Lady Audley's Secret

By: Mary Elizabeth Braddon

Narrated by: Kim Hicks

Lady Audley is universally adored: Beautiful, kind, and charming, she enamors all whom she meets. It is not until the strange disappearance of widower George Talboys that her behavior takes an odd turn. George's friend, Robert Audley, Lady Audley's nephew-in-law, is on the case; an upper-class layabout turned detective, he is determined to get to the bottom of things.

Mystery, mayhem, madness, and despair: Lady Audley's Secret is the gripping and suspenseful novel that has been branded "the most sensationally successful of all the sensation novels" (John Sutherland) and rivals some of Wilkie Collins' best books, such as The Moonstone and The Woman in White. Robert Louis Stevenson, Charles Dickens, and Henry James all admitted to reading Braddon's work with great enjoyment; Alfred Lord Tennyson professed to have read everything she ever wrote.

Kim Hicks gives an absorbing reading, full of charm and insight.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2016 Naxos AudioBooks

Great Book with a Great Reader!

I found this book to be great fun, and read by a talented reader. The basic plot was already known to me (read the plot summary years ago - book published in the mid-1800's), but I greatly enjoyed watching it play out. This book was well written, and the characters well described. The hero made deductions, tried to find proof, and made errors of judgment that sometimes set him back, but then I knew who had done what when I started listening. I had heard of this as being published in the same time period as Wilkie Collins' early books, and was curious. Kim Hicks really brought it to life, and I'm glad that I listened!

Bravo!!!

What a great story!! It’s the best story I have listened to since the Woman in White! It is exquisitely written and the narrator’s performance is fantastic! I strongly recommend this book!

Disappointing

Having seen other reviews indicating what a great mystery this was, I was so disappointed with the plot. It was evident after the first chapter what the story line would be - there was no mystery about it. Given the lack of suspense, it dragged interminably.

Great performance by narrator

I highly recommend this audiobook for people who love a good Victorian sensation novel. This book is often compared to The Woman in White, and while it isn't as well written or as well plotted as that novel, I would recommend Lady Audley's Secret for fans of Wilkie Collins. The mystery is intriguing, and the writing is wonderful. Unfortunately, the novel is longer than it needs to be, and the hero of the book is something of a condescending prig without much personality, which made it hard for me to root for him. On the plus side, all of the other characters--villains, heroes, and even side characters--are incredibly well drawn. Lady Audley is particularly fascinating. Although the story does drag in parts, Kim Hicks does such a great job with the narration that I was never bored. She brought the characters to life so that, even if the plot wasn't advancing as quickly as I would have liked, I was always invested in the dialogue and action being narrated. All in all, it's an enjoyable listen.

A good classic

This was truly entertaining. If you can appreciate the classics and writing that by today's standards is wordy and a mystery that is predictable but still engaging w great characters you'll enjoy this book. In league w The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins