THIS VICTORIAN BESTSELLER, ALONG WITH BRADDON S OTHER FAMOUS NOVEL, AURORA FLOYD, ESTABLISHED HER AS THE MAIN RIVAL OF THE MASTER OF THE SENSATIONAL NOVEL, WILKIE COLLINS. A PROTEST AGAINST THE PASSIVE, INSIPID 19TH-CENTURY HEROINE, LADY AUDLEY WAS DESCRIBED BY ONE CRITIC OF THE TIME AS HIGH-STRUNG, FULL OF PASSION, PURPOSE, AND MOVEMENT. HER CRIME (THE SECRET OF THE TITLE) IS SHOWN TO THREATEN THE APPARENTLY RESPECTABLE MIDDLE-CLASS WORLD OF VICTORIAN ENGLAND.