A young woman, addled by overindulgence in novels, marries a good but unimaginative doctor.
Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835-1915) wrote over 60 novels between 1861 and 1900. In The Doctor’s Wife she reflects wittily and ruefully on her craft and its effects.
“Miss Braddon has displayed quite unexpected power, that she can create a female character ordinary and yet bizarre, analyze her emotions with delicate skill, and display her action in incidents each of which is a surprise, yet on reflection is pronounced by the reader accurate and natural.” Spectator, October 22, 1864
“Isabel’s is an original character, and it is excellently drawn.” London Review, October 22, 1864
The heroine’s character is “wholly consistent from first to last, and artistically true to the type of human nature which the novelist has set herself to portray.” Saturday Review, November 5, 1864
Download this week’s novel:
v.1 https://books.google.com/books?id=BkPQAAAAMAAJ
v.2 https://books.google.com/books?id=B0TQAAAAMAAJ
v.3 https://books.google.com/books?id=RUTQAAAAMAAJ
“Stereotyped” 1 vol. ed. (Archive.org)