A governess with no past marries a rich baronet, and her new nephew begins to wonder what became of the friend who disappeared the week she arrived. Braddon put the danger not in a foreign villain or a ruined castle but in a charming Englishwoman with a locket, and Victorian readers bought it faster than they bought Dickens. Paintings of country estates, candlelit corridors and the lime-tree avenue; Gilded Library ornament of locket, phial and well.

Sibyl Faunthorpe moves through a world where courtship is never merely personal. Sir Wilford Cardonnel's polished attentions, backed by his formidable sister Phœbe and the prestige of the How, expose the gulf between county aristocracy and prosperous newcomers like the Trenchards, while her uncle Stephen eagerly imagines a brilliant marriage that would secure Sibyl's future and status. But Sibyl resists more fiercely than anyone realizes: beneath her composure lies a secret devotion to ano...

Sibyl Faunthorpe begins in the depths of humiliation, alone on Battersea Bridge in shabby clothes, reading a letter that promises a sudden reversal of fortune. Her long-absent Uncle Stephen Trenchard, now a wealthy and eccentric returnee from India, has come back to England and is summoning his nieces to Redcastle, where inheritance, favor, and family ambition begin to shape every hope. But Sibyl—now Mrs. Stanmore—has not escaped into comfort. She lives in shabby Chelsea, burdened by pover...

Alexis returns to Dorley determined to leave, only to find his feelings for Linda Challice impossible to ignore. At breakfast, she answers village gossip about the child Trot with a quiet, devastating honesty: the boy, christened William but nicknamed for his restless ways, was brought to her half-dead by a starving young mother who refused to name herself, then vanished after leaving only vague promises and anonymous bank notes. Alexis is deeply moved by Linda's steadfast kindness and pro...

M.E. Braddon was a popular British writer during the Victorian Era. Among Braddon’s best known novels are Lady Audley’s Secret and Aurora Floyd. This edition of Good Lady Ducayne includes a table of contents.

A governess with no past marries a rich baronet, and her new nephew begins to wonder what became of the friend who disappeared the week she arrived. Braddon acted on stage under a false name to keep her mother, then wrote eighty novels; this one made her fortune and defined the sensation novel — bigamy, arson and a body down a well, in the drawing rooms readers actually lived in.

The Octoroon or The Lily of Louisiana is a dark tale of crime, race and slavery. Cora, educated in Britain, returns to her fathers plantation in Louisiana to explore the truth about her mother's slave origins. This book, originally published as a series between 1861 and 1862, was Braddon's second anonymous novel and is now known as a classic anti-slavery novel. Mary Elizabeth Braddon was born in Soho, London, England in 1835. She had her first serial novel published in 1861 and was an extr...

Since the first publication of her groundbreaking sensation novel 'Lady Audley's Secret' in 1862, M. E. Braddon's works have gripped the imagination of readers across the world for over one hundred and fifty years. This comprehensive eBook presents the many diverse works of M. E. Braddon, with numerous illustrations, rare texts appearing in digital print for the first time, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1)* Beautifully illustrated with imag...

At Mardenholme's glittering country garden-party, Geoffrey Hossack is surrounded by ease, flirtation, and polished society, yet his mind remains fixed on Janet Davoren and the wrongs that have parted them. Restless and bitter, he escapes into a secluded village lane, where the quiet beauty of rural life offers him an unexpected peace and draws him toward a cottage that seems to embody domestic simplicity and moral order. There he recognizes Flossie, the child he has won with gifts and kind...

On a cold and stormy night in Slopperton-on-the-Sloshy, Richard Marwood returns after a mysterious and long disappearance. While his rich uncle aids him in starting a new life, his reappearance is quickly upended after he is apparently framed for murder. Meanwhile, Jabez North—prodigal son of Slopperton-on-the-Sloshy—schemes to make his fortunes by any means possible. The Trail of the Serpent is M. E. Braddon's first book. Although it initially met with poor sales under its original title ...

While enjoying Carnival in Venice, a gentleman named Vansittart meets a beautiful working-class woman. They're enjoying a light-hearted meal in a cafe when her jealous lover unexpectedly attacks—and Vansittart fatally stabs him. Vansittart escapes, assumes a false identity, and resolves to keep the incident secret for the rest of his life. This traumatic event sends Vansittart on a journey of redemption filled with secrecy, jealousy, vengeance, and love. The Venetians is one of M. E. Bradd...

The story follows the life of the protagonist, Gilbert Fenton, who becomes entangled in a complex web of secrets, mysteries, and unexpected events. The narrative is characterized by suspenseful twists, unexpected revelations, and the exploration of the protagonist's pursuit of truth and justice.As Fenton delves deeper into the mysteries he encounters, he uncovers secrets from the past and navigates through various challenges while attempting to resolve the enigmas surrounding the character...