ian Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 I came upon this writer purely by chance and wondered if anyone else had read anything by her? I was actually searching online for any Ray Bradbury - I've only ever read Farenheit 451, and wondered if anything was available free to download. Nothing there, but the writer closest alphabetically was M.E Braddon. I was idly looking at what she'd written and noticed a book called "Fenton's Quest". This immediately caught my attention, as this is my surname. So, I downloaded it onto my Kindle and had a look for some information about her. It turns out she wrote over 100 books and stories and was writing at a similar time as Wilkie Collins. And yet I had never heard of her! Has anyone read anything by her? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueK Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 I've read one of her books called Lady Audley's Secret which was one of the early "thrillers" a bit like Wilkie Collins. Lady Audley's Secret was a novel that The Suspicions of Mr Whicher was based on. It's an excellent story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 I have to say I've never heard of her, and I was surprised to see a thread with that name on the Classics section, because it was such a strange name for me. SueK, I thought The Suspicions was based on a true crime story? Or has Mary Braddon written a fictionalized/novelized book on it which Summerscale based her book on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueK Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Hi Frankie, sorry I didn't make myself very clear . What I meant to say was that Kate Summerscale (who wrote Suspicions) and Mary Braddon wrote about the same family, one factual and the other fictionalised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Hi Frankie, sorry I didn't make myself very clear . What I meant to say was that Kate Summerscale (who wrote Suspicions) and Mary Braddon wrote about the same family, one factual and the other fictionalised. Ah, alright! Don't worry If I like the Suspicions book (which I have on TBR pile) I might see if I can get a hold of the Braddon novel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 Ah, alright! Don't worry If I like the Suspicions book (which I have on TBR pile) I might see if I can get a hold of the Braddon novel. As they are all over 100 years old, they are mostly available free and in various formats at Guggenheim etc. I'm about halfway through "Fenton's Quest" and while it isn't as good as Dickens or Wilkie Collins, it's certainly very readable and the story cracks on at a fair old pace. I'll definitely be reading more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 As they are all over 100 years old, they are mostly available free and in various formats at Guggenheim etc. I'm about halfway through "Fenton's Quest" and while it isn't as good as Dickens or Wilkie Collins, it's certainly very readable and the story cracks on at a fair old pace. I'll definitely be reading more Ah, thanks for the tip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted July 6, 2012 Author Share Posted July 6, 2012 I've just finished Fenton's Quest, which I enjoyed. It reminds me of Wilkie Collins, so was very readable. I felt it lacked a strong female charactor at first; something I had expected from a female writer, but this was remedied in the second half of the book, and the book as a whole has quite a bit to say about the dire state of women's rights in a marriage at that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.