Birds of Prey

by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. This text refers to the Bibliobazaar edition.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Mystery, Victorian, Suspense, British Literature

446 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1867

About the author

Mary Elizabeth Braddon was a British Victorian era popular novelist. She was an extremely prolific writer, producing some 75 novels with very inventive plots. The most famous one is her first novel, Lady Audley's Secret (1862), which won her recognition and fortune as well. The novel has been in print ever since, and has been dramatised and filmed several times.

Braddon also founded Belgravia Magazine (1866), which presented readers with serialized sensation novels, poems, travel narratives, and biographies, as well as essays on fashion, history, science. She also edited Temple Bar Magazine. Braddon's legacy is tied to the Sensation Fiction of the 1860s.

She is also the mother of novelist W.B. Maxwell.

Reviews

[Classic reverie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this before my review days but this and "Charlotte Inheritance" are my ultimate favorite Mary Elizabeth Braddon reads. Both books are a whole story and " Birds of Prey" comes first. I loved "Lady Audley's Secret" but these two are better IMO. I found out about Richardson's Clarissa Harlowe from the second book! I plan on re reading that January 2020, which I slowly will re read books that I read in the past but did not write a review. I mention that because in the far off future I would love to read this again and plan on reading more Braddon in the future. If interested look at my "Mary Elizabeth Braddon" shelf.

This was a terrifying, mysterious and romantic series! 🌸💞🌼 Loved it. I decided to write this until and better review comes which I will add.

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all I must warn you that this book is only the part one of a story that goes on in a following book called "Charlotte's inheritance".
And now my review: maybe four stars could be too much for a sensation novel, but it was so absorbing that I couldn't give it less than this.
It starts well, with a mysterious death, very gripping. Then follows a part not so much interesting where we are introduced to the main carachters and at this point I must confess that I stopped reading and put the book aside for some time, a little bit disappointed.
But I was wrong, because then starts the most compelling part of the story: a quest for a lost heir of a large fortune.
When I picked up the novel again I spent all day long reading and this time I couldn't stop till the end.
What can I add? This is another great story created by the pen of the so called "Agatha Christie of the Victorian era", my beloved Mary Elizabeth Braddon.
I'm eager to start the second part.

[Mbuye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic ME Braddon, the novel begins with a gruesome, satisfying murder, goes on to blackmail, and from then on gets better and better as a pack of rascals try to get rich quick on the same get-rich-quick scheme. Evil stepfathers, shady lawyers and cardsharps all form part of the background

This scheme is to find the heir-at-law of a deceased but intestate and extremely wealthy clergyman. To do this, it is necessary to trace the lineal descendants of the old gentleman back to almost a century, from parish registers, musty old letters and the living memories of very old people unto the third and fourth generations. And if some of the descendants died unmarried or childless, others had four or five children, the records of each needing to be investigated thoroughly. Counting on chickens yet to be hatched, a sharp lawyer employs the cardsharp's assistant without the cardsharp's knowledge to help him in this search. But the cardsharp isn't without a certain crafty understanding of the people around him, and he soon begins to chase his (part-time) assistant, now employed by someone else. As we go round England in search of oldest inhabitants, old records, we see Braddon at her best.

Two lovely girls, bosom friends, present themselves to a dashing but penniless young man who lives by his wits. Like a sensible fellow, he chooses the heiress, who fortunately has no physical defects, although it is the poor companion who is the beauty…

Unexpectedly hilarious, as the two sets of conspirators change partners, as in a dance, then conspire each on his own for a prize of £100,000/-. As they spy on their ex-partners and double- and triple-cross each other, the story moves from tragedy to romantic comedy, of the "I know he knows and he knows I know he knows I know" variety.

The penniless young man, awed by the childlike innocence of the heiress, determines to be worthy of her by changing his way of life to an honest one. Charlotte Halliday is gifted with a generous family and luxurious surroundings, and Diana Paget is perilously close to being an adventuress. A very beautiful, talented woman, she has been brought up in her father's world of the demimonde, and has seen all the gambling dens of Europe. When her father is arrested on the charge of cheating at cards, she finds a home by the charity of a distant cousin who runs a school, and later with Charlotte, the sweet innocent who is her schoolfellow. But unlike Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley, Diana Paget is loyal to her friend, even if it means seeing the man she loves turn away from her and to Charlotte. The two portraits are excellently drawn, and if the pretty Charlotte Halliday seems shallow, in the haughty Diana Paget we see a person grow from rage and bitterness to the cards life has dealt her to be comfortable in her skin, and risen beyond envy and discontent to a clear-eyed peace.

The end of the story however comes in 'Charlotte's Inheritance.' Together, the two books give us Braddon at her best: good character development, excellent plot build-up, gathering suspense, several threads worked out independently but brought together triumphantly at the end, haunting descriptions of the locales, humour and melodrama. Braddon's cynicism at Victorian hypocrisy has full play here.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Birds of Prey is Part 1 of Charlotte and her family and friends' story, with Charlotte's Inheritance being Part 2. Birds of Prey is a bit confusing at first, because each of the first several chapters is a separate vignette about one of the characters, without any seeming reference to the others. But it all starts to come together soon enough.

The major plot theme revolves around hunting out the rightful descendant of a wealthy man whose large inheritance was waiting to be bestowed. And within that context there are several more or less unscrupulous men who are tracing that genealogy, some of whom develop into better people, one who dives deep into treachery and continues to be evil until his bitter end. He seems so entirely respectable on the surface, but his secret actions and manipulation of others were reprehensible, making me want to throw the book down and walk away. (But I am glad I didn't). Several sweet love stories develop among the interested parties, as well as some grave disappointments.

I do not recommend reading Part 2, without having read Part 1: you would miss out on so many important details and great background for character development.

I listened to this novel as a free download from LibriVox.org. First published in 1867.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a classic but I quite enjoyed it. I made the mistake of starting Charlotte's inheritance and then realising this book needed to be read first. The book starts with a suspicious death and then moves into the hunt for an heir.
I found the start a bit hard to get into but the end was engaging. It ends kind of abruptly but that is where Charlotte's Inheritance starts.

I am reading Charlotte's Inheritance now and will put the review of both books on there.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable, despite and maybe a little because-of having read the sequel first by mistake. It's fun to see the story your mind invents for the first half of these characters' lives set against what's actually there. It reminds me of renting RPGs as a kid and just picking a save file that existed already.

[Kemaria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book along with its sequel, Charlotte’s Inheritance, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s rather hard to review just this book, because the story doesn't end when the book does, so I’m lumping Birds of Prey and its sequel together.

I’ve been exploring various authors from this general time period and just downloaded a whole bunch of M.E. Braddon for free from Amazon, so that’s a good place to get this if you have a Kindle. They say you get what you pay for, but in this case, I am not disappointed at all! The plot was exciting, and I liked seeing how it unfolded (and never mind if you can predict where it’s going, it’s still enjoyable to get there!). Also, the development of the characters was fascinating, and the window into the Victorian world (sensationalism and all) intriguing as always.

To try to give this a somewhat deeper review than simply "fun book!", I'll say I liked the contrast of good vs evil, especially between how something seems vs how it is. The story opens with a description of the beautifully clean, prim, and proper house of Philip Sheldon, which everyone takes to be a mirror of its owner’s good qualities as well, and it ends with the description and destruction of the same once so eminently respectable gentleman who is now a mere wreck of a being, almost unrecognizable in his disease and ruin. He, who throughout the whole story, was so powerful and in control of others and their circumstances to such a frightening extent, has now lost everything, and perishes helplessly outside the door of the man he views as his enemy, unable to carry out his one last evil wish.

And on the other hand, you have Valentine Hawkehurst, the ostensible bad boy on the outside, who ends up being a very good guy. His character redemption worked well for me, and I’m glad it wasn't just the influence of loving Charlotte which accomplished this but also the work he was doing in uncovering the Haygarth descendants. To wit, honest work (compared to what he was doing before) bringing out the honest and good qualities in his character. Perhaps a bit idealistically Victorian, but it still works for me. Whenever I read this again, I’ll enjoy watching the character development a lot more than I did this time – I have to admit, I was so anxious to find out how things would end that I read more quickly than I should.

Lastly, the concept of power vs dependence in the Victorian culture is interesting to reflect on. When you think about it, Philip isn't that scary a guy in terms of plain actions. He doesn't chainsaw people, he doesn't strangle them, or do any of the things that typically "scary" people do. Instead, he controls things. He controls their health (or lack thereof), he controls their actions by staying one step ahead of them in the great race to find the Haygarth descendants, and he controls even their thoughts by his influence and personal presence (in how he bends his wife and stepdaughter to do what he wants without them realizing anything is amiss). He’s like a chess master or a puppeteer, moving people around and manipulating them, and that’s what makes him so scary. When Valentine & co are fighting to save Charlotte’s life despite Philip’s presence, you just want them to do what we would do in our time today – get outside help! Bring in the police! At the very least, openly denounce Philip to the rest of the household so others are aware of the situation and don't let him get near his step-daughter. But in this time and with these circumstances, their actions are constrained and they can’t. Valentine couldn't even stay with Charlotte all the time, so it was absolutely terrifying to see how a young girl and an old woman were all that stood between Philip and Charlotte’s certain death.

I’m also glad that it ended happily. I am a complete sucker for happy endings, and I rejoice when things end the way they should. So what if it’s not "true to life" when that happens – that’s why it’s a story! Doesn't have to be realistic.

Bottom line, if you enjoy books from this era, this is a fun read. If you don't enjoy books from this era, well then, why are you reading this review? :)

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mary Elizabeth Braddon's Birds of Prey is the first of two books you will need to read if you want the story to come to its conclusion. The second book is Charlotte's Inheritance.

Birds of Prey is well titled. Two brothers, both of whom dwell on the fringes of respectability and the law eagerly look for ways to make money in London. One brother slips into crime and commits a murder that leads him to a new wife, an inheritance and a step-daughter. The other brother is aware of what happened, but tries to maintain some shred of dignity. With this basic premise you blend in healthy doses of sensation literature, melodrama, more twisting plot lines than a pretzel factory with clunky and at times seemingly unconnected sub plots and an array of characters and you have the basic novel.

I admit that there are several clever characters portrayed such as Valentine Hawkehurst and Braddon does have the ability to tease and confound the reader at times but the overall novel would have benefitted with an active editor's pen. That, of course, was impossible with the serial form of publication.

I do believe the novel is worth reading. Much like a road trip where one would like a good road and yet looks forwards to the surprise delights of discoveries off the beaten track, so this novel will both delight you and find you at times skimming past much unnecessary prose, elongated sections and awkward events.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first of two books which do not stand alone. I didn't realise this until the end of the novel. Glad I didn't attempt to read the second one (Charlotte's Inheritance) first.

[Roderick Wolfson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have enjoyed about 5 other books by Mary Elizabeth Braddon but not this one. There were too many despicable characters and not enough on the heroines I could root for.

[Vincent de l'Epine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sans aucun doute, à mon sens, le meilleur Braddon, avec sa suite, l'Héritage de Charlotte.