jowmy4's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
novel_nomad's review
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
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 against another edition
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
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.
bookswithpetra's review
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.
laurenpegler's review
3.0
I have mixed feelings on this book. The first 300 pages were really quite slow, and although I enjoyed the commentary on marriage and women’s lives, I couldn’t help but grow a little disinterested in the story. BUT...but but but, the last 160 pages were so fast paced and such a major plot twist that I sped through them. Braddon has such a talent for writing sensation fiction. Her descriptions are also very beautiful; such a pleasure to read at certain points.