Mary Elizabeth Braddon

Lucy Graham, radiantly beautiful, born to poverty, and Sir Michael Audley, an aging aristocratic widower and fabulously wealthy, are married soon after first glance. Life is peaceful at old Audley Court until the arrival of Robert Audley, Sir Michael's nephew, and his friend George Talboys, who is home again after making his fortune in Australia. When George mysteriously disappears, Robert...

‘Women are never lazy. They don't know what it is to be quiet. They are Semiramides, and Cleopatras, and Joan of Arcs, Queen Elizabeths, and Catharine the Seconds... To call them the weaker sex is to utter a hideous mockery. They are the stronger sex, the nosier, the more persevering, the most self-assertive sex.’ The beautiful and innocent-seeming Lady Audley...

Lucy Graham is a beautiful but impoverished governess when she meets the wealthy widower Sir Michael Audley, who, instantly besotted, makes her his wife. Their life at Audley Court is happy and uneventful until the arrival of Sir Michael's nephew Robert with his friend George Talboys, who has recently returned from making his fortune in Australia. When George suddenly vanishes...

A young girl whose love for her fiancé continues even after her death; a sinister old lady with claw-like hands who cares little for the qualities of her companions provided they are young and full of life; and a haunted mirror that foretells of approaching death for those who gaze into its depths. These are just some of the haunting...