Mary Elizabeth Braddon, born on 4 October 1835 in London, was privately educated and began her career as an actress. After three years on stage, she shifted her focus to writing, marking the start of her prolific literary journey. In 1861, she met publisher John Maxwell, with whom she formed a personal and professional partnership.Braddon gained widespread recognition with her 1862 sensation novel, Lady Audley's Secret, which has been adapted multiple times for stage and screen. She continued to captivate readers with works like Aurora Floyd (1863), solidifying her status in Victorian literature. Beyond writing, she founded and edited Belgravia magazine, showcasing serialized novels and various literary pieces.In 1874, following the death of Maxwell's first wife, Braddon and Maxwell married, raising their six children together. They resided at Lichfield House in Richmond until her death on 4 February 1915. Braddon's legacy endures through her extensive body of work and her influence on the sensation novel genre.
