A BBC Radio 4 Gothic Drama Collection

Mary Elizabeth Braddon: Lady Audley’s Secret & more

Three classic stories from the 'Queen of Sensation Fiction' - plus bonus documentary 
 
Mary Elizabeth Braddon was one of the most important and influential female novelists of the 19th Century, and the founder (alongside Wilkie Collins) of the popular 'sensation fiction' genre. This collection features her best-known novel, Lady Audley's Secret, a thrilling tale of bigamy, murder and arson that outraged Victorian society on its first release - and was an instant bestseller. Also included are two atmospheric short stories and an edition of Sensational Women exploring her life and work. 
 
Lady Audley's Secret - Lucy Graham gains all the wealth she desires through her marriage to the devoted Sir Michael Audley. But her newfound security is threatened when young lawyer Robert Audley sets out to uncover the truth about her hidden past. Hattie Morahan, Charlotte Emmerson, Alex Wyndham and Sam Dale star in this electrifying dramatisation. 
 
The Cold Embrace - When Josef, a handsome young German artist, betrays his delicate fiancée, her vengeance is eerily appropriate... This chilling adaptation of Mary Elizabeth Braddon's ghostly story stars Stephanie Turner, Jonathan Firth and Alison Pettitt. 
 
Samuel Lowgood's Revenge - An impoverished clerk discovers that his rival in love has defrauded their employer. But what should he do with this knowledge? Barbara Flynn reads Braddon's 1861 tale of jealousy and retribution. 
 
Sensational Women: Mary Braddon - Sarah Dunant takes a look at the notorious sensation author, who was condemned for rotting the moral fibre of a whole generation of young women. 
 
First published 1860 ('The Cold Embrace'), 1861 ('Samuel Lowgood's Revenge'), 1862 (Lady Audley's Secret) 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Mary Elizabeth Braddon 
 
Lady Audley's Secret 
Mary Braddon - Hattie Morahan 
Lucy, Lady Audley - Charlotte Emmerson 
Sir Michael Audley - Sam Dale 
Phoebe Marks - Lizzy Watts 
Luke Marks - Benjamin Askew 
Robert Audley - Alex Wyndham 
George Talboys - Joseph Kloska 
Alicia Audley - Perdita Weeks 
Lieutenant Maldon - Jonathan Tafler 
Mr Dawson/Landlord - Paul Rider 
Mrs Vincent - Charlotte West-Oram 
Tonks - Deborah McAndrew 
Dramatised by Theresa Heskins 
Directed by Julie Beckett and Fiona Kelcher 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 20 April-1 May 2009 
 
The Cold Embrace 
Mary Braddon - Stephanie Turner 
Josef - Jonathan Firth 
Gertrude - Alison Pettitt 
Father - John Hartley 
Postmaster - Ioan Meredith 
Passenger - Hugh Dickson 
Woman - Carolyn Jones 
Fisherman - Chris Pavlo 
Parisienne - Tracy-Ann Oberman 
Dramatised by Christopher Hawes 
Produced by Marion Nancarrow 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 June 1997 
 
Samuel Lowgood's Revenge 
Read by Barbara Flynn 
Produced by Rebecca Nicholson 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 18 November 1998 
 
Sensational Women: Mary Braddon 
Presented by Sarah Dunant 
Extracts read by Sally Beauman 
Produced by Lore Windemuth 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 October 1996 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Three classic stories from the 'Queen of Sensation Fiction' - plus bonus documentary 
Mary Elizabeth Braddon was one of the most important and influential female novelists of the 19th Century, and the founder (alongside Wilkie Collins) of the popular 'sensation fiction' genre. This collection features her best-known novel, Lady Audley's Secret, a thrilling tale of bigamy, murder and arson that outraged Victorian society on its first release - and was an instant bestseller. Also included are two atmospheric short stories and an edition of Sensational Women exploring her life and work. 
 
Lady Audley's Secret - Lucy Graham gains all the wealth she desires through her marriage to the devoted Sir Michael Audley. But her newfound security is threatened when young lawyer Robert Audley sets out to uncover the truth about her hidden past. Hattie Morahan, Charlotte Emmerson, Alex Wyndham and Sam Dale star in this electrifying dramatisation. 
 
 
The Cold Embrace - When Josef, a handsome young German artist, betrays his delicate fiancée, her vengeance is eerily appropriate... This chilling adaptation of Mary Elizabeth Braddon's ghostly story stars Stephanie Turner, Jonathan Firth and Alison Pettitt. 
 
Samuel Lowgood's Revenge - An impoverished clerk discovers that his rival in love has defrauded their employer. But what should he do with this knowledge? Barbara Flynn reads Braddon's 1861 tale of jealousy and retribution. 
 
Sensational Women: Mary Braddon - Sarah Dunant takes a look at the notorious sensation author, who was condemned for rotting the moral fibre of a whole generation of young women. 
 
First published 1860 ('The Cold Embrace'), 1861 ('Samuel Lowgood's Revenge'), 1862 (Lady Audley's Secret) 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Mary Elizabeth Braddon 
 
Lady Audley's Secret 
Mary Braddon - Hattie Morahan 
Lucy, Lady Audley - Charlotte Emmerson 
Sir Michael Audley - Sam Dale 
Phoebe Marks - Lizzy Watts 
Luke Marks - Benjamin Askew 
Robert Audley - Alex Wyndham 
George Talboys - Joseph Kloska 
Alicia Audley - Perdita Weeks 
Lieutenant Maldon - Jonathan Tafler 
Mr Dawson/Landlord - Paul Rider 
Mrs Vincent - Charlotte West-Oram 
Tonks - Deborah McAndrew 
Dramatised by Theresa Heskins 
Directed by Julie Beckett and Fiona Kelcher 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 20 April-1 May 2009 
 
The Cold Embrace 
Mary Braddon - Stephanie Turner 
Josef - Jonathan Firth 
Gertrude - Alison Pettitt 
Father - John Hartley 
Postmaster - Ioan Meredith 
Passenger - Hugh Dickson 
Woman - Carolyn Jones 
Fisherman - Chris Pavlo 
Parisienne - Tracy-Ann Oberman 
Dramatised by Christopher Hawes 
Produced by Marion Nancarrow 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 June 1997 
 
Samuel Lowgood's Revenge 
Read by Barbara Flynn 
Produced by Rebecca Nicholson 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 18 November 1998 
 
Sensational Women: Mary Braddon 
Presented by Sarah Dunant 
Extracts read by Sally Beauman 
Produced by Lore Windemuth 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 October 1996 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Lady Audley's Secret

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Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835-1915) first burst onto the public scene at the age of eight when she played the role of 'Fairy Pineapple' in a pantomime. In a long career of overwhelming activity she edited magazines and wrote at least seventy-five novels, including such unrevived works as The Octoroon, Publicans and Sinners and Dead-Sea Fruit but also including the phenomenal Lady Audley's Secret which made her, at the age of twenty-seven, rich for life.

The Penguin English Library Edition of Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon 
 
'Lady Audley uttered a long, low, wailing cry, and threw up her arms above her head with a wild gesture of despair' 
 
In this outlandish, outrageous triumph of scandal fiction, a new Lady Audley arrives at the manor: young, beautiful - and very mysterious. Why does she behave so strangely? What, exactly, is the dark secret this seductive outsider carries with her? A huge success in the nineteenth century, the book's anti-heroine - with her good looks and hidden past - embodied perfectly the concerns of the Victorian age with morality and madness. 
 
The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.

Penguin Classics

A disturbing, enthralling, Sensation novel

Mary E Braddon (1835-1915) began writing at the age of eight but it was not until she won an admirer as an actress that she could settle down to write serial fiction. She became a bestselling 'sensation' author and was read avidly by Tennyson, Dickens and Thackery. She wrote over eighty novels. Jenny Bourne Taylor studied at York and Warwick universities and is currently a Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Sussex. She has published widely.

Weathering critical scorn, Lady Audley's Secret quickly established Mary Elizabeth Braddon as the leading light of Victorian 'sensation' fiction, sharing the honour only with Wilkie Collins. Addictive, cunningly plotted and certainly sensational, Lady Audley's Secret draws on contemporary theories of insanity to probe mid-Victorian anxieties about the rapid rise of consumer culture. What is the mystery surrounding the charming heroine? Lady Audley's secret is investigated by Robert Audley, aristocrat turned detective, in a novel that has lost none of its power to disturb and entertain.

William Shakespeare

Robert Louis Stevenson

Oscar Wilde

Mary Elizabeth Braddon

James Hogg

Lenny Henry

Conrad Nelson

David Tennant

Stuart McQuarrie

John Dougall

Jamie Glover

Hattie Morahan

Charlotte Emmerson

Lorn MacDonald

Full Cast

Five Full-Cast Dramatisations Including Othello, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde & The Picture of Dorian Gray

BBC radio dramatisations of classic novels featuring some of literature’s most devious and compelling villainsCunning. Corrupt. Charismatic. The degenerate characters in this collection shun conventional morality, and will stop at nothing to get what they want... These five sensational dramas, set in locations ranging from 16th century Venice to Victorian England, revolve around their unscrupulous actions – and the devastating consequences of the choices they make.Othello – Lenny Henry stars in this acclaimed production of Shakespeare's great tragedy of love turned sour by unfounded jealousy. Othello is a brave general and a noble man – but the evil manipulations of his lieutenant, Iago (Conrad Nelson) provoke his descent into deluded rage.The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – Introduced by David Tennant, this fast-moving dramatisation tells the disturbing tale of a scientist who experiments on himself to release his uncontrollable dark side, and of the lawyer’s daughter determined to bring him to book. Starring Stuart MacQuarrie, John Dougall and Madeleine Worrell.The Picture of Dorian Gray – Vain, hedonistic aristocrat Dorian Gray makes a Faustian pact to preserve his youthful beauty. But after years of decadence and selfish pleasure, is retribution on the horizon? Jamie Glover and Ian McDiarmid star in this adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s famous novel.Lady Audley’s Secret– Newly married to rich widower Lord Audley, former governess Lucy Graham glories in the delights of her new life. When her scandalous past is discovered, she will dare anything to preserve the security and wealth she has gained… Starring Hattie Morahan, Charlotte Emerson and Alex Wyndham, this thrilling serial retains all the mystery and suspense of Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Gothic ‘sensation novel’.Confessions of a Justified Sinner – Robert Colwan believes he is destined for salvation no matter what crimes he commits. If you can kill without paying the price, how murderous can you become? And what, if anything, does that do to your psyche? Lorn Macdonald stars in this tense, eerie reimagining of James Hogg’s seminal novel about a young man radicalised by religious fanaticism.Content listOthelloWritten by William Shakespeare 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 27 Feb 2010The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeWritten by Robert Louis Stevenson 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19 Nov 2016The Picture of Dorian GrayWritten by Oscar Wilde 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 Jan-6 Feb 2000Lady Audley’s SecretWritten by Mary Elizabeth Braddon 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 20 Apr-1 May 2009Confessions of a Justified SinnerWritten by James Hogg 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19 Mar 2023© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Mary Elizabeth Braddon

Books by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

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