<DIV><b>Lady Audley's Secret</b> epitomized the scandalous and irresistible "sensation" fiction of the period and established Braddon as the doyenne of the genre. Lady Audley, a beautiful woman with a mysterious past, serves as a commentary on the rise of the middle class and the consumer culture, and her fate reflects the public's fascination with psychological theories about the nature of identity and the definition of madness. </div>