Following the railways: The Sensational Lady Audley

I can’t believe I haven’t read this novel before! I’ve been reading about the 19^th century railways, as previously noted, and often finding them faithfully recreated in the fiction of the period. While reading the reimagining of the experience of a railway journey in 1862 in The Railways: Nation, Network & People by Simon Bradley (2016), I was directed towards Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. A prime example of a Victorian Sensation novel, I know it has been a staple of the Victorian literature module at the University of Plymouth for years, however until now it had passed me by. But what a romp it is!

During his investigation of the possible crimes and misdemeanours of the eponymous Lady, young barrister, Robert Audley, makes full use of the railway network to travel up and down the country following clues and interviewing witnesses. The trains seem to be remarkably efficient, if a little chilly, but he carries a couple of trusty railway rugs with him on every journey to secure his warmth and comfort. The trains also seem to run well into the night, even the branch line connections. Lady Audley herself, also travels by train and sends several electric telegraphs in her attempt to remain one step ahead of her pursuer, making this a novel that embraces the modernity of high-speed communications and travel.

These technical interests aside, this is a great story. Lady Audley, formerly a governess called Lucy Graham, is the pretty, feminine and apparently rather child-like wife of a baronet, Sir Michael Audley. Robert is Michael’s nephew and initially warms to his new ‘aunt’. But when his close friend, George Talboys, goes missing after visiting Audley Court, he begins to suspect that all is not what it seems and so the adventure begins. The unnamed narrator whisks the reader here, there and everywhere until we are as breathless as the protagonists before the final revelations.

Lady Audley’s Secret incorporates many of the tropes of Sensation Fiction: murder, disguise, madness, bigamy, incarceration, indeed many of the traits found in page-turners today. Needless to say, it was very successful when first published as a three-volume novel in 1862, having previously been serialised in two different monthly magazines. Critics, and there were many, saw Sensation Fiction as an indicator of moral and cultural decline. More targeted critics found Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s unorthodox life experience in her writing. Having worked as an actress – rather a shocking profession in the 1850s – she met her publisher, John Maxwell in 1860. They were soon living together outside of wedlock and had six children before they were able to marry in 1874 upon the death of his first wife. This latter unfortunate woman had spent many years in a lunatic asylum. There are those Sensation Fiction tropes in action…

Although the novel, and indeed, Braddon, fell out of fashion in the mid-20^th century, versions of the story appeared regularly on the Victorian stage and there were three silent film adaptations. I enjoyed it very much, as a crime story as well all that sensation. Lady Audley is multi-dimensional and intriguing, exposing the issues and challenges that face poor women in the 19^th century even as she finds cunning ways to escape that poverty. Robert Audley is a likeable companion, as we watch his journey from the lazy and rather indolent reader of French novels towards finding a more appropriate masculine identity by the conclusion of the novel. A romp, a quick and easy read, and a lot of fun!