BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS
Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Thank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.
MY BOOK BEGINNING
It lay down in a hollow, rich with fine old timber and luxuriant pastures; and you came upon it through an avenue of limes, bordered on either side by meadows, over the high hedges of which the cattle looked inquisitively at you as you passed, wondering, perhaps, what you wanted; for there was no thorough-fare, and unless you were going to the Court you had no business there at all.-- from Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. I
I like that opening sentence because you know there is going to be some kind of English country house involved in the story. Just my cup of tea!
Lady Audley's Secret was published in 1862 and became a Victorian best seller. It is a scandal-filled thriller with plenty of action, featuring a scheming heroine, a murder mystery, and plenty of twists. I understand why it was so popular!
This was the second book I read for Victober, a celebration of Victorian literature that takes place every October on Instagram.
See the Publisher's Description below for more details.
The Friday 56 is a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings. The idea is to share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of your featured book. If you are reading an ebook or audiobook, find your teaser from the 56% mark.
Freda at Freda's Voice started and hosted The Friday 56 for a long, long time. She is taking a break and Anne at My Head is Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. Please visit Anne's blog and link to your Friday 56 post.
MY FRIDAY 56
-- from Lady Audley's Secret:
YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS
Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the box below. If you share on social media, please use the #bookbeginnings hashtag.Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Thumb-Linky widget will appear right here!
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THE FRIDAY 56
Freda at Freda's Voice started and hosted The Friday 56 for a long, long time. She is taking a break and Anne at My Head is Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. Please visit Anne's blog and link to your Friday 56 post.
MY FRIDAY 56
-- from Lady Audley's Secret:
Seated in the embrasure of this window, my lady was separated from Robert Audley by the whole length of the room, and the young man could only catch an occasional glimpse of her fair face, surrounded by its bright aureole of hazy, golden hair.
Robert Audley had been a week at the Court, but as yet neither he nor my lady had mentioned the name of George Talboys.
FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION
Lady Audley's Secret was one of the first and most successful sensation novels of the late 19th century. A young gentleman of leisure, Robert Audley, is spurred into action when his friend George Talboys goes missing from Audley Court. As an amateur detective, Robert travels the length and breadth of the country, only to discover that the answer to the mystery lies in the true identity of his uncle's wife, Lady Audley. True to its genre, the novel brings danger home to the private sphere of the country house and questions the unassailable boundaries of class..
