Brantlinger, Patrick. “What is ‘Sensational’ About the ‘Sensational Novel’?” Nineteenth-
Century Fiction 37.1 (June 1982) : 1-28. Print.
Brantlinger seeks to define the sensation novel from three different perspectives. The first is the historical perspective, which involves the cultural context in which the sensation novel arose. The second is the structural perspective, which examines the structural features of the sensation novel, and the last is the psychological, which examines the sensation novel’s relation to the modern mystery.
James, Henry. “Miss Braddon.” The Nation 9 (Nov. 1865) : 593-94. Print.
In response to the widespread popularity of Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret, fellow-author Henry James writes this scathing criticism of Braddon's work for he newspaper The Nation. James argues that Braddon’s work is simply “catering to the masses” and should not be considered in the class of “real literature.”
King, Andrew. “Sympathy as Subversion? Reading Lady Audley’s Secret in the Kitchen.”
Journal of Victorian Culture 7.1 (Spring 2002) : 60-86. Web. 17 Apr. 2012.
In this argument, King challenges the idea that Lady Audley’s Secret was written as a protest against the carceral position of women in Victorian times. Instead, King outlines the limited “cultural zone” in which the novel can be seen subversive and to identify other possible readings of the text.
Klein, Herbert G. “Strong Women and Feeble Men: Upsetting Gender Stereotypes in
Mary Elizabeth Bradden’s Lady Audley’s Secret.” Atenea 28.1 (June 2008) : 161-74. Web. 17 Apr. 2012.
Klein’s article refutes the claim that Lady Audley’s Secret is meant to reinforce the values of a typical patriarchal society. Instead, Klein claims that Braddon’s novel seeks to subvert and deconstruct traditional gender stereotypes. In this article, Braddon examines various gender relationships in Lady Audley’s Secret and identifies the way in which each relationship is characterized by strong women and weak-willed men.
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| Unrestored Victorian dust-jacket of Lady Audley's Secret |
“Lady Audley’s Secret.” The Times 18 Nov. 1862: 4. Web. 17 Apr. 2012.
This newspaper review was written shortly after the publication of Lady Audley’s Secret and chronicles the widespread popularity of the novel. The review article also identifies several characteristics that the novel shares in common with the other sensational fiction of the day.
Montwieler, Katherine. “Marketing Sensation: Lady Audley’s Secret and Consumer
Culture.” Beyond Sensation: Mary Elizabeth Braddon in Context. Ed. Marlene Tromp, Pamela K. Gilbert, and Aeron Haynie. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2000. 43-61. Print.
Montwieler claims that through detailed descriptions of commodities, Braddon “teaches women readers how to pretend to members of a class into which they were not born” (43). As a result, Montwieler characterizes Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret as a subversive domestic manual and claims that novel participated in the rise of capitalism and commodity culture in Victorian England.
Nemesvari, Richard. “Robert Audley’s Secret: Male Homosocial Desire in Lady Audley’s
Secret.” Studies in the Novel 27.4 : 515-28.
In an era when homosocial male relationships, Nemesvari argues that the concept of “homosexual” was formulated and came to be understood during the era of the sensation novel. In this context, Braddon’s presentation of Lady Audley as a threat to male homosocial relationships is meant to expose the “self-interested and self-protective denial which underlies Victorian patriarchal society” (516).
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| Confession Scene from a Serialized Version of Lady Audley's Secret |
Palmer, Beth. “Are the Victorians Still with Us? Victorian Sensation Fiction and Its
Legacies in the Twenty-First Century.” Victorian Studies 52.1 (Autumn 2009) : 86-94. Web. 17 Apr. 2012.
According to Beth Palmer, one of sensation fiction’s leading characteristics is its consciousness of how print culture constructs the present moment. For example, Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret draws attention to the importance of print as well as its fallibilities. However, Braddon’s novel does so while still acknowledging its own embeddedness in print culture.
Steere, Elizabeth Lee. “‘I Thought You Was an Evil Spirit’: The Hidden Villain of Lady
Audley’s Secret.’” Women’s Writing 15.3 (Oct 2008) : 300-19. Print.
Steere argues that the association of the occult or supernatural with the character of Phoebe Marks identifies her as an almost demonic figure in the novel. Steere claims that Luke’s death, Lady Audley’s downfall, and the near-death of Robert Audley can all be attributed to work of Phoebe Marks.
Sutherland, John. “Braddon, Mary Elizabeth.” The Stanford Companion to Victorian
Fiction. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1989. 80. Web. 17 Apr. 2012.
This article provides biographical information about Mary Elizabeth Braddon. Sutherland focuses on the “sensational” elements of Braddon’s own life as well as development and accomplishes of her professional life.
Sutherland, John. “Lady Audley’s Secret.” The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction.
Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1989. 360. Web. 17 Apr. 2012.
Sutherland gives historical information about the publication, plot construction, and public reception of Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret.