Lady Audley's Secret (Crime Classics)

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Epitomizing the scandalousxA0;Victorian "sensation" novel and establishing Braddon as the doyenne of the genre, this addictively plotted tale features a flaxen-haired beauty hiding a murderous criminal secretxA0;Miss Lucy Graham is a newcomer to the parish of Audley. She may be an impoverished governess, but she is also kind, and ineffably beautiful. When Sir Michael Audley sets eyes upon her he finds himself in the grip of "the terrible fever called love." Their courtship raises many eyebrows, but Sir Audley has set his heart on the sweet-natured girl, and before long they marry. Appearances, however, can be deceptive; and Sir Michaelx2019;s nephew, Robert, begins to suspect that his new aunt is not all she seems. His investigations into her murky past soon bring shocking secrets to the surface. Originally published in 1862, thexA0;massivexA0;success of this novel featuring blackmail, bigamy, and murder made Mary Elizabeth Braddon a household name. It remains a classic Victorian spine-tingler.

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Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835x96;1915)xA0;published almostxA0;90 books during her long career, including The Doctor's Wife and The Trail of the Serpent. Robert Giddings is an eminent literary critic who reviews for such publications as the Guardian, the New Statesman, andthe Sunday Times.