A Victorian 'sensation' novel written in 1862 by Mary Elizabeth Braddon who was prolific in the genre. This is her most well known novel and was adapted into a silent film in 1912, which Braddon actually lived to see. Sadly, Braddon has faded into obscurity and of her 90+ novels, only a few remain in publication. Her life was fascinating and I could go on for days about her because she was amazing. There's a nice podcast I listened to back in November about forgotten Victorian era writers (I'll try and link it later) and they cover her in 3 episodes, I totally recommend giving it a listen! They also cover Wilkie Collins but I didn't want to spoil The Woman in White so I haven't listened to those yet. Anyway, on Lady Audley's Secret — from goodreads:

"This Victorian bestseller, along with Braddon's other famous novel, Aurora Floyd, established her as the main rival of the master of the sensational novel, Wilkie Collins. A protest against the passive, insipid 19th-century heroine, Lady Audley was described by one critic of the time as "high-strung, full of passion, purpose, and movement." Her crime (the secret of the title) is shown to threaten the apparently respectable middle-class world of Victorian England."

This one has oft been tossed around as a potential CBC title, and I'm super stoked to have an excuse to read it at last!

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