Aurora Floyd, Vol. 1

Braddon, M. E. (Mary Elizabeth), 1835-1915Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.0

Word count: 340K words
Chapters: 35

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Aurora Floyd, Vol. 1 by M. E. BraddonAuthor: Braddon, M. E. (Mary Elizabeth), 1835-1915,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jan 19, 2015

Editor's review

Volume 1 of Aurora Floyd is one of Braddon's representative works and belongs to the Victorian tradition of the sensation novel. This genre drives narrative through secrets, doubts about identity, marital crisis, and emotional suspense; it was controversial in its day and also supplied narrative resources for later popular fiction. The main value of this volume is that it lets readers see how Braddon engages interest through tight suspense and character psychology, while reflecting mid-nineteenth-century middle-class anxieties about women's reputation, property, and marriage. The text comes from a Project Gutenberg public-domain ebook, in nineteenth-century English; the narrative pacing differs from modern genre fiction, but the plot has strong drive. It is suitable as an introductory specimen for studying Victorian popular fiction, and for readers who want to experience the narrative appeal of the sensation novel. As you read, pay attention to how the narrator controls the pacing of disclosure, and how characters' moral images are reshaped by suspense.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Victorian popular fiction
Literature students studying the narrative techniques of the sensation novel
English-language readers who enjoy family secrets and marital suspense

Not a good fit for

Readers who want only short, light reading and are unwilling to enter long exposition
Beginners with little patience for nineteenth-century English narrative pacing
Readers expecting the fast pace and reversals of modern psychological suspense

Reading tips

Learn the basic features of the sensation novel before entering the text; it will be easier to grasp the narrative intent.
Notice how "secrets" are delayed in disclosure, and record which information the narrator deliberately withholds.
Reading alongside background on Victorian women and marriage issues can deepen your understanding of the characters' situations.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What is a sensation novel?

The sensation novel is a type of popular fiction that flourished in Britain in the mid-to-late nineteenth century, often driven by secrets, doubts about identity, marital crisis, and emotional suspense, and controversial for its sensational subject matter. Braddon is an important author of this type, and Aurora Floyd is often discussed within that tradition.

How does this book relate to the full Aurora Floyd?

This entry is Volume 1 of Aurora Floyd, part of the complete work, not a standalone complete story. Before reading, you should know that later volumes exist; otherwise the plot development and characters' fates may feel unfinished. It is best to read the volumes in order, or first confirm the structure of the complete work.

Is the English reading threshold high?

The text is nineteenth-century English: sentences are long, and narrative is mixed with commentary, with a rhythm different from modern English fiction. Those with college-level English can read with notes; if you are reading mainly for plot, focus first on dialogue and key scenes, then go back to expository passages, so that details do not slow you down.

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About the author

Braddon, M. E. (Mary Elizabeth), 1835-1915 Author

Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835–1915) was an English novelist of the Victorian era, known for her intricate, suspenseful popular fiction. Her representative work, Lady Audley's Secret, revolves around concealed identity and hidden secrets and is regarded as part of the "sensation novel" tradition, enjoying wide popularity in its day. The collection holds 35 of her works, including, besides the above, the three-volume Aurora Floyd, Wyllard's Weird, the three-volume John Marchmont's Legacy, All along the River and Run to Earth. She excelled at weaving crime, deception and emotional entanglements into domestic settings, with brisk pacing and dramatic turns of fortune; her work has had a lasting influence on later popular and suspense fiction. Public information on the details of her life is limited, so they are not elaborated here.