Lady Audley’s Secret

Lady Audley’s Secret, a sensation novel by Mary Elizabeth Braddon published in 1862, follows Lucy Graham, a charming governess who marries the wealthy Sir Michael Audley and rises to aristocratic status, only for her idyllic life to unravel under scrutiny from her nephew-in-law, Robert Audley, and his friend George Talboys. Beneath her angelic beauty and demeanor lies a shocking past involving bigamy, abandonment of her child, and a desperate act of violence—pushing her first husband down a well—to escape poverty and secure her newfound position. As Robert investigates George’s mysterious disappearance, the narrative exposes Victorian anxieties about class, gender roles, madness, and deception, culminating in Lady Audley’s confession and confinement, blending suspense with social critique.