The Doctor's Wife (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Victorian Romance NovelBy Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Length18h 41m
About this audiobook
Mary Elizabeth Braddon's The Doctor's Wife (1864) is a subtle and unsettling study of romantic illusion within ordinary provincial life. Often read as an English reimagining of Flaubert's Madame Bovary, the novel follows Isabel Sleaford, whose imagination has been shaped by circulating-library romances, as she enters a respectable marriage to the kind but prosaic Dr. Gilbert. Braddon's style blends sensation fiction with domestic realism, replacing overt crime with the quieter perils of fantasy, emotional dissatisfaction, and moral self-deception. Braddon, already famous for Lady Audley's Secret, wrote at the height of Victorian debates about women's reading, marriage, and desire. Her own career as a prolific professional novelist, actress, and unconventional public figure sharpened her awareness of social performance and feminine constraint. In The Doctor's Wife, she turns the sensational inward, examining how literary dreams can become a dangerous substitute for lived ethical responsibility. This novel is highly recommended to readers interested in Victorian fiction, women's authorship, and the psychology of desire. It rewards those who value nuanced characterization over melodrama, and it offers a compelling bridge between sensation fiction, realist domestic narrative, and the European adultery novel.
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
GenreLiterary Classics, General Fiction
Length18 hrs 41 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateSep 6, 2019
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
2Introduction
3Synopsis
4Historical Context
5The Doctor's Wife
Show all chaptersShow less
6Chapter 1. A Young Man from the Country.
7Chapter 2. A Sensation Author.
8Chapter 3. Isabel.
9Chapter 4. The End of George Gilbert’s Holiday.
10Chapter 5. George at Home.
11Chapter 6. Too Much Alone.
12Chapter 7. On the Bridge.
13Chapter 8. About Poor Joe Tillet’s Young Wife.
14Chapter 9. Miss Sleaford’s Engagement.
15Chapter 10. A Bad Beginning.
16Chapter 11. “She Only Said, ‘My Life is Weary!’”
17Chapter 12. Something like A Birthday.
18Chapter 13. “Oh, My Cousin, Shallow-hearted!”
19Chapter 14. Under Lord Thurston’s Oak.
20Chapter 15. Roland Says, “Amen.”
21Chapter 16. Mr. Lansdell Relates an Adventure.
22Chapter 17. The First Warning.
23Chapter 18. The Second Warning.
24Chapter 19. What Might have Been!
25Chapter 20. “Oceans Should Divide Us.”
26Chapter 21. “Once More the Gate behind me Falls.”
27Chapter 22. “My Love’s A Noble Madness.”
28Chapter 23. A Little Cloud.
29Chapter 24. Lady Gwendoline Does her Duty.
30Chapter 25. “For Love Himself Took Part against Himself.”
31Chapter 26. A Popular Preacher.
32Chapter 27. “And Now I Live, and Now My Life is Done!”
33Chapter 28. Trying to Be Good.
34Chapter 29. The First Whisper of the Storm.
35Chapter 30. The Beginning of A Great Change.
36Chapter 31. Fifty Pounds.
37Chapter 32. “I’ll Not Believe but Desdemona’s Honest.”
38Chapter 33. Keeping A Promise.
39Chapter 34. Retrospective.
40Chapter 35. “’Twere Best at Once to Sink to Peace.”
41Chapter 36. Between Two Worlds.
42Chapter The Last. “If Any Calm, A Calm Despair.”
43Analysis
44Reflection
45Memorable Quotes
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