Dead Love Has Chains (1907)
Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Introduction and notes by Laurence Talairach-Vielmas
“[I]t belongs with her very best novels . . . marks a new departure in its bold and delicate exploration of human psychology and in its economy of style.” - Robert Lee Wolff
Pregnant and unmarried, seventeen-year-old Irene Thelliston has been sent home from India in disgrace to live with her aunt in rural Ireland. Only one person knows her secret: Lady Mary Harling, a fellow passenger on her sea voyage, who pities her misfortunes and solemnly swears never to betray her confidence. Years later, to Lady Mary’s horror, the beautiful Irene arrives in London and becomes engaged to her son Conrad, who has a secret of his own, having spent seven years in a madhouse after a broken heart left him insane. Lady Mary is desperate to prevent the marriage, but how can she, without violating her oath? And when Irene’s handsome seducer appears on the scene and threatens to come between her and Conrad, can their love endure or will Conrad relapse into madness?
Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835-1915) was one of the most popular and prolific authors of the Victorian era, publishing 85 books, including the sensational bestsellers Lady Audley’s Secret (1862) and Aurora Floyd (1863). This new edition of one of her most interesting novels, Dead Love Has Chains (1907), is the first in more than a century and features a new introduction and notes by Laurence Talairach-Vielmas.
Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Introduction and notes by Laurence Talairach-Vielmas
“[I]t belongs with her very best novels . . . marks a new departure in its bold and delicate exploration of human psychology and in its economy of style.” - Robert Lee Wolff
Pregnant and unmarried, seventeen-year-old Irene Thelliston has been sent home from India in disgrace to live with her aunt in rural Ireland. Only one person knows her secret: Lady Mary Harling, a fellow passenger on her sea voyage, who pities her misfortunes and solemnly swears never to betray her confidence. Years later, to Lady Mary’s horror, the beautiful Irene arrives in London and becomes engaged to her son Conrad, who has a secret of his own, having spent seven years in a madhouse after a broken heart left him insane. Lady Mary is desperate to prevent the marriage, but how can she, without violating her oath? And when Irene’s handsome seducer appears on the scene and threatens to come between her and Conrad, can their love endure or will Conrad relapse into madness?
Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835-1915) was one of the most popular and prolific authors of the Victorian era, publishing 85 books, including the sensational bestsellers Lady Audley’s Secret (1862) and Aurora Floyd (1863). This new edition of one of her most interesting novels, Dead Love Has Chains (1907), is the first in more than a century and features a new introduction and notes by Laurence Talairach-Vielmas.
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BOOK DETAILS
ISBN: 193914020X ISBN-13: 978-1939140203 $17.99 US, 168 pp. Trade paper Published 2014 |
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AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Mary Elizabeth Braddon was born in London in 1835. As a young woman, she began a career on the stage under the name “Mary Seyton” in an attempt to provide for herself and her mother, but by 1860 she had published her first novel and quickly decided to become a writer full time.
In 1860, Braddon began a relationship with the publisher John Maxwell, whose wife was confined to a mental institution. Many of Braddon’s novels would be serialized in Maxwell’s periodicals, including her most famous, Lady Audley’s Secret, which began its serial run in Maxwell’s Robin Goodfellow in 1861. The book was brought out the following year in three volumes by William Tinsley and was a sensational bestseller, going through nine editions in the first year alone. After the success of Lady Audley’s Secret, Braddon moved into Maxwell’s house and acted as stepmother to his children; this cohabitation with a married man generated its share of gossip and controversy, but when Maxwell’s wife died in 1874, the two were finally able to marry.
Braddon wrote prolifically, often publishing two or three long novels per year, and was also active as the editor of the popular periodical Belgravia. Some of her best-known novels included a follow-up to Lady Audley’s Secret, Aurora Floyd (1863), Eleanor’s Victory (1863), John Marchmont’s Legacy (1863), Henry Dunbar (1864), and The Doctor’s Wife (1864). In all, she would publish eighty-five books, most of which are forgotten today, but many of which, such as Thou Art the Man (1894) and Dead Love Has Chains (1907), both republished by Valancourt, are worthy of rediscovery.
Braddon and Maxwell had several children, including William B. Maxwell (1866-1938), a once-popular but now neglected novelist. Around 1891, John Maxwell’s health began to deteriorate; he died in 1895. Braddon survived him by twenty years, continuing to write prolifically, primarily in the genre of the “sensation novel,” until her death in 1915 from a cerebral hemorrhage at age 79. Her final novel, Mary, appeared posthumously in 1916.
In 1860, Braddon began a relationship with the publisher John Maxwell, whose wife was confined to a mental institution. Many of Braddon’s novels would be serialized in Maxwell’s periodicals, including her most famous, Lady Audley’s Secret, which began its serial run in Maxwell’s Robin Goodfellow in 1861. The book was brought out the following year in three volumes by William Tinsley and was a sensational bestseller, going through nine editions in the first year alone. After the success of Lady Audley’s Secret, Braddon moved into Maxwell’s house and acted as stepmother to his children; this cohabitation with a married man generated its share of gossip and controversy, but when Maxwell’s wife died in 1874, the two were finally able to marry.
Braddon wrote prolifically, often publishing two or three long novels per year, and was also active as the editor of the popular periodical Belgravia. Some of her best-known novels included a follow-up to Lady Audley’s Secret, Aurora Floyd (1863), Eleanor’s Victory (1863), John Marchmont’s Legacy (1863), Henry Dunbar (1864), and The Doctor’s Wife (1864). In all, she would publish eighty-five books, most of which are forgotten today, but many of which, such as Thou Art the Man (1894) and Dead Love Has Chains (1907), both republished by Valancourt, are worthy of rediscovery.
Braddon and Maxwell had several children, including William B. Maxwell (1866-1938), a once-popular but now neglected novelist. Around 1891, John Maxwell’s health began to deteriorate; he died in 1895. Braddon survived him by twenty years, continuing to write prolifically, primarily in the genre of the “sensation novel,” until her death in 1915 from a cerebral hemorrhage at age 79. Her final novel, Mary, appeared posthumously in 1916.