A huge commercial success when it was published in 1862, Lady Audley's Secret epitomized the scandalous and irresistible "sensation" fiction of the period and established Braddon as the doyenne of the genre. Lady Audley, a beautiful woman with a mysterious past, rises from governess to become the selfish and shamelessly acquisitive wife of an aristocrat. Her ruthless ambition and her vulgar tastes serve as commentary on the rise of the middle class and the consumer culture; her ultimate fate reflects the public's fascination with psychological theories about the nature of identity and the definition of madness.
