Scan barcode
novel_nomad's review against another edition
4.0
Another excellent Mary Elizabeth Braddon sensationalist novel, leaving enough space for the reader to speculate wildly on the wickedness of the heroine. I must admit that whilst the text is heavy with description, Braddon likes to subvert the concept of the ideal Victorian woman and make the women wonderfully flawed and human.
flappermyrtle's review against another edition
2.0
I read Lady Audley´s Secret, an earlier book by Braddon, some time ago for another course. So I expected sort of the same when I started reading Aurora Floyd. This novel, however, has a different setup with a nosy narrator interfering every now and then to tell some life´s truth. Although the background and characters are worked out better, it doesn´t have the flow of Lady Audley, nor the dramatic conclusion. It´s a bit tame compared to its dashing predecessor, I´m afraid. I never really got to sympathise with any of the characters, partly due to the omniscient narrator that at times distances the reader from the narrative. All in all, it wasn´t a bad read, the story continues quite fluently and the secret Aurora carries with her is not as obvious as the one Lady Audley has. But if you have to pick one book to read from Mary Elizabeth Braddon, I´d advise Lady Audley´s Secret because it is a nicer read on the whole.
silkemaria's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
beledit's review against another edition
3.0
A good read but not my favourite Braddon. It centres around the mystery in Aurora Floyd's past. As always with Braddon, it's not hard to figure out what the mystery is. The enjoyment comes from watching the story play out. However, while some of her other books have multiple story threads, this one is flatter and the characters more two-dimensional. I suspect it's one of her more famous novels simply because most of the others are not well known and were out of print for a very long time. The heroine is also less interesting. We are constantly told that she is beautiful and passionate but somehow she doesn't lift off the page. Better Braddon novels are Run to Earth, Henry Dunbar or even The Golden Calf.
lynneelue's review against another edition
3.0
I read this over 13 weeks according to the original 3 chapter installments to try to get a feel for how the Victorian era readers experienced this sensationalist novel. Doing this really let me recognize and appreciate the cliffhangers at the end of each third chapter. I don't normally pick up on mystery clues, so I was strung along guessing the whole way. Upon reflection, I was a little disappointed with how simplistic the plot was. There weren't that many twists of additional storylines, and the bad guys were pretty predictably bad. However, reading in on the characters' domestic life, and appreciating the author's careful, intentional writing was quite lovely.
Through the creation of Aurora, a free-spirited supposedly "femme fatale" woman (we are repeatedly reminded of her raven black hair and eyes...), and the loving, trusting relationship she has with Mellish, the author hintingly challenges behavioral expectations for Victorian women and their subordinate role in a marriage. With phrases like “[Mellish] trusted to his instinct, and recognized a true woman when he met her” (400), this message seems loud and clear, at least to my modern reader ears. I spent quite a bit of time thinking about Aurora: is this rich white woman a sympathetic character? and decided that yes, her past experiences are painful. You never forget the past even if it's been resolved, that "no future joys can quite wear out. The murder has been done, and the hands are red" (392). Something that I loved was the novel's embrace of characters accepting each other despite their mistakes, and trying to become better for it. Both heroes ponder and move towards atonement. So, after all this female strength buildup, I was frustrated by the final third of the novel--in which Aurora essentially is entirely removed, voiceless, and waits on the sidelines for the murder case to be resolved. I don't know why that happened.
I noticed previous reviews have indicated annoyance over the narrator's interruptions, but I seriously liked it. It draws an eagle eye perspective to the characters' inductive conclusions, opines about the story in relation to larger broader, abstract concepts like time, and gives readers insight on culture and the author's mind. I also liked the author's intentional inclusion of supernatural language, which brought in remnants of the influence of the Gothic genre on sensationalism; her use felt symbolic and hyperbolic (red imagery, Aurora's secret casting a "shade" upon her) rather than physical (expecting the supernatural to appear). So often the author played with foils and contrasts between characters, which showed multi-dimensionality in the characters' personalities.
Through the creation of Aurora, a free-spirited supposedly "femme fatale" woman (we are repeatedly reminded of her raven black hair and eyes...), and the loving, trusting relationship she has with Mellish, the author hintingly challenges behavioral expectations for Victorian women and their subordinate role in a marriage. With phrases like “[Mellish] trusted to his instinct, and recognized a true woman when he met her” (400), this message seems loud and clear, at least to my modern reader ears. I spent quite a bit of time thinking about Aurora: is this rich white woman a sympathetic character? and decided that yes, her past experiences are painful. You never forget the past even if it's been resolved, that "no future joys can quite wear out. The murder has been done, and the hands are red" (392). Something that I loved was the novel's embrace of characters accepting each other despite their mistakes, and trying to become better for it. Both heroes ponder and move towards atonement. So, after all this female strength buildup, I was frustrated by the final third of the novel--in which Aurora essentially is entirely removed, voiceless, and waits on the sidelines for the murder case to be resolved. I don't know why that happened.
I noticed previous reviews have indicated annoyance over the narrator's interruptions, but I seriously liked it. It draws an eagle eye perspective to the characters' inductive conclusions, opines about the story in relation to larger broader, abstract concepts like time, and gives readers insight on culture and the author's mind. I also liked the author's intentional inclusion of supernatural language, which brought in remnants of the influence of the Gothic genre on sensationalism; her use felt symbolic and hyperbolic (red imagery, Aurora's secret casting a "shade" upon her) rather than physical (expecting the supernatural to appear). So often the author played with foils and contrasts between characters, which showed multi-dimensionality in the characters' personalities.
petrauusimaa's review against another edition
5.0
After reading two Mary Elizabeth Braddon's novels in a short amount of time, I'm slowly falling in love with her. Aurora Floyd is definitely more humane and a lot more well-plotted than Lady Audley's Secret despite them both touching on same themes. We know Aurora's secret from the very beginning and as we get to know her and her past, I as a reader became so captivated and invested with her story. Braddon's writing is melodramatic and atmospheric and for a book 500 pages, I flew through it relatively quickly every time I picked it up and was captivated by the plot twists. Aurora Floyd manages to be both a mystery but also a great coming-of-age story of a young woman who is haunted by her past and bad decisions.
nellym27's review against another edition
4.0
Potentially I'm becoming more lenient with my ratings as this doesn't quite compare to some of the amazing books I've read in the four star category, but I found this novel really interesting, enjoying and beautifully written, and didn't want it stored in the same category as a bunch of mundane novels.
This book was really enjoyable. Parts of it were slightly dull but overall it had so much going on; romance, love triangles, rejection, scandal, secrets, a transgressive woman, a murder mystery, and it just made it a very varied read. I have also read Lady Audley's Secret, a novel by the same woman with a similar concept, and I felt this one was far superior due to the more complex character of Aurora Floyd. In fact, all of the characters seemed very likeable - perhaps some of the men were lacking in full three-dimension, but they were lovely to read about and this wasn't the story after all. This whole novel struck me as the kind of thing that really should be adapted by BBC as soon as possible (I've even started thinking of who should be cast) - we really don't need another Pride and Prejudice adaptation when there are gems like this that have never been adapted and really could benefit by being introduced to a new audience.
I thought this novel played with genre really well; it was slightly tongue in cheek, seemed to mock the stifled perceptions of women and what they should be and was funny, but was also scandalous and full of that touching romantic drama which fills novels of the time. The writing was really beautiful in places and I generally enjoyed the narrative voice. I also enjoyed all the little coincidences and all the ways that minor characters came back into play so that every detail felt attended to.
This book was really enjoyable. Parts of it were slightly dull but overall it had so much going on; romance, love triangles, rejection, scandal, secrets, a transgressive woman, a murder mystery, and it just made it a very varied read. I have also read Lady Audley's Secret, a novel by the same woman with a similar concept, and I felt this one was far superior due to the more complex character of Aurora Floyd. In fact, all of the characters seemed very likeable - perhaps some of the men were lacking in full three-dimension, but they were lovely to read about and this wasn't the story after all. This whole novel struck me as the kind of thing that really should be adapted by BBC as soon as possible (I've even started thinking of who should be cast) - we really don't need another Pride and Prejudice adaptation when there are gems like this that have never been adapted and really could benefit by being introduced to a new audience.
I thought this novel played with genre really well; it was slightly tongue in cheek, seemed to mock the stifled perceptions of women and what they should be and was funny, but was also scandalous and full of that touching romantic drama which fills novels of the time. The writing was really beautiful in places and I generally enjoyed the narrative voice. I also enjoyed all the little coincidences and all the ways that minor characters came back into play so that every detail felt attended to.
More...