Mary Elizabeth Braddon was born in London in 1835 as the youngest of three. At the age of four, Braddon was raised by her mother who had left her adulterous father. Educated at home, Braddon turned her attention to an acting career to sustain her family, and moved to Bath at seventeen. Her career developed from crowd extras to major supporting and leading roles; she performed burlesque, in pantomimes and Shakespearean productions that ranged from comedy to tragedy. Over the years, her once high demand talent dwindled and she engaged herself in literature, publishing poetry and plays. Her reputation as a novelist was made by the success of Lady Audley's Secret which was published by John Maxwell, who later became her husband. Their union was one of controversy as Maxwell was still married to a woman who was squirreled away to a mental asylum until her untimely death. Braddon and Maxwell married immediately and lived on with their six children and his five step children. Her novels remained in the public eye until her death in 1915.
![Cover of Rupert Godwin. [a Novel.] by the Author of Lady Audley's Secret [m. E. Braddon]. Fourth Edition. Vol. I - Scholar's Choice Edition](https://images.bookhype.com/covers/d2/b2/95527750-1015-4529-b199-f96d2fb32b2d/9781298022783-ccd95cf0f384b216d0f31e-medium-cropped.jpg)
