| Revision as of 15:25, 9 October 2008 edit66.56.179.32 (talk) Corrected character names, corrected order of the incidents in the book, added important elements of the plot that had been left out. I just finished reading this book.← Previous edit | Revision as of 16:33, 9 October 2008 edit undoOttava Rima (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users20,327 edits unnecessary plot addition, over emphasis on unimportant partsNext edit → | ||
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| '''''Lady Audley's Secret''''' is a ] by ], written in 1862. It was originally produced in ] along with a serialized magazine version and, later, a single volume edition.. | '''''Lady Audley's Secret''''' is a ] by ], written in 1862. It was originally produced in ] 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 Talboys and who his uncle's wife, Lucy |
''Lady Audley's Secret'' follows Robert Audley through his detective-like work in trying to uncover what happened to his friend George Talboys and who his uncle's wife, Lucy Audley, really is. During his search, Robert has to deal with lies, deceit, and even an attempt to kill him. 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== | ==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 a governess for the local doctor, Mr. Dawson. Previous to this time, Lucy was in service with Mrs. Vincent |
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 a 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 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 Sir Michael. | ||
| At one point, Phoebe Marks, Lady Audley's personal maid, took her cousin and suitor Luke Marks on a tour of the great Audley Court. She ends up taking Luke to Lady Audley's rooms, which are especially wonderful. She shows Luke all the beautiful things in the room, and mentions that she would love to show him my lady's jewels, but that they were locked up. When Phoebe begins to clean Lady Audley's rooms, she finds that my lady had left the key in her dressing gown. Phoebe opens the jewel chest and Luke suggests stealing a diamond bracelet so they could have money. Phoebe refuses to steal from my lady. While continuing to admire my lady's jewelry, they come across a ribbon which Lady Audley had always worn around her neck before her marriage to Sir Michael. It had a yellowed piece of paper at the end, and there was also a baby's booty in the secret drawer. Phoebe announces to Luke that they have no need of the bracelet, for now she owned Lady Audley's secret and that would get them more than they'd ever hoped. | |||
| 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. | |||
| While at Audley Court, the country manor, Lady Audley avoids meeting with George. When Robert and George seek an audience with the new Lady Audley, she makes many excuses to avoid their visit. Lady Audley tells Sir Michael that they must hurry to Essex, where her former employer, Mrs. Vincent is dying and she wants to see Mrs. Vincent before she passes away. While in Essex, my lady writes to Alicia Audley (Robert's cousin) asking how much longer she expects Robert and George to stay. She sends a note telling Lady Audley that Robert and George had plans to leave the very next morning. Alicia Audley suggests a tour and especially wants to show them Lady Audley's rooms, but Lady Audley has locked the one door that offers entry to her rooms and has taken the key. George and Robert find a portrait of my Lady Audley when Alicia tells them of a secret passage they can use to get into the Lady's rooms. George appears greatly struck by the portrait, somewhat to Robert’s surprise, but he does not comment further on it. | |||
| 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. | |||
| We learn later that Lady Audley and Sir Michael could not find Mrs. Vincent's home; and there was no way for them to find her, since there was no return address on the telegram which informed Lady Audley of her former employer's impending death. | |||
| Lady Audley and Sir Michael return to Audley Court to find out that Robert and George are still visiting - that they'd decided to stay one more day. Lady Audley claims to have a headache and asks to be left alone with her personal maid, Phoebe, so she can recover. Shortly thereafter, George and Robert go fishing. While Robert is napping, George disappears, much to Robert’s consternation. Unwilling to believe that George has simply left him without a proper good-bye, Robert begins to look into the circumstances around the disappearance, suspecting the worst. | |||
| That very evening, Lady Audley meets Robert and they are all in the sitting room while Lady Audley plays the piano. Robert had gone with her to the piano to turn pages for her, but she played from memory, so he ended up not being needed. Robert was mesmerized by Lady Audley's beauty, and he stayed by her side, watching her play. That is when he noticed a bruise on my lady's arm. She passed it off as a mark she made herself when she accidentally tied the ribbon around her wrist too tightly - she bruises easily. The men look at the wrist, and they notice there are actually five bruises, as if someone had held her wrist too tightly. Lady Audley refuses to explain further. | |||
| While searching for his friend, Robert begins to take notes of the events as they unfold. His notes inlcude a suspicion to the involvement of Lady Audley, and he slowly begins to collect circumstantial evidence against her. One night, Robert reveals his suspicions to Lady Audley, and mentions letters that George Talboys had saved which had come from Helen. Robert tips his hand and says he can use them to prove that Lady Audley, formerly Lucy Graham, was none other than the wife that George Talboys had abandoned in order to seek his fortune - Helen Talboys. Robert plans to head straight to London. Upon his arrival, he literally bumps into Lady Audley who is on her way home after supposedly hurrying to London to pay a milliner's bill which she would not even "wish the best of husbands to see", due to its extravagance. When Robert arrives at his home (Fig-Tree Court), he discovers that George's possessions (all in one chest marked "GT")have been broken into and the all-important letters had been stolen. Upon inquiry, Robert learns from his maid (Mrs. Maloney) that a blacksmith had been there earlier, fixing locks which supposedly were "all out of repair". Robert goes to the blacksmith's to confront him and finds that the blacksmith is celebrating the windfall that has just come his way. As Robert arrives, the blacksmith is just finishing up his story of the circumstances in which he gained his new fortune: "And, with that, she walked off as graceful as you please." Robert gets a story out of the blacksmith that a lady hired him to go in and pilfer George's belongings, which were at the apartments. Robert is very disappointed and frustrated. However, upon further examining the contents of the chest, Robert discovers that one possession, a book, contains Helen Talboys's writing: she had presented the book to her husband, George - and, in doing so, had left an example of her handwriting in the front of the book. It was in handwriting exactly like that of Lady Audley. This proved to Robert that Lady Audley was a liar and was involved in George's disappearance. | |||
| Suspecting only the worst of Lady Audley and being afraid for little Georgey's life, Robert travels to Lieutenant Maldon's house and suggests that Georgey should be in school. 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. A woman is sitting near a window sewing, and she looks up when Robert begins speaking - Robert knows from her appearance that she must be George's sister, Clara - she has the same eyes. She sits still with her head bowed during the whole discourse as does Mr. Harcourt, who appears to be totally unmoved by Robert's story. Mr. Talboys is proud of his ability to remain firm in every decision he makes, and he tells Robert he can stop trying to figure out what happened to George since he had totally disowned George years before because of his marriage to Helen. Robert looks at Mr. Talboys and the silent Clara and leaves, washing his hands of his search for George. Once in his carriage, he is on his way off the property when Clara runs out to stop him - she'd sneaked out of the house in order to let Robert know that she does care about what has happened to George, and she passionately begs him to continue the search. Robert is amazed at her likeness to George and is very taken with Clara. He would do anything to help this young woman who, it appears, might just be the one female who can make him want to leave bachelorhood. | |||
| ] | ] | ||
| It is now February of 1859, and Robert continues searching for more evidence. During this time, he receives a notice that |
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 tells Robert that he has no proof of such matters, and he declares that he should search the whole grounds and tear apart Audley Court in order to find George's body. Lady Audley uses this confrontation to suggest to her husband that Robert is mad, and she begins leading Sir Michael to suspect Robert might be insane. | |||
| Robert leaves to find more evidence and heads to Castle Inn, a place run by Phoebe Marks's husband, Luke. (The purchase of the run-down inn was funded by Lady Audley, who was being blackmailed by her former maid and by Luke.) During the night, Phoebe mentions that Luke was drunk when she left, and he tended to leave candles burning. It was surprising to her that Luke had never burned down the inn. Lady Audley then forces Phoebe Marks to take her to the inn and my lady locks the room in which Robert is staying from the outside just before she sets the place on fire in order to kill him. However, Robert was sleeping in the common room downstairs, so he survives, and he rescued Luke Marks in the process. Robert returns to Audley Court and confronts Lady Audley once again. This time, she declares to him that she is mad and says she is ready to reveal her life's story to Robert and Sir Michael, claiming that her mother had been kept in a madhouse and that George abandoned her originally, so she had no choice but to abandon her old life and child in order to find another, wealthier husband. Before Lady Audley could confess all to her husband, Sir Michael stops her narration and orders his luggage be packed so he can leave Robert to deal with Lady Audley. Robert suggests to Alicia that she should travel with her father, but he does not reveal Lady Audley's secret in order to protect Alicia from the truth and also to prevent Alicia from bringing up the topic while the two are away. So Robert is left in charge of what should happen to Lady Audley from there. Sir Michael suggests that no one should speak the lady's name around him any more and that Robert will be in charge of the lady's care. If Robert ever needs more money to care for Lady Audley, he need only ask for funds without specifying what those funds are for. | |||
| Robert telegrams to Francis Wilmington, an associate, to discover if there is a physician who can discreetly evaluate someone for mental illness. Wilmington provides the name of a Dr. Mosgrave. Robert writes to Mosgrave, and without mentioning for whom he needs the doctor's services, asks him to come to Audley Court. Dr. Mosgrave arrives very quickly and asks Robert about the patient - he mentions that he is very busy and is only making this trip because his friend had recommended him. Robert sends Mosgrave to Lady Audley's chambers, and Mosgrave spends about thirty minutes talking to Lady Audley. The doctor tells Robert that Lady Audley may have the markers for mental illness, but that she doesn't necessarily pose a threat since she has not done anything violent. Robert tells the doctor about the murder of George Talboys and about Lady Audley's attempt to kill him with the fire she set at Castle Inn. The doctor recommends an out-of-the-way asylum for Lady Audley, and Robert tells Lady Audley to get ready for a trip - that they will leave in a few hours. Lady Audley thinks she will be put into exile and allowed to live somewhere else, possibly overseas. She helps her maid pack her luggage, and she carries off all the wealth in beautiful artifacts and jewelry that had accumulated in her rooms. After all, she'll need to have a decent life, and she hopes that she will encounter others who will fall for her beauty and therefore take care of her. | |||
| Robert eventually discovers that Helen Talboys actually faked her death before proceeding with her new identity. When he confronts Lucy with this information she tells Robert that he has no proof of such matters, and he declares that he should search the whole grounds of Audley Court for George's body. Robert leaves to find more evidence and heads to Castle Inn, a place run by Phoebe Marks's husband, Luke. During the night, she forces Phoebe Marks to take her to the inn and Lucy sets the place on fire in order to kill Robert. However, Robert survives and returns to Audley Court and confronts her once again. This time, she declares to him that she is mad 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 in order to find another, wealthier husband. | |||
| Lady Audley is very upset when she learns she has come to a mad house (like her mother). She is left in her stately rooms (after all, she is a Lady, and Sir Michael said to spare no expense in caring for her), and Robert discusses the patient with the head of the asylum. Robert tells the director that he should spare nothing in caring for Lady Audley, whom he decides to call "Mrs. Taylor" to protect his family's reputation, and to make her as comfortable as possible. Then he leaves Lady Audley behind and returns to London. During his travel, Robert grieves for his friend George, and he thinks he shall never see him again - he can't even give his friend a proper burial, since doing so would reveal the treachery of Lady Audley, ruining his uncle's name. He eventually comes to the conclusion that he loves Clara Talboys, and for that reason, he must let the truth come out. He did not want to marry his friend's sister while forever holding the news of George's death back - leaving her always hopeful that he should some day return. | |||
| Sir Michael is much distraught by this evidence and leaves with Alicia to travel through Europe. During this time, Robert convinces Doctor Mosgrave to declare Lucy insane. Robert uses a letter from the doctor to enroll Lucy in a mental institute, posing under the name of Madame Taylor, 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 well in the garden, defending herself on the grounds of Audley Court. | |||
| When Robert arrives in London, he seeks out his uncle's rooms at the Clarendon Hotel. His uncle and Alicia have left for Paris, so Robert plans to stay there that night. He ends up getting a note from Clara, telling him to spare no time in coming to Essex - that the man whom he'd saved in the fire at Castle Inn was asking for him. Robert figured it was only to thank him possibly, before he died, but he hurries over there, anyway, even walking the last six miles on foot in order to get there as soon as possible. | |||
| 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, with Alicia marrying her once-spurned suitor, Harry Towers, with Audley Court being ignored in order to move on from the harsh memories, and with Lucy dying abroad. | |||
| ==Analysis and Themes== | ==Analysis and Themes== | ||
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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 Talboys and who his uncle's wife, Lucy Audley, really is. During his search, Robert has to deal with lies, deceit, and even an attempt to kill him. 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 a 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 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 Sir Michael.
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 Lucy with this information she tells Robert that he has no proof of such matters, and he declares that he should search the whole grounds of Audley Court for George's body. Robert leaves to find more evidence and heads to Castle Inn, a place run by Phoebe Marks's husband, Luke. During the night, she forces Phoebe Marks to take her to the inn and Lucy sets the place on fire in order to kill Robert. However, Robert survives and returns to Audley Court and confronts her once again. This time, she declares to him that she is mad 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 in order to find another, wealthier husband.
Sir Michael is much distraught by this evidence and leaves with Alicia to travel through Europe. During this time, Robert convinces Doctor Mosgrave to declare Lucy insane. Robert uses a letter from the doctor to enroll Lucy in a mental institute, posing under the name of Madame Taylor, 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 well in the garden, defending herself on the grounds of Audley Court.
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, with Alicia marrying her once-spurned suitor, Harry Towers, with Audley Court being ignored in order to move on from the harsh memories, and with Lucy dying 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