Reason for Reading: I love Victorian literature.
Comments: Published as part of the Hesperus Classics series, which
publishes obscure or little known titles by well-known classic
authors, this book actually contains two titles: "The Lawyer's
Secret", a novella, which was originally published as a
serialization and a short story entitled "The Mystery at
Fernwood".
In "The Lawyer's Secret" a woman receives a large inheritance from
her uncle with the stipulation that she marry his adopted son. At
first she refuses but is then convinced by her lawyer and guardian
to accept the situation. Shortly after the marriage she realizes
the man she has married is not the caring man she thought he was
and her long marriage becomes an enduring torture.
In "The Mystery at Fernwood" a young woman becomes engaged to a
lively young man, Laurence, and with her aunt goes down to his
estate to meet the family. Here she finds a friendly yet morose
group of people, especially her fiance's sister. Then she learns
that the sister is very committed to looking after an invalid
relation who lives in a wing of the house. This relation has always
been locked up in that wing ever since Laurence was a young boy and
yet he has never seen him, not even once.
Both of these stories revolve around a secret being kept beyond all
manner of sense for the sake of honour, promises, or the perceived
good of others because of a grave matter unacceptable to decent
society. Neither of these stories is much of a mystery; it doesn't
take long to figure out the lawyer's secret or to know exactly what
is the mystery of Fernwood. But that is not really the point in the
enjoyment of these stories to the modern reader. They are both
wonderful examples of sensation fiction and Braddon was prolific in
the field, writing over seventy books in her lifetime.
Both stories make delicious use of foreshadowing. Right from the
start we're told how absolutely terrible the final outcome will be
and all throughout this is repeated often, so if we dare get a
thought in mind that things are working out nicely it is quickly
squashed. "The Lawyer's Secret" is divided into chapters, I'm
supposing where it would have left off each issue as it was
serialized and every chapter ends with lines announcing the "utter
wretchedness" of the situation, making one anxious to read
on.
The topics dealt with, while certainly not sensational to the
modern reader, are perfect examples of Victorian sins and secrets.
My favourite of the two is "The Mystery at Fernwood" simply because
I love the mysterious person locked in the west wing/attic/secret
room plot and this story while predictable was wonderfully Gothic
and kept the one especial mystery a secret until the tragic ending.
Simply delightful to read!