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
Rating★★★★ 3.8 (2.2K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, Amazon, StoryGraph
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
1The Complete Works of Mary Elizabeth Braddon
2Introduction
3Synopsis
4Historical Context
5Chapter 1. A Young Man from the Country.
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6Chapter 2. A Sensation Author.
7Chapter 3. Isabel.
8Chapter 4. The End of George Gilbert’s Holiday.
9Chapter 5. George at Home.
10Chapter 6. Too Much Alone.
11Chapter 7. On the Bridge.
12Chapter 8. About Poor Joe Tillet’s Young Wife.
13Chapter 9. Miss Sleaford’s Engagement.
14Chapter 10. A Bad Beginning.
15Chapter 11. “She Only Said, ‘My Life is Weary!’”
16Chapter 12. Something like A Birthday.
17Chapter 13. “Oh, My Cousin, Shallow-hearted!”
18Chapter 14. Under Lord Thurston’s Oak.
19Chapter 15. Roland Says, “Amen.”
20Chapter 16. Mr. Lansdell Relates an Adventure.
21Chapter 17. The First Warning.
22Chapter 18. The Second Warning.
23Chapter 19. What Might have Been!
24Chapter 20. “Oceans Should Divide Us.”
25Chapter 21. “Once More the Gate behind me Falls.”
26Chapter 22. “My Love’s A Noble Madness.”
27Chapter 23. A Little Cloud.
28Chapter 24. Lady Gwendoline Does her Duty.
29Chapter 25. “For Love Himself Took Part against Himself.”
30Chapter 26. A Popular Preacher.
31Chapter 27. “And Now I Live, and Now My Life is Done!”
32Chapter 28. Trying to Be Good.
33Chapter 29. The First Whisper of the Storm.
34Chapter 30. The Beginning of A Great Change.
35Chapter 31. Fifty Pounds.
36Chapter 32. “I’ll Not Believe but Desdemona’s Honest.”
37Chapter 33. Keeping A Promise.
38Chapter 34. Retrospective.
39Chapter 35. “’Twere Best at Once to Sink to Peace.”
40Chapter 36. Between Two Worlds.
41Chapter The Last. “If Any Calm, A Calm Despair.”
42Analysis
43Reflection
44Memorable Quotes
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