The Doctor's Wife

by Mary Elizabeth Braddon Narrated by LibriVox Community

Overview

This is one of the Victorian “Sensationist” Mary Elizabeth Braddon's many novels (best known among them: “Lady Audley's Secret”). It is extremely well written, fluid, humorous and, in places, self-mocking: one of the main characters is a Sensation Author. The motifs of the-woman-with-a-secret, adultery, and death are classic “sensationist” material. Yet this is also a self-consciously serious work of literature, taking on various social themes of the day. Specifically, Braddon presents the psychological struggle and cognitive dissonance which are the inevitable plight of the married middle-class woman with a strong sense of self, who is essentially constrained to live the life of her husband. In this, it echoes Flaubert's “Madame Bovary.”

The heroine, Isabel Sleaford, was driven early in her childhood to bury herself in, and develop her sense of self through, romantic novels and poetry. She is thus ill-adapted to the conventional, provincial structures and strictures laid upon her when she marries the very good and adoring, but also boring and unimaginative, Dr. George Gilbert. Isabel forms friendships with men (including her husband's best friend) who are more amenable to her romantic inclinations, and inevitably encounters social condemnation as a result. The book shows how life's tragedies and the world's cruel judgments shape Isabel, as she grows more mature, somewhat embittered, but also - true to her nature - beautifully resilient. (Summary by Kirsten Wever)

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"It's gripping stuff...and is relished in every dramatic plot twist by Juliet Stevenson, who enjoys keeping the listener guessing until the final revelation.""

The Sunday Times

"This impressive, scholarly new edition brings together a wealth of supplementary material, much of which is almost unobtainable elsewhere. Several fascinating appendices include contemporary parodies of the novel, extracts from stage versions, contemporary criticism and well-chosen extracts from Braddon's other work. Natalie Houston's scholarly introduction provides useful insights into Braddon's life and work. This edition will be invaluable to anyone studying or teaching the novel, or just reading it for enjoyment."

- Chris Willis, Birkbeck College

"This intelligent edition offers a wonderful introduction not just to Lady Audley's Secret, but to the whole publishing phenomenon of sensation fiction. By emphasizing questions of alterable identity, the new Victorian culture of information, and the relationship of fiction to other media, Natalie Houston compellingly brings home the connection of this novel with many important issues today."

Kate Flint Rutgers University

"This impressive, scholarly new edition brings together a wealth of supplementary material, much of which is almost unobtainable elsewhere. Several fascinating appendices include contemporary parodies of the novel, extracts from stage versions, contemporary criticism and well-chosen extracts from Braddon's other work. Natalie Houston's scholarly introduction provides useful insights into Braddon's life and work. This edition will be invaluable to anyone studying or teaching the novel, or just reading it for enjoyment."

Chris Willis Birkbeck College

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170283675
Publisher:	LibriVox
Publication date:	08/25/2014
Sales rank:	1,054,040

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