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               'The Gothic Tales of Mary Elizabeth Braddon' This 2014 collection was edited with an introduction by Greg Buzwell, as part of the British Library 'Tales of the Weird' series, and contains fourteen short stories that originally appeared in various periodicals from 1860-1907. Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835-1915) is still most known for one of her first published novel  Lady Audley's Secret (1862), which  made a vital contribution to the 'Sensation novels' genre,was extremely popular and arguably has overshadowed, her huge body of work: Some 90 novels, countless short stories, not  always submitted to magazines in her own name. Braddon scholars are still trying to trace all her work,quite a formidable task. CARNELL & ASSOCIATION 'Sensation novels' tend to emphasise frightful human behaviour, scandal, far fetched coincidence, often with an amateur detective, and crumbling country house, preferably a mansion.But not afra...

                               A  Classic Sensation Novel                                                      ' Lady Audley's Secret'  (first installments in 1861- completed in 1862) is both a Victorian 'bigamy' and 'sensation' novel. Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre'  ( 1847) is the prime example of the former, with poor Jane in church all set to become Mrs Rochester, only to discover that husband to be already has an insane wife shut up in the attic.  In 'Lady Audley's Secret'  and the next Braddon novel 'Aurora Floyd' (1864), it is in fact the leading female characters that have committed bigamy, both deceiving second husbands. Braddon accepted that these two books were ' bigamy novels' . EDWARDS As for a definition of 'sensation' novels, t...

                                       A Vampire Story or Science Fiction ?           Mary Elizabeth Braddon  (1835-1915) is most famous for the novels   Lady Audley's Secret (1862)   and Aurora Floyd ( serialised in 1862; published as a novel in 1863 )  . Dozens more novels, short stories, children's tales, poems, followed. Mary Elizabeth Braddon was also an actress, and magazine editor.  The genres Braddon explored included ghost, horror, and crime fiction.  Pleased to have found the Classic Ghost Story Podcast version of  Good Lady Ducayne  read by Tony Walker. Originally appeared via installments in 'The Strand Magazine' in 1896. A year before Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' and Richard Marsh's 'The Beetle'.  Good Lady Ducayne appears to be set in the decade it was written. Fiction now and then is often placed slight...