From the Bookshelf of Never too Late to Read Classics…

Lady Audley's Secret

Mary Elizabeth Braddon

Start date: July 1, 2020

Finish date: August 31, 2020

Discussion: Lesser Know Classics

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of -6 topics — 2,666 comments total

Lesser Know Classics

* 2025 Must Read Lesser Known Classics: Scheduled Reads
By Lesle , Appalachian Bibliophile · 72 posts · 204 views

last updated Sep 06, 2025 07:14AM

2025 December: Quicksand by Nella Larsen
By Lesle , Appalachian Bibliophile · 2 posts · 14 views

last updated 8 hours, 23 min ago

showing 6 of 6 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Oct 03, 2019 Chrissie rated it really liked it

Shelves: humor, london, relationships, love, audible-uk, lgtb, mystery, feminism, hf, classics

Logically, this is not a book that should appeal to me. What makes Lady Audley's Secret the special book that it is? Why do I like it as much as I do?

The book belongs to the genre of Gothic fiction. Here follows a definition:

“Gothic fiction refers to a style of writing that is characterized by elements of fear, horror, death, and gloom, as well as romantic elements, such as nature, individuality, and very high emotion.”

This fits the book to a T.

When I rate the book, I view it as one of its gen ...more

49 likes · Like · see review

Oct 31, 2020 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics

Loved this. It was suspenseful and captivating from beginning to end.

20 likes · Like · see review

Oct 31, 2017 Kelly_Hunsaker_reads ... rated it really liked it

Shelves: mysteries-thrillers, classics, vic-lit

Read for Victober 2017.

Before this month I had never heard of Ms Braddon or her book. Before this year I had never heard the term "sensation novel". What a treat it was to discover! This book didn't really surprise me with the plot twists but it didn't matter because the writing style was very entertaining. The characters were well-developed and intriguing and it was a book that I enjoyed from the first page until the last. ...more

19 likes · Like · see review

Oct 17, 2008 Laura rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2009, e-books, gothic-romance, classics, victorians

Lady Audley's Secret is a sensation novel by Mary Elizabeth Braddon published in 1862. It was Braddon's most successful and well-known novel. Critic John Sutherland (1989) described the work as "the most sensationally successful of all the sensation novels". The plot centres on "accidental bigamy" which was in literary fashion in the early 1860s. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Oct 15, 2021 Karen rated it liked it

3.5 stars. I am comparing this with other Victorian literature. I definitely enjoyed it, but I felt I had read this type of story before. So what is Lady Audley's secret? I'm not telling. You might think you know what it is, halfway through the book, but the author keeps us in suspense until the end of the book.

...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 23, 2017 Tom Britz rated it really liked it

This is another of the Sensation Novels that were quite popular in England (and the world) between 1860 and the turn of th century. It rivals, "The Woman In White" by Wilkie Collins and helped make Mary Elizabeth Braddon a wealthy woman. She was a prolific writer and quite popular in her time.
This novel of secrets and mystery was quite a pleasant read for the most part. I thought she dragged on the ending quite a while after the main story seemed to have been done. However there was another surp ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 10, 2009 Laura rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2009

I think I might not have liked this as much if I was reading it as opposed to listening to the audiobook. I am generally too impatient to enjoy audiobooks and I was listening to this during my commute and while I knit in an attempt to appreciate audiobooks. Librevox is a great program, and the volunteer that read this was a wonderful performer.

Serial novels aren't the easiest reads, every chapter is exciting, but at the end of it you realize NOTHING happened. This book is like that. Robert goes ...more

Like · see review

Jan 22, 2017 Victoria Evangelina Allen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, in-english, kindle

I truly enjoyed every moment in this book: the nature descriptions, characters' inner talks, interactions, and of course, the wonderful ending, which brought tears to my eyes! The narration was superb. I shall listen to this 19th century classic yet again! ...more

Like · see review