek an audience with the new Lady Audley, she makes many excuses to avoid their visit, but he and Robert are shown a portrait of her by Alicia Audley, Robert’s cousin. George appears greatly struck by the portrait, somewhat to Robert’s surprise, but he does not comment further on it. Shortly thereafter, George disappears, much to Robert’s consternation. Unwilling to believe that George has simply left him, Robert begins to look into the circumstances around the disappearance.

While searching for his friend, Robert begins to take notes of the events as they unfold. His notes mark a suspicion to the involvement of Lady Audley, and he slowly begins to collect evidence against her. One night, he reveals such a statement and notes that George was in possession of many letters that his former wife wrote. Lady Audley immediately sets off to London, where the letters were kept, and Robert follows after her. However, by the time he arrives, he discovers that George's possessions have been broken into with the help of a local locksmith and the letters had vanished. However, one possession, a book with a note written by George's wife that matches Lady Audley's handwriting, was not taken. This proved to Robert that Lady Audley was a liar and was involved in George's disappearance.

Suspecting only the worse 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. Mr. Harcourt dispassionately listens to the story and is unmoved. In the course of his visit at the Talboy's manor, Robert is very taken with George’s sister Clara, who looks startlingly like George. Clara’s passion for finding her brother spurs Robert on.

It is now February of 1859, and Robert continues searching for more evidence. During this time, 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. With the knowledge that Lucy was employed by Mrs. Vincent at her school since 1852. In order to verify this claim, Robert tracks down Mrs. Vincent, who was in hiding over debts. According to Miss Tonks, a teacher at Mrs. Vincent's school, Lucy actually came to the school in August of 1854 and was very secretive about her past. Besides this information, Miss Tonks was able to offer Robert a travel box that was once in possession of Lucy, and upon examining stickers on the box discovered there was both Lucy's name as Lucy Graham and as Helen Talboys.

Robert eventually discovers that Helen Talboys actually faked her death before proceeding with her new identity. When he confronts Lady Audley with this information, she declares to him that she is mad and that she killed George by pushing him down a well in the garden, defending herself on the grounds that he abandoned her originally and she had no choice but to abandon her old life and child and find another, wealthier husband. Shortly thereafter, she attempts to kill Robert by burning down the inn where he is staying. Robert manages to escape, and with the help of his uncle, places Lady Audley in a French madhouse under the name of Madame Taylor, to avoid any shame on the family name.

Robert grieves for his friend George, but the proprietor of the inn, Luke Marks, who is critically injured in the fire, manages before dying to tell Robert that George in fact survived Lady Audley’s murderous attack, and with Luke’s help left again for Australia. Robert is overjoyed at the news of his friend, and proposes to Clara that they marry and go to Australia to find George. Clara accepts, but before they set out George fortunately returns. The narrative ends with Clara and Robert happily married and living in a country cottage with George. Lady Audley dies abroad.

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 outside. However, in this narrative, the seemingly perfect domestic lady turns out to be a violent criminal who has not only tried to commit murder, but has also committed bigamy and abandoned her child. Lady Audley's crimes disrupt the domestic sphere and remove the safety of the home. This was unsettling to a Victorian readership because it made it clear that the ideas of "the perfect lady/mother" and "domestic bliss" were more idealistic than realistic. In addition, anxieties about the increasing urbanization of Britain are noticeable: Lady Audley is able to change her identity in a city, where she is effectively anonymous. The small town of Audley is no longer a refuge where everyone knows his/her neighbors. The residents of Audley must accept Lucy Graham's account of herself, since they have no other way of identifying her. Other anxieties about unstable identity appear throughout the novel; Lady Audley's maid, Phoebe, resembles Lady Audley, except without makeup and hair dye.

Adaptations

Films

• Lady Audley's Secret 1912 (USA, black and white, silent)
• Lady Audley's Secret (aka Secrets of Society) 1915 (USA, black and white, silent, directed by Marshall Farnum)
• Lady Audley's Secret 1920 (UK, black and white, silent, directed by Jack Denton)
• Lady Audley's Secret 2000 (UK, TV, directed by Betsan Morris Evans)

Broadway

Produced in 1972.

Notes

References

External links

• Lady Audley's Secret at Project Gutenberg
• Lady Audley's Secret free downloads in pdf, pdb and lit formats

• 1862 novels