Book Anatomy · Lady Audley's Secret
Lady Audley's Secret: Setting and world
13 lenses on setting and world 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: I1 I2 I3 I4 I5 I6 I7 I8 I9 I10 I11 I12 I13
I1. Places named and how often each appears. Count
London is the place named most, 58 times.
| Place | Mentions | Chapters |
|---|---|---|
| London | 58 | 31 |
| Audley Court | 45 | 25 |
| Essex | 41 | 18 |
| Mount Stanning | 38 | 14 |
| Southampton | 36 | 17 |
| Ventnor | 30 | 17 |
| Castle Inn | 30 | 12 |
| Wildernsea | 27 | 5 |
| Liverpool | 22 | 13 |
| Brompton | 7 | 5 |
| Peckham | 3 | 1 |
| Belgium | 1 | 1 |
I2. Setting by chapter, as a map. Both
The place named most in each chapter. A rough setting map. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Chapter | Place named most |
|---|---|
| 1 | Audley Court |
| 2 | London |
| 3 | Audley Court |
| 4 | Audley Court |
| 5 | Ventnor |
| 6 | Liverpool |
| 7 | Essex |
| 8 | Essex |
| 9 | Audley Court |
| 10 | London |
| 11 | London |
| 12 | Southampton |
| 13 | Essex |
| 14 | Essex |
Settings shift: London chambers, Ventnor, Essex (Audley Court and Sun Inn), Southampton, Liverpool, Wildernsea, Dorsetshire, Brompton, Peckham, Belgium. Each location marks a stage of Robert's investigation. The novel moves outward from London then back.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 7, Ch 12, Ch 13
I3. Setting shown in blocks or woven into action? AI
Setting is woven into action rather than dumped. Audley Court emerges through Robert's visits and observations. Wildernsea appears through investigation of Helen's past. Settings reveal secrets gradually as characters move through them.
Chapters: Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 25, Ch 27
I can see the well from my bedroom window, Luke," Phoebe answered, pointing to an open lattice in one of the gables. (Ch 3, para 13)
Even in her haste she paused deliberately at the door of this room, double-locked it, and dropped the key into her pocket. (Ch 7, 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)
I4. Weather and light used for mood. Both
Weather and light words: 1.79 per 1,000 words.
Weather and light words, chapter by chapter
Weather and light create mood throughout. Storms signal danger and emotional upheaval in chapter 9. Darkness surrounds Lady Audley's fire-setting in chapter 32. Bright daylight marks resolution in chapter 41. Fire and shadow dominate the climax.
Chapters: Ch 9, Ch 32, Ch 33, Ch 41
Still as the atmosphere was, the leaves rustled with that sinister, shivering motion which proceeds from no outer cause, but is rather an instinctive shudder of the frail branches, prescient of a coming storm. (Ch 8, para 38)
Lady Audley's face was no longer pale. An unnatural luster gleamed in her great blue eyes. (Ch 32, para 28)
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)
I5. The social world: class, money, rules. AI
Class and money drive the plot. Lady Audley's poverty forces her to marry for security. Luke Marks blackmails her for money to escape poverty. Robert's wealth allows him leisure to investigate. Sir Michael's blindness stems from his social position and trust.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 3, Ch 14, Ch 16, Ch 31
I'd rather have this than the diamond bracelet you would have liked to take," she answered; "you shall have the public house, Luke. (Ch 3, para 66)
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)
Do you know, Phoebe Marks, that my jewel-case has been half emptied to meet your claims? (Ch 31, para 70)
I6. Rules of the world (magic, science) and when each is shown. AI
The novel follows Victorian rules of law, medicine and inheritance. No magic or science fiction. Dr Mosgrave's medical assessment of Lady Audley's sanity is shown as expert authority. Legal procedures frame Robert's investigation and Lady Audley's confinement.
Chapters: Ch 36, Ch 37
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)
Whatever secrets she may have will be secrets forever! Whatever crimes she may have committed she will be able to commit no more (Ch 36, para 89)
I7. Lore: dripped in or dumped? AI
Period lore is dripped in naturally. Victorian attitudes to madness, women's roles, and inheritance appear through dialogue and Robert's thoughts rather than exposition. The well at Audley Court is mentioned casually before becoming crucial.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 7, Ch 14, Ch 29, Ch 37
I can see the well from my bedroom window, Luke," Phoebe answered, pointing to an open lattice in one of the gables. (Ch 3, para 13)
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 shall go to-night, Lucy," exclaimed Sir Michael. "I am a blind, neglectful fool not to have thought of this before. (Ch 16, para 62)
I8. Real history used, and how. AI
No named real history is used. The novel is set in contemporary Victorian England (1860s) but invents all characters and events. Australian diggings and Belgian asylums are real places but not historically specific.
I9. Journeys: distance and time taken. Both
Journeys span England and Europe. Robert travels London to Essex, Southampton, Liverpool, Wildernsea, Dorsetshire, Brompton, Peckham, and Belgium. Most journeys take days by train or coach. The Belgium journey is the longest, marking Lady Audley's exile.
Chapters: Ch 12, Ch 13, Ch 25, Ch 26, Ch 27, Ch 37
I10. Objects that matter, where they appear. Both
well is the object named most.
| Object | Mentions | Chapters |
|---|---|---|
| well | 175 | 37 |
| letters | 37 | 17 |
| portrait | 18 | 7 |
| ring | 7 | 5 |
| glove | 5 | 2 |
| lock of hair | 1 | 1 |
| railway labels | 1 | 1 |
Objects matter greatly: the baby's shoe and lock of hair in the jewel case (chapter 3) prove Lady Audley's past. Letters and railway labels link Helen to Lucy. The well holds George's body. The ring wrapped in paper opens the novel.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 3, Ch 19, Ch 26, Ch 37
It was neither a locket, a miniature, nor a cross; it was a ring wrapped in an oblong piece of paper (Ch 1, para 51)
There was not much in it; neither gold nor gems; only a baby's little worsted shoe rolled up in a piece of paper, and a tiny lock of pale and silky yellow hair (Ch 3, para 60)
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)
I11. Density of period detail. AI
Period detail is moderate. Braddon includes trains, telegrams, newspapers, and Victorian social customs but avoids heavy description of dress or furnishings. The focus is plot and psychology rather than material culture.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 4, Ch 12, Ch 19
I12. Setting as an enemy. AI
Setting becomes an enemy in chapter 32 when the Castle Inn burns, threatening Robert's life. Audley Court itself harbours secrets and danger. The well is a physical enemy that has swallowed George. Darkness and isolation aid Lady Audley's crimes.
Chapters: Ch 32, Ch 37
I can see the well from my bedroom window, Luke," Phoebe answered, pointing to an open lattice in one of the gables. (Ch 3, para 13)
The thought was this: "He will do it, unless some strange calamity befalls him, and silences him for ever. (Ch 32, para 11)
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)
I13. Indoors against outdoors. Both
Indoor words outnumber outdoor words 1092 to 240. (rough estimate from word lists)
Indoor share %, chapter by chapter
Indoors and outdoors balance. Key scenes occur in locked rooms (Lady Audley's chamber, Robert's inn room) and open spaces (the lime-walk, the churchyard). The well is a threshold between worlds. Fire destroys the boundary between inside and outside.
Chapters: Ch 8, Ch 29, Ch 32, Ch 37
I can see the well from my bedroom window, Luke," Phoebe answered, pointing to an open lattice in one of the gables. (Ch 3, para 13)
Even in her haste she paused deliberately at the door of this room, double-locked it, and dropped the key into her pocket. (Ch 7, para 86)
Because for you this house is haunted. (Ch 29, para 38)
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