Lady Audley’s Secret- Notes
Robert Audley’s character and profession- technically a barrister BUT ‘he had never
either had a brief, or tried to get a brief, or even wished to have a brief’ (p.27.)/ he
‘was a handsome, lazy, care-for-nothing fellow, of about seven-and-twenty’ (p.27.)/
‘rather a curious fellow too, with a fund of sly wit and quiet humour, under his listless,
dawdling, indifferent, irresolute manner’ (p.27.)
P.33- beginning of Robert’s transformation: ‘Robert Audley, the most vacillating and
unenergetic of men, found himself called upon to act for another’.
P.37. Robert- notice his observational skills before the investigation beings- Notices
the strange behaviour of Mr Maldon to George ‘as he watched the half-pay lieutenant’
(p.37.). / p.38- notices that Mr Maldon wants George to go back to Australia- ‘You’re
in a great hurry to get rid of your son-in-law, I think, Mr Maldon’ (p.38.)
Alicia Audley’s letter- ‘so simple a thing as his cousin’s brief letter would one day
come to be a link in that terrible chain of evidence afterwards to be slowly forged into
the one and only criminal case in which he was ever to be concerned’ (p.42.)
P.57- Robert notices ‘a strange, sinister light to the deep blue eyes’ (p.57.) and a
‘wicked look’ (p.57) in the mouth / ‘something of the aspect of a beautiful fiend’ (p.57.)
P.59- Robert notices George’s unusual behaviour- but deduces wrong conclusions-
think he is frightened of the lightening etc.
P.65- beg of detective frenzy to find George Talboys.
P.68- comes to the wrong conclusions about the train- wrong deduction.
P.70 Robert senses there is something wrong about Lady Audley- ‘the barrister could
not overcome a vague feeling of uneasiness on this quiet September evening’.
P.71- Robert notices the bruise on Lady Audley’s arm > he ‘can’t believe the story of
the ribbon’, lady must be telling ‘white lies’ (p.72.).
Robert- goes and looks for George- not an armchair detective.
P.76- finds a part of the telegraph sent by LA> empirical evidence- Robert ‘carefully
folded the scrap of paper, and placed it between the leaves of his pocket-book’ >
p.79- ‘it was the telegraphic message which had filled Robert’s mind with a vague
sense of alarm’ (p.79.)
P.80- doesn’t pick up on the clues in Liverpool- Doesn’t consider George adopting a
feigned name- doesn’t look into the arm in a sling >>> misses many clues.
P.81- Robert starts a ‘Journal of facts’ (p.81.)- records all that has occurred since he
met George- including ‘facts which have no apparent relation to that circumstance’
(p.81.) >> looking outside the box cf. Holmes.
o Getting a kind of detective fever- begins to think he should have pursued his
profession- p.81.
o P.83- locates his inquiries around Audley Court- narrow down search.
*********P.97- Robert talks about ‘circumstantial evidence’ > ‘that wonderful fabric which is
built out of straws collected at every point of the compass, and which is yet strong enough to
hang a man’ (p.97.) > ‘a thousand circumstances so slight as to be forgotten by the criminal,
but links of steel in the wonderful chain forged by the science of the detective officer’ (p.97.) >
Lady Audley faints after this speech.
‘I am a barrister […] and able to draw a conclusion by induction’ (p.100.) > induces
that Harry Towers made Alicia an offer.
Detective work is limited to the domestic sphere- and with the desire not to bring
dishonour upon the family-p.104- ‘God forbid that the lightest shadow of dishonour
should ever fall upon your honoured head- least of all through any agency of mine!’
P.107- Robert induces that Phoebe Marks is a woman who can keep a secret.
P.112 > Robert talking to Lady Audley- ‘I believe that we may look into the smiling
face of a murderer, and admire its tranquil beauty’ > trying to disconcert Lady Audley-
he has got the power.
P.113 > ‘you ought to have been a detective police officer’- says he thinks he should
have been- because he is patient.
Detective-fever > ‘am I to be tormented all my life by vague doubts, and wretched
suspicions, which may grow upon me till I become a monomaniac?’ (p.117.)
Robert Audley’s character and profession- technically a barrister BUT ‘he had never
either had a brief, or tried to get a brief, or even wished to have a brief’ (p.27.)/ he
‘was a handsome, lazy, care-for-nothing fellow, of about seven-and-twenty’ (p.27.)/
‘rather a curious fellow too, with a fund of sly wit and quiet humour, under his listless,
dawdling, indifferent, irresolute manner’ (p.27.)
P.33- beginning of Robert’s transformation: ‘Robert Audley, the most vacillating and
unenergetic of men, found himself called upon to act for another’.
P.37. Robert- notice his observational skills before the investigation beings- Notices
the strange behaviour of Mr Maldon to George ‘as he watched the half-pay lieutenant’
(p.37.). / p.38- notices that Mr Maldon wants George to go back to Australia- ‘You’re
in a great hurry to get rid of your son-in-law, I think, Mr Maldon’ (p.38.)
Alicia Audley’s letter- ‘so simple a thing as his cousin’s brief letter would one day
come to be a link in that terrible chain of evidence afterwards to be slowly forged into
the one and only criminal case in which he was ever to be concerned’ (p.42.)
P.57- Robert notices ‘a strange, sinister light to the deep blue eyes’ (p.57.) and a
‘wicked look’ (p.57) in the mouth / ‘something of the aspect of a beautiful fiend’ (p.57.)
P.59- Robert notices George’s unusual behaviour- but deduces wrong conclusions-
think he is frightened of the lightening etc.
P.65- beg of detective frenzy to find George Talboys.
P.68- comes to the wrong conclusions about the train- wrong deduction.
P.70 Robert senses there is something wrong about Lady Audley- ‘the barrister could
not overcome a vague feeling of uneasiness on this quiet September evening’.
P.71- Robert notices the bruise on Lady Audley’s arm > he ‘can’t believe the story of
the ribbon’, lady must be telling ‘white lies’ (p.72.).
Robert- goes and looks for George- not an armchair detective.
P.76- finds a part of the telegraph sent by LA> empirical evidence- Robert ‘carefully
folded the scrap of paper, and placed it between the leaves of his pocket-book’ >
p.79- ‘it was the telegraphic message which had filled Robert’s mind with a vague
sense of alarm’ (p.79.)
P.80- doesn’t pick up on the clues in Liverpool- Doesn’t consider George adopting a
feigned name- doesn’t look into the arm in a sling >>> misses many clues.
P.81- Robert starts a ‘Journal of facts’ (p.81.)- records all that has occurred since he
met George- including ‘facts which have no apparent relation to that circumstance’
(p.81.) >> looking outside the box cf. Holmes.
o Getting a kind of detective fever- begins to think he should have pursued his
profession- p.81.
o P.83- locates his inquiries around Audley Court- narrow down search.
*********P.97- Robert talks about ‘circumstantial evidence’ > ‘that wonderful fabric which is
built out of straws collected at every point of the compass, and which is yet strong enough to
hang a man’ (p.97.) > ‘a thousand circumstances so slight as to be forgotten by the criminal,
but links of steel in the wonderful chain forged by the science of the detective officer’ (p.97.) >
Lady Audley faints after this speech.
‘I am a barrister […] and able to draw a conclusion by induction’ (p.100.) > induces
that Harry Towers made Alicia an offer.
Detective work is limited to the domestic sphere- and with the desire not to bring
dishonour upon the family-p.104- ‘God forbid that the lightest shadow of dishonour
should ever fall upon your honoured head- least of all through any agency of mine!’
P.107- Robert induces that Phoebe Marks is a woman who can keep a secret.
P.112 > Robert talking to Lady Audley- ‘I believe that we may look into the smiling
face of a murderer, and admire its tranquil beauty’ > trying to disconcert Lady Audley-
he has got the power.
P.113 > ‘you ought to have been a detective police officer’- says he thinks he should
have been- because he is patient.
Detective-fever > ‘am I to be tormented all my life by vague doubts, and wretched
suspicions, which may grow upon me till I become a monomaniac?’ (p.117.)
