lady audley's secret
Last night I finished reading this book and I have to say that it was a splendid read. Not the world's most brilliant book, nor was Lucy Audley's secret that much of a mystery to anyone with half a braincell, but it was a fun Victorian novel with purple prose to delight in (the line 'changing hued orbs' made me laugh in particular).
The sensation novel was huge in the 1860s after Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White took off. It's a purely Victorian thing dealing with secrets, dangerous women and, most likely, murder and adultery. Whereas we now read tabloid newspapers and celebrity magazines, people used to read these novels.
To be honest, I found the majority of the characters, probably with the exception of Lady Audley herself and her maid Phoebe Marks, to be rather annoying and I couldn't help but pick up on the vaguely homosexual relationship between George Talboys and Robert Audley, or rather in Robert's feelings towards his lost friend. It was probably written as a good old friendship but it doesn't come across that way to a modern reader, especially as Robert falls for George's sister because she is so much like him.
I think my favourite scene was the one with the painting. I had of course realised that Lady Audley was Helen Talboys straight away and knew what was to happen when he viewed the painting which made for delicious suspense, and I love how the painting was described. I of course viewed it as looking much like a Rossetti (the cover of my copy of the book is a Tissot, this painting to be exact, but she looks too innocent and sweet to be the woman in the painting. Perhaps the real Lucy Audley), dramatic, passionate and filled with so much life. In fact, the painting I have chosen as a header was used because I found it when googling Lady Audley's Secret and thought it perfect.
So all in all, a cracking read, a lot better than the majority of books published today and a lot of fun, assuming you can overlook the ridiculous language that sounds a little like the writer is about fifteen and has grown up on romance novels.
Next up, Moll Flanders. I find the prospect of reading this novel a little daunting, but I really didn't feel like reading anything 19th century after my recent Victoriana overdose.
The sensation novel was huge in the 1860s after Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White took off. It's a purely Victorian thing dealing with secrets, dangerous women and, most likely, murder and adultery. Whereas we now read tabloid newspapers and celebrity magazines, people used to read these novels.
To be honest, I found the majority of the characters, probably with the exception of Lady Audley herself and her maid Phoebe Marks, to be rather annoying and I couldn't help but pick up on the vaguely homosexual relationship between George Talboys and Robert Audley, or rather in Robert's feelings towards his lost friend. It was probably written as a good old friendship but it doesn't come across that way to a modern reader, especially as Robert falls for George's sister because she is so much like him.
I think my favourite scene was the one with the painting. I had of course realised that Lady Audley was Helen Talboys straight away and knew what was to happen when he viewed the painting which made for delicious suspense, and I love how the painting was described. I of course viewed it as looking much like a Rossetti (the cover of my copy of the book is a Tissot, this painting to be exact, but she looks too innocent and sweet to be the woman in the painting. Perhaps the real Lucy Audley), dramatic, passionate and filled with so much life. In fact, the painting I have chosen as a header was used because I found it when googling Lady Audley's Secret and thought it perfect.
So all in all, a cracking read, a lot better than the majority of books published today and a lot of fun, assuming you can overlook the ridiculous language that sounds a little like the writer is about fifteen and has grown up on romance novels.
Next up, Moll Flanders. I find the prospect of reading this novel a little daunting, but I really didn't feel like reading anything 19th century after my recent Victoriana overdose.