Lady Audley's Secret

By: Mary Elizabeth Braddon

Narrated by: Olivia Poulet

Summary

From the author of The Christmas Hirelings comes this Audible Exclusive production of Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s classic sensation novel Lady Audley’s Secret. English actress Olivia Poulet gives an assured and captivating narration; a cornerstone of the genre and a scandal at the time of its publication, Lady Audley’s Secret is an entertaining and shocking tale of high drama and shifting perceptions. Finding herself at the centre of an investigation into the disappearance of a local man, the beautiful yet mysterious Lady Audley must use all her deceit and cunning to prevent the truth being discovered.

About the book

Published in 1862, Lady Audley’s Secret is one of Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s most successful and well-known pieces of work. A founding text of the sensation novel genre, it delivers high drama with mystery, intrigue and plot twists aplenty. Comfortable in her place as a Lady of Audley Court, the beautiful and enchanting Lucy Graham soon finds her status brought into question following the disappearance of a man recently returned from Australia. As the hunt for the missing man intensifies, the threads of Lady Audley’s story begin to unravel, and our antiheroine must do all she can to prevent her past from catching up with her. Playing on Victorian anxieties about the domestic sphere and social mobility, Lady Audley’s Secret was a scandal for its Victorian audience. Its engrossing secrets and startling revelations continue to shock and entertain to this day.

About the Author

Mary Elizabeth Braddon was a popular English author who earned success in the Victorian era with her sensation novels. Born in London in 1835, she was raised by her mother, Fanny, after her parents’ separation. As a teenager Mary first began working as an actress, but after eight years, and with declining popularity and waning interest, she instead turned to writing. Her prolific output resulted in over 80 novels and 150 short stories as well as plays and articles. Braddon is best known for her novel Lady Audley’s Secret, which combines elements of the detective novel, the psychological thriller and the romantic comedy to become one of the most successful novels of the 19th century.

About the Narrator

Olivia Poulet is an English actress and screenwriter who made her acting debut in 2001 in episodes of Teachers and The Bill. Born in London in 1978, Olivia attended Putney High School before becoming a drama graduate of Manchester University. With appearances in film and on radio and stage, she is best known for her work on television, starring in the multi-award-winning British shows Outnumbered, The Thick of It, Sherlock and Holby City.

Public Domain (P)2019 Audible, Ltd

Fun and Silly and Utterly "Romantic"

This story, written in romantic and flowery prose, features wonderful descriptions of the surroundings and, almost entirely, terrible people for the main characters. The almost completely lacking of people with whom the listener can like does not detract from the story. Point in fact, it makes descriptions of the thoughts and actions and speech of these characters more fun. Perhaps there is a critique of how self-absorbed and ignorant the ruling classes of the day were. It is more likely not, however, which I personally believe makes the listening in of the frivolous expectations, tone deafness, and misogyny of these "good people" so delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole story.

Engaging Classic

I'm not sure how I'd failed to read this classic for many years, and it wasn't at all what I expected. I'd thought it was a Madame Bovary-type romance, when instead it's a slowly unfolding procedural mystery with a touch of love love. It may be too slow for some readers, but it builds and surprises,and the reader's sympathies for the characters may change.

The narrator is flawless, but there are a few spots where a missed edit left a phrase repeated (at least in my copy). Only a minor annoyance, worth ignoring.

Not a Cozy

I would classify this book more of a Victorian novel than a mystery, although there is a predictable mystery in it. It is more about chance encounters (fate?) that change lives, written in beautiful Victorian prose.
(If you like Jane Austen, you will like this book.)
Minute detail abounds , and the tone of the book is consistent and beautifully read.

great story

this book, is rather similar to Jane Eyre, as there is so many inner thoughts and philosophy, that it is very, very, wordy. but it is a great book

charming

Long but delightful for fans of Victorian dialect and turn of phrase. Entertaining story too.

Boring

I guess if you like Jane Austen, you’ll like this book. I find her stories incredibly boring. I can’t even make myself finish listening to even half of it.

Lengthy!

Lengthy and quite “wordy” but an excellent story, very interesting and a wonderful twisting mystery!

Love this exciting, lightly gothic murder mystery

I LOVED this book. A fantastic combination of Jane Austen, gothic, and murder mysteries. If that combination in a 1850's setting sounds good to you, then you will enjoy this too.

For the lovers of history, there are some wonderful gems that you only get from books written in the time period in which they take place, like a reference to tearing a pillowcase into two pieces of linen - I would have thought that pillowcases would have been cotton by this point if I had thought about it at all - and a mention that during the time of the story the full word for telegraphs was still used instead of whatever abbreviation was popular a few years later when the book was published. There is also a reference to the American Civil War that was still ongoing. So exciting for a history nerd like myself.

Great 19th Century Discovery

This book was a very welcome surprise. It was an "included" book in my subscription so I didn't have to use a credit. I had not heard of the book or the author. What a marvelous find. I like 19th century British literature. So many well-known authors. And her is another one. Well written and well narrated.

Lady Audrey's secret

This was a very good mystery. I am so happy that I was able to get it in audio book. the historic way the women were treated bothered me.