Victorians! discussion

Since the voting has not concluded, we won’t yet be able to add information about the novel , but I thought we could start with some background on the author. Feel free to post any information or links to ME Braddon, while we await the results. :)

Reading Schedule
Dates: July 6, 2025 through August 30, 2025.

July 6-12: Chapters 1-6
July 7-19: Chapters 7-11
July 20-26: Chapters 12-16
July 27-Aug 2: Chapters 17-21
Aug 3-9: Chapters 22-26
Aug 10-16: Chapters 27-31
Aug 17-23: 32-36
Aug 24-30: 37-end

*Due to discrepancies in chapter numeration, I have listed chapter titles in a combined Table of Contents below. (see Message 9)

From Wikipedia:

“ Born in Soho, London, Mary Elizabeth Braddon was privately educated. Her mother Fanny separated from her father Henry because of his infidelities in 1840, when Braddon was five. When Braddon was ten years old, her brother Edward Braddon left for India and later Australia, where he became Premier of Tasmania. Mary worked as an actress for three years, when she was befriended by Clara and Adelaide Biddle. They were only playing minor roles, but Braddon was able to support herself and her mother. Adelaide noted that Braddon's interest in acting waned as she began writing novels.

Braddon met John Maxwell (1824–1895), a publisher of periodicals, in April 1861 and moved in with him in 1861. However, Maxwell was already married to Mary Ann Crowley, with whom he had five children. While Maxwell and Braddon were living as husband and wife, Crowley was living with her family. In 1864, Maxwell tried to legitimize their relationship by telling the newspapers that they were legally married; "however, Richard Brinsley Knowles wrote to these papers, informing them that his sister-in-law and true wife of Maxwell was still living, thereby exposing Braddon's 'wife' status as a façade". Braddon acted as stepmother to his children until 1874, when Maxwell's wife died and they were able to get married at St. Bride's Church in Fleet Street. Braddon had six children by him: Gerald, Fanny, Francis, William, Winifred Rosalie, and Edward Herry Harrington.”

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_El...

Lady Audley’s Secret has been voted as our next Group Read.

There are two versions recorded for Librivox. I can personally recommend Elizabeth Klett as my very favorite of the volunteer readers…
Librivox: https://librivox.org/lady-audleys-sec...

Free online version here -https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8954

:) excited to start and discuss this.

We last read this as a group in 2016.
Here’s a link to the Background/Resources topic from that year. There were some interesting articles provided by the participating members of the time…

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


(Yes, I led that discussion. I really have been around a long time. 👵🏻)

Daryl wrote: "Free online version here -https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8954

:) excited to start and discuss this."

I loved this book, and I'm excited to read it as well. I'm glad the free online version was provided, since I can't lay my hands on my own copy.

There are at least two different Table of Contents available for this particular title. The one I’m working with just numbers the chapters straight through to the end, but there’s another that breaks them into volumes, beginning each with a Chapter One. Im going to list the chapters with chapter titles and the volume breaks. Hopefully, this will help.

Also, the chapter titles seem to be slightly different in some publications. Most notably Chapter 21 (or 22): “Little George Goes to School” versus “Little Georgey Leaves His Old Home.” Fairly inexplicable since the novel was written in English and I’m not working with translations. If you can’t find your place in the text, just ask. :)

Table of Contents

Volume 1
I. Lucy
II. On Board the Argus
III. Hidden Relics
VI. The First Page of the Times
V. The Headstone at Veninor
VI. Anywhere, Anywhere Out of the World
VII. After a Year
VIII. Before the Storm
IX. After the Storm
X. Missing
XI. The Mark upon my lady’s wrist
XII. Still Missing
XIII. Troubled Dreams
XIV. Phcebe's Suitor
XV. On the Watch
XVI. Robert Audley gets his Conge
XVII. At the Castle Inn
XVIII. Robert receives an Unexpected Visitor
XIX. The Blacksmith's Mistake *

Volume 2
XX. The Writing in the Book
XXI. Mrs. Plowson
XXII. Little George goes to School
XXIII. Coming to a Standstill
XXIV. Clara
XXV. George’s Letters
XXVI. Retrograde Investigation
XXVII So Far and No Farther
XXVIII Beginning at the other end
XXIX. Hidden in the Grave
XXX. In the Lime-Walk
XXXI. Preparing the Ground
XXXII. Phoebe’s Petition

Volume 3
XXXIII. The Red Light in the Sky
XXXIV The Bearer of Tidings
XXXV. Mv Lady tells the Truth
XXXVI. The Hush that succeeds the Tempest
XXXVII. Dr. Mosgrave's Advice
XXXVIll. Buried Alive
XXXIX. Ghost-Haunted
XL. That Which the Dying man had to tell
XLI. Restored
XLII. At Peace

*Please be aware that in some publications “Chapter 19: The Blacksmith’s Mistake” has been combined into the previous chapter. This is will affect the chapter numeration throughout the rest of the book. (So Annoying!)

This is one of my favorites, and I have not read it since grad school. I haven't been able to join any of these discussions since finding this group because I had migraines nearly every day for most of this year, but I am on the mend. Excited to return to this novel. :)

Chronic conditions rob us of so much more than might be suspected. I’m so sorry to hear that your migraines are so debilitating. And glad, of course, that you are on the mend. I look forward to seeing your comments as we read. :)

My first attempt at a group read. Hope to stick it out.

This is a good place to start. The story has plenty of twists and suspense. Plus, 8 weeks means most will be able to keep up the pace… although some will not be able to hold themselves back once things get cooking.

The Reading Schedule is posted as Message #2 in this thread.

My copy has just arrived and I’m looking forward to starting this with you all next week.

Hoping to join this one! The timing isn't the best because I'm also taking part in Jane Austen July in... well, July and that usually takes a lot of my attention, but fingers crossed I can make it. I will probably do the LibriVox recording.

I will try to participate, too.
I have ordered the book, but it might not come within the next 2-3 weeks. So I will start with the e-book version which I found on Apple Books. My next 2 weeks might be extremely busy, but I will try to follow the schedule. Looking forward to the read.

For those of you who’ve just finished The Woman in White, please refrain from comparing the texts as part of our weekly discussions. I’ll set up a separate thread for you to have that discussion if you choose.

My first community read, all excited to start with...

Glad to have you join. This one is highly entertaining.

I'll join in as well. This is one of those books I've always wondered about and meant to read but never got around to. I'm glad the group chose it!

I forgot to turn my notifications on so I'm already behind 🙄 I am notoriously bad at keeping schedule too (I'm either behind the whole time, or can't stop reading and finish well ahead), so I am curious to see if I'll manage passably this time. Will try to start tomorrow.

So happy to have you join us, Shannon and Jassmine!
Don’t worry about keeping up. 1) You can continue to post after the “final” days. We, Mods, know that it can be hard to maintain a steady pace, because, well, Life. 2) This is a corker of a read and gets to a point where it’s hard to put down. :)

Renee wrote: "Table of Contents
....
XVIII. Robert receives an Unexpected Visitor
XIX. The Blacksmith's Mistake

Volume 2
XX, The Writing in the Book
....

It is in these chapters where I found a difference in structure: in my (www.gutenberg.org) version, chapters 18 and 19 are collapsed into one under the title "ROBERT RECEIVES A VISITOR WHOM HE HAD SCARCELY EXPECTED", and the book goes on with ch. 19, "The Writing in the Book"

So we might have troubles in coordinating our schedule from that point - possibly with a part of us reading one chapter more. Could you correct the schedule, maybe, so as to include the alternative chapter number?

sabagrey wrote: "Renee wrote: "Table of Contents
....
XVIII. Robert receives an Unexpected Visitor
XIX. The Blacksmith's Mistake

Volume 2
XX, The Writing in the Book
....

It is in these chapters where I found a d..."

Thank you for noting this. I have frequently found discrepancies in the publication of some of these older texts that were serialized, then published in three volumes, then published as one. The fact that two chapters have been combined, in one publication, is particularly confusing.