Book Anatomy · Lady Audley's Secret
Lady Audley's Secret: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style 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: H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6 H7 H8 H9 H10 H11 H12 H13 H14 H15 H16 H17
H1. Readability score per chapter. Count
Flesch reading ease for the whole book is about 67 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
10,184 different words. On average 51 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 4,364 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
robert, george, lady, michael, audley. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 13.23 words ending in 'ly' and 10.6 likely adjectives per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
'ly' words per 1,000, chapter by chapter
H5. Share of weak verbs such as "was" and "had". Count
'Was', 'were', 'had', 'is' and 'are' make up 3.0% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 6.7% of sentences use a passive form such as 'was taken'. (rough estimate from word lists)
H7. Variety of sentence openings. Count
The five most common first words start 35% of sentences: i, the, he, she, robert.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 840 |
| the | 611 |
| he | 601 |
| she | 355 |
| robert | 273 |
| it | 230 |
| you | 226 |
| but | 202 |
| audley | 201 |
| what | 161 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.79 of its mean on average (higher means a more varied rhythm).
Variation per chapter, chapter by chapter
H9. Similes and metaphors: how many, and of what kind. Both
174 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 1.15 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 7: A noble place; inside as well as out, a noble placea house in which you incontinently lost yourself if ever you were so rash as to attempt to …
Ch 1, para 10: Sir Michael Audley was fifty-six years of age, and he had married a second wife three months after his fifty-fifth birthday. He was a big man, tall and …
Ch 1, para 11: But Miss Alicia's day was over; and now, when she asked anything of the housekeeper, the housekeeper would tell her that she would speak to my lady, or …
Ch 1, para 13: Wherever she went she seemed to take joy and brightness with her. In the cottages of the poor her fair face shone like a sunbeam. She would sit …
Ch 2, para 34: "I wonder," she continued, more to herself than to him, "I wonder, looking back, to think how hopeful I was when the vessel sailed; I never thought then …
Ch 2, para 36: "What a fool!" he cried, striking his clenched fist upon the side of the vessel, "what a fool I am to be frightened at this? Why do you …
Braddon uses abundant similes and metaphors, chiefly comparing beauty to natural light (moonbeams, halos), emotions to physical forces (grief as a ravenous beast), and secrets to hidden spaces. Fire and water recur as metaphors for destruction and concealment.
Chapters: Ch 32, Ch 30, Ch 37, Ch 8
It was no simulated grief that shook her slender frame and tore at her like some ravenous beast that would have rent her piecemeal with its horrible strength. (Ch 30, para 39)
Sir Michael's wife walked toward the house in which her husband slept with the red blaze lighting up the skies behind her, and with nothing but the blackness of the night before. (Ch 32, para 144)
It was then that I was mad, it was then that I drew the loose iron spindle from the shrunken wood, and saw my first husband sink with one horrible cry into the black mouth of the well (Ch 37, para 62)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 66%, sound 18%, touch 14%, taste 2%, smell 0%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 1209 |
| sound | 330 |
| touch | 256 |
| taste | 37 |
| smell | 9 |
Sight dominates: blue eyes, pale hair, portraits, bruises. Sound appears in storms and cries. Touch registers in physical contact and bruises. Smell and taste are nearly absent, typical of Victorian restraint.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 11, Ch 32
The innocence and candor of an infant beamed in Lady Audley's fair face, and shone out of her large and liquid blue eyes. (Ch 7, para 22)
He looked at her pretty fingers one by one; this one glittering with a ruby heart; that encircled by an emerald serpent; and about them all a starry glitter of diamonds. (Ch 11, para 36)
Lady Audley's face was no longer pale. An unnatural luster gleamed in her great blue eyes. (Ch 32, para 28)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
128 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 0.85 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Braddon repeats key phrases: 'George Talboys' appears obsessively; 'secret' and 'hidden' recur throughout. Lists of three appear in descriptions of Lady Audley's jewels and Robert's evidence. Parallel structures mark Robert's investigations.
Chapters: Ch 11, Ch 19, Ch 25, Ch 29
He looked at her pretty fingers one by one; this one glittering with a ruby heart; that encircled by an emerald serpent; and about them all a starry glitter of diamonds. (Ch 11, para 36)
Mr. Audley knelt down to examine the scraps of railway labels and addresses which were pasted here and there upon the box. (Ch 26, para 93)
a wicked woman, who did not care what misery she might inflict upon the honest heart of the man she betrayed (Ch 29, para 63)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: thither, hither, art, whence, betwixt, nay.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thither | 5 |
| hither | 4 |
| art | 4 |
| whence | 3 |
| betwixt | 2 |
| nay | 2 |
| thee | 1 |
| thy | 1 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
The novel balances showing and telling. Lady Audley's nature is shown through her actions (locking doors, setting fires) but also told directly by Robert's conclusions and Dr Mosgrave's assessment. George's disappearance is shown through Robert's investigation rather than narration.
Chapters: Ch 15, Ch 29, Ch 32, Ch 36
That," he thought, "is a woman who could keep a secret. (Ch 17, para 23)
I believe rather that we may walk unconsciously in an atmosphere of crime, and breathe none the less freely. I believe that we may look into the smiling face of a murderer, and admire its tranquil beauty. (Ch 18, para 46)
She has the cunning of madness, with the prudence of intelligence. I will tell you what she is, Mr. Audley. She is dangerous! (Ch 36, para 71)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description often precedes action, especially of settings and characters. Audley Court is described before events unfold there. Lady Audley's appearance is detailed before her schemes are revealed. This creates atmosphere before plot.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 25
The innocence and candor of an infant beamed in Lady Audley's fair face, and shone out of her large and liquid blue eyes. (Ch 7, para 22)
No one but a pre-Raphaelite would have so exaggerated every attribute of that delicate face as to give a lurid brightness to the blonde complexion, and a strange, sinister light to the deep blue eyes. (Ch 8, para 86)
Mr. Audley knelt down to examine the scraps of railway labels and addresses which were pasted here and there upon the box. (Ch 26, para 93)
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 4.44 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 237 |
| seemed | 97 |
| heard | 81 |
| knew | 80 |
| saw | 75 |
| felt | 47 |
| watched | 28 |
| wondered | 13 |
| noticed | 7 |
| realized | 6 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from domestic comedy in early chapters to gothic suspense by chapter 10, then to legal investigation, and finally to tragedy. The fire sequence (chapter 32) marks a tonal peak of danger. Resolution returns to quiet contentment.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 10, Ch 18, Ch 32, Ch 41
Papa is perfectly absurd about his new wife, and she and I cannot get on together at all; not that she is disagreeable to me, for, as far as that goes, she makes herself agreeable to every one (Ch 6, para 52)
A false move, my lady, and one I never looked for from you. (Ch 18, para 9)
The thought was this: "He will do it, unless some strange calamity befalls him, and silences him for ever. (Ch 32, para 11)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy is sparse and dry. Robert's laziness and philosophical detachment provide mild humour in early chapters. Alicia's resentment of Lady Audley offers light relief. Luke Marks' blackmail attempts contain dark comedy. Overall tone is serious.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 6, Ch 14, Ch 17
Papa is perfectly absurd about his new wife, and she and I cannot get on together at all; not that she is disagreeable to me, for, as far as that goes, she makes herself agreeable to every one (Ch 6, para 52)
Oh, yes, you will, though," answered Luke, with quiet insolence that had a hidden meaning. "You'll make it a hundred, my lady. (Ch 14, para 51)
They are the stronger sex, the noisier, the more persevering, the most self-assertive sex. They want freedom of opinion, variety of occupation, do they? (Ch 24, para 12)
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