Mary Elizabeth Braddon, 1835-1915
Mary Elizabeth Braddon was a British author of sensational fiction with often highly dramatic or supernatural plots. She lived out-of-wedlock with the publisher John Maxwell, who was raising five children while his wife was in an Irish asylum, for thirteen years until his wife died in 1874. Braddon is one of the best-remembered sensation authors, and the town of Richmond, Surrey where she died has many streets bearing her characters' names.
Her most famous novel is Lady Audley's Secret, which tells the story of an accidentally bigamous relationship. Lady Audley's Secret has enjoyed enduring readership, and it has been adapted for film, television, and stage. Its sequel is Aurora Floyd.
