Henry Dunbar (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A Gothic Suspense Mystery of Identity, Inheritance, Secret Pasts, and Moral Redemption in Victorian EnglandBy Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Length18h 11m
About this audiobook
Mary Elizabeth Braddon's Henry Dunbar (1864) is a richly constructed Victorian sensation novel of murder, concealed identity, inheritance, and moral retribution. Its plot turns on the return of the immensely wealthy Henry Dunbar from India, the troubling history surrounding a long-ago crime, and the suspicions that gather around his family and associates. Braddon combines the rapid disclosures and cliff-hanger revelations of popular melodrama with a sustained examination of guilt, secrecy, and the fragility of social respectability. Like her more famous Lady Audley's Secret, the novel belongs to the sensation tradition that brought criminality, psychological disturbance, and domestic danger into the drawing room, while its colonial background enlarges the anxieties of Victorian finance, empire, and identity. Braddon (1835–1915) was one of the most commercially successful and intellectually alert writers of nineteenth-century popular fiction. Her extensive experience as an actress, journalist, and professional novelist helped cultivate the dramatic pacing, vivid characterization, and public-minded awareness evident here. Writing during a period fascinated by crime, forensic investigation, illegitimacy, and disputed inheritance, she challenged the assumption that the respectable household was a secure moral refuge. Henry Dunbar reflects her talent for transforming contemporary social fears into compelling narrative machinery. This novel will reward readers interested in Victorian culture, sensation fiction, crime narratives, and the literary history of secrecy and identity. It offers both the immediate pleasures of suspense and a revealing study of how wealth, empire, family, and reputation shape moral judgment. Readers of Braddon, Wilkie Collins, and nineteenth-century Gothic fiction will find it especially engaging.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.9 (705)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, StoryGraph, Amazon
GenreHorror, Mystery and Thriller
Length18 hrs 11 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 13, 2022
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Henry Dunbar (Annotated)
2Introduction
3Synopsis
4Historical Context
5Chapter 1. After Office Hours in the House of Dunbar, Dunbar, and Balderby.
Show all chaptersShow less
6Chapter 2. Margaret’s Father.
7Chapter 3. The Meeting at the Railway Station.
8Chapter 4. The Stroke of Death.
9Chapter 5. Sinking the Past.
10Chapter 6. Clement Austin’s Diary.
11Chapter 7. After Five-And-Thirty Years.
12Chapter 8. The First Stage on the Journey Home.
13Chapter 9. How Henry Dunbar Waited Dinner.
14Chapter 10. Laura Dunbar.
15Chapter 11. The Inquest.
16Chapter 12. Arrested.
17Chapter 13. The Prisoner is Remanded.
18Chapter 14. Margaret’s Journey.
19Chapter 15. Baffled.
20Chapter 16. Is it Love or Fear?
21Chapter 17. The Broken Picture.
22Chapter 18. Three who Suspect.
23Chapter 19. Laura Dunbar’s Disappointment.
24Chapter 20. New Hopes May Bloom.
25Chapter 21. A New Life.
26Chapter 22. The Steeple-Chase.
27Chapter 23. The Bride that the Rain Rains on.
28Chapter 24. The Unbidden Guest who Came to Laura Dunbar’s Wedding.
29Chapter 25. After the Wedding.
30Chapter 26. What Happened in the Back Parlour of the Banking-House.
31Chapter 27. Clement Austin’s Wooing.
32Chapter 28. Buying Diamonds.
33Chapter 29. Going Away.
34Chapter 30. Stopped Upon the Way.
35Chapter 31. Clement Austin Makes a Sacrifice.
36Chapter 32. What Happened at Maudesley Abbey.
37Chapter 33. Margaret’s Return.
38Chapter 34. Farewell.
39Chapter 35. A Discovery at the Luxembourg.
40Chapter 36. Looking for the Portrait.
41Chapter 37. Margaret’s Letter.
42Chapter 38. Notes from a Journal Kept by Clement Austin During His Journey to Winchester.
43Chapter 39. Clement Austin’s Journal Continued.
44Chapter 40. Flight.
45Chapter 41. At Maudesley Abbey.
46Chapter 42. The Housemaid at Woodbine Cottage.
47Chapter 43. On the Track.
48Chapter 44. Chasing the “Crow.”
49Chapter 45. Giving it up.
50Chapter 46. Clement’s Story. — Before the Dawn.
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