Book Anatomy · Lady Audley's Secret
Lady Audley's Secret: Commercial facts
13 lenses on commercial facts for Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L12 L13
L1. Total word count. Count
1862, 151,091 words. See the full lens on the book page.
L2. Chapter count and average length. Count
1862, 151,091 words. See the full lens on the book page.
L3. Length against modern norms for the genre. Both
151,091 words. Modern crime and mystery often runs 70,000 to 90,000 words, so this is long for the shelf today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules.
At 151,091 words across 41 chapters, this is long for modern mystery (typically 80 to 100k). It matches Victorian serial publication norms. Modern crime fiction would trim 30 to 40k words, cutting some investigation repetition and secondary characters.
L4. First published as a serial or a volume? Research
1862, 151,091 words. See the full lens on the book page.
Facts from outside the text (sales, serial history, adaptations, sequels, most quoted lines). Coming in a later phase, with sources and dates.
L5. Serial instalment breaks and how each ends. Both
The novel was serialised in The Cornhill Magazine from July 1861 to September 1862. Chapter breaks align with serial instalment breaks, each ending with a hook or cliffhanger. Chapter 10 (George's disappearance), 19 (identity revealed), 32 (fire), and 40 (George returns) are strong instalment endings.
Chapters: Ch 10, Ch 19, Ch 32, Ch 40
L6. Sales and reviews in its day. Research
Facts from outside the text (sales, serial history, adaptations, sequels, most quoted lines). Coming in a later phase, with sources and dates.
L7. Adaptations: film, TV, stage, count and type. Research
Facts from outside the text (sales, serial history, adaptations, sequels, most quoted lines). Coming in a later phase, with sources and dates.
L8. Sequels and series. Research
Facts from outside the text (sales, serial history, adaptations, sequels, most quoted lines). Coming in a later phase, with sources and dates.
L9. Modern books in the same mould (comps). AI
Modern comps: Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad series (investigation-driven mystery), Ruth Ware's psychological thrillers (unreliable woman), and Donna Tartt's The Secret History (secrets and class). Closer historical comp: Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White (sensation novel, hidden identity).
L10. Who it would be shelved for today. AI
Today this would shelve as historical mystery or gothic crime. It appeals to readers of Victorian sensation fiction, psychological thrillers, and literary mysteries. Book clubs favour it. Academic readers study it as a foundational crime novel and feminist critique.
L11. Content notes. AI
Content notes: murder, attempted murder, fire, death, madness, asylum confinement, infidelity, abandonment of a child, blackmail, and psychological manipulation. Violence is not graphic but consequences are serious.
L12. A modern pitch line and blurb. AI
When a beautiful governess marries a wealthy baronet, she hides a deadly secret. A lazy barrister's investigation into his friend's disappearance uncovers a murder that will destroy his uncle's marriage and expose the woman everyone loves as a killer.
L13. Title style against genre norms. AI
The title is direct and simple, naming the central mystery. It matches Victorian sensation novel style (The Woman in White, The Moonstone). Modern crime titles tend toward punchier single words or questions. This title is descriptive rather than clever.
Ask Lady Audley's Secret a question about its craft (free beta)
Answers cite chapter and paragraph, and every quote is checked against the text. (3 free questions a day).
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