What do you think?
Rate this book
Henry Dunbar
In this novel by Victorian sensationalist Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Henry Dunbar returns to England after a 30-year exile to India for committing forgery. What follows is an adventure involving murder, deception, the ethical quandaries of guilt and responsibility, and the struggle against the gender and social barriers of the Victorian era.(Summary by Rosie)
308 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1864
14 people are currently reading
229 people want to read
About the author
Mary Elizabeth Braddon
1,039 books382 followersMary 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
February 8, 2021
Один мужик тридцать пять лет ждал, чтобы отомстить другому мужику – и другие страшные истории о том, как люди закрывали гештальты до изобретения психотерапии.
June 29, 2020
After labouring through Hilary Mantel’s 900-odd page The Mirror and the Light, I felt like something swift and ‘sensational’ as a palate cleanser. Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Henry Dunbar (1865) delivered splendidly on both counts. This is the third novel by Braddon that I’ve read, and the one I have liked the most—more so, in fact, than her most famous novel, Lady Audley’s Secret.
I read the novel in an excellent 2010 edition by Victorian Secrets, with a good introduction and a very entertaining selection of the book’s original reviews. One fascinating detail that I picked up from the introduction is that Braddon published the novel twice: first as a kind of penny dreadful, or ‘penny blood’, published in instalments and then as a three-volume ‘sensation novel’, aimed at a more middle-class readership. One key difference between these two marketplaces for fiction, as Braddon herself sardonically observes through a mouthpiece character in The Doctor’s Wife is that ‘the penny public requires excitement’, which means ‘you’re obliged to have recourse to bodies’. For the refined readership of three-volume novels, by contrast, a more restrained single corpse can suffice.
A curious feature of Henry Dunbar is that it revolves around a secret, which Braddon asked early reviewers not to reveal as a spoiler; yet that secret is 100% guessable to the reader, even though it remains—cleverly and plausibly—opaque to the majority of the characters. Much of the novel’s pleasure and interest derives, precisely, from this knowledge gap and the dramatic ironies that unfold from it. I thought these were handled in a masterly way. The novel contains one of my favourite nineteenth-century motifs, that of a doubling of identity, as found in James Hogg’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner and Stevenson’s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Braddon doesn’t treat the theme in as psychologically dense a way as Hogg or Stevenson—she’s an altogether breezier and more superficial writer—but she does make some telling social points along the way.
Other pleasures of the book are an early appearance of a detective figure (three years before the Sergeant Cuff of Wilkie Collins’s The Moonstone); an outrageously filmic chase episode; and some good settings, including a well portrayed Winchester, site of the murder that sets the plot in action. The characters aren’t outstanding, but they are engaging enough, and the morality of the crime narrative is unexpectedly nuanced. I was interested to read that the novel was written at a time when capital punishment was a topic of controversy, and shortly before public hangings were abolished in England—a fact of some relevance to the plot.
I read the novel in an excellent 2010 edition by Victorian Secrets, with a good introduction and a very entertaining selection of the book’s original reviews. One fascinating detail that I picked up from the introduction is that Braddon published the novel twice: first as a kind of penny dreadful, or ‘penny blood’, published in instalments and then as a three-volume ‘sensation novel’, aimed at a more middle-class readership. One key difference between these two marketplaces for fiction, as Braddon herself sardonically observes through a mouthpiece character in The Doctor’s Wife is that ‘the penny public requires excitement’, which means ‘you’re obliged to have recourse to bodies’. For the refined readership of three-volume novels, by contrast, a more restrained single corpse can suffice.
A curious feature of Henry Dunbar is that it revolves around a secret, which Braddon asked early reviewers not to reveal as a spoiler; yet that secret is 100% guessable to the reader, even though it remains—cleverly and plausibly—opaque to the majority of the characters. Much of the novel’s pleasure and interest derives, precisely, from this knowledge gap and the dramatic ironies that unfold from it. I thought these were handled in a masterly way. The novel contains one of my favourite nineteenth-century motifs, that of a doubling of identity, as found in James Hogg’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner and Stevenson’s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Braddon doesn’t treat the theme in as psychologically dense a way as Hogg or Stevenson—she’s an altogether breezier and more superficial writer—but she does make some telling social points along the way.
Other pleasures of the book are an early appearance of a detective figure (three years before the Sergeant Cuff of Wilkie Collins’s The Moonstone); an outrageously filmic chase episode; and some good settings, including a well portrayed Winchester, site of the murder that sets the plot in action. The characters aren’t outstanding, but they are engaging enough, and the morality of the crime narrative is unexpectedly nuanced. I was interested to read that the novel was written at a time when capital punishment was a topic of controversy, and shortly before public hangings were abolished in England—a fact of some relevance to the plot.
August 31, 2015
Sometimes a sensation novel is just what you need.
I read Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s two most famous novels – ‘Lady Audley’s Secret’ and ‘Aurora Floyd’ many years ago, and I have them on my shelves, in green Virago Modern Classics editions, because I’d love to read them again one day. You see, in those days I didn’t look as far for books as I do now – I just looked in the library and bookshops and found more that enough to read – and nothing else caught my eye.
More recently though I noticed though, that in this world where so many Victoria authors are readily available online and in cheap printed editions, interesting publishers were printing lovely editions of different titles by Mary Elizabeth Braddon.
That said to me that there had to be something about the books and their author that made them particularly interesting.
After reading one of them I can say that I think there was.
‘Henry Dunbar’ was the book that I reached for first, because it was the earliest, because I always like a full name in a book title, and because I saw that it would account for another year in my 100 Years of Books.
It’s a wonderfully readable book, and it illuminates Victorian views of class and gender, of crime and punishment, wonderfully well.
I could say more but I don’t want to say too much; and that reminds me to say that the additional material in the Victorian Secrets edition is fascinating, but the introduction gives away key plot points and so you should read the story before you even glance at anything else.
9188130As a young man Henry Dunbar, heir to the London banking house, Dunbar, Dunbar & Balderby, was spoiled and arrogant. When he fell into debt he convinced his friend Joseph Wilmot, a clerk at the bank with a gift for reproducing handwriting, to help him create forged bonds that he could use to pay off his creditors.
When the bank uncovered the fraud and he was confronted, Henry Dunbar denied responsibility and blamed Joseph Wilmot for everything. His uncle banished him to the firm’s Indian office and summarily dismissed his accomplice.
The story opened thirty years after those events.
Henry Dunbar was coming home. He would be senior partner of Dunbar, Dunbar & Balderby, and his father and his uncle were both dead, and he would be reunited with his daughter, Laura, who he hadn’t seen since he sent her home many years earlier, after the death of the wife he met and married in India.
Joseph Wilmot, with no character from his employer, had been unable to secure another position without a reference, had fallen into bad company had transported after a conviction. He was back in England, living with his daughter, Margaret, who knew nothing of his past, when he learned from his brother, still an employee of Dunbar, Dunbar & Balderby, that his nemesis was returning to England.
And so two men set off to welcome Henry Dunbar. One who was sent by the bank and one who was determined to call him to account for the downward spiral that his life had taken.
Only one of those two men would meet Henry Dunbar.
Only one of the three would return to London; much later than he had been expected, and not quite freed from his entanglement in a criminal investigation that had baffled police.
The plotting is very well done, but I’d be giving too much away if I said more.
What makes this book particularly interesting is the two young women – Laura and Margaret. Their stations in life are very different, but each has a suitor and is very close to marriage, and each must come to terms with their father’s past and the fact that there is much too his character of which they were unaware. And of course one has a father who is present, and who is behaving in ways that they can’t quite understand; and the one has a father who has not come home and who she will do all that she can to find.
The joy of this book comes not from the revelation of its secret – which is easy to work out, not least because the author herself drops such heavy hints – but from seeing the reactions to the revelation and watching the drama unfold.
The plot continues to intrigue. There’s a mysterious stranger; there’s a jewellery theft; there’s blackmail; there’s a dramatic chase across country with a police inspector determined to get his man; and there’s a good dash of love and romance.
Pretty much everything a sensation novel could want!
Mary Elizabeth Braddon manages her plot very well, she writes engagingly, and if her characters are not quite so finely drawn, her plots not quite so innovative, and those of her contemporaries …. well that didn’t spoil my enjoyment of this book, because she did all of the things that she needed to make it work.
If you enjoy sensation novels this one is well worth reading; for the story and for its view of the period.
I read Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s two most famous novels – ‘Lady Audley’s Secret’ and ‘Aurora Floyd’ many years ago, and I have them on my shelves, in green Virago Modern Classics editions, because I’d love to read them again one day. You see, in those days I didn’t look as far for books as I do now – I just looked in the library and bookshops and found more that enough to read – and nothing else caught my eye.
More recently though I noticed though, that in this world where so many Victoria authors are readily available online and in cheap printed editions, interesting publishers were printing lovely editions of different titles by Mary Elizabeth Braddon.
That said to me that there had to be something about the books and their author that made them particularly interesting.
After reading one of them I can say that I think there was.
‘Henry Dunbar’ was the book that I reached for first, because it was the earliest, because I always like a full name in a book title, and because I saw that it would account for another year in my 100 Years of Books.
It’s a wonderfully readable book, and it illuminates Victorian views of class and gender, of crime and punishment, wonderfully well.
I could say more but I don’t want to say too much; and that reminds me to say that the additional material in the Victorian Secrets edition is fascinating, but the introduction gives away key plot points and so you should read the story before you even glance at anything else.
9188130As a young man Henry Dunbar, heir to the London banking house, Dunbar, Dunbar & Balderby, was spoiled and arrogant. When he fell into debt he convinced his friend Joseph Wilmot, a clerk at the bank with a gift for reproducing handwriting, to help him create forged bonds that he could use to pay off his creditors.
When the bank uncovered the fraud and he was confronted, Henry Dunbar denied responsibility and blamed Joseph Wilmot for everything. His uncle banished him to the firm’s Indian office and summarily dismissed his accomplice.
The story opened thirty years after those events.
Henry Dunbar was coming home. He would be senior partner of Dunbar, Dunbar & Balderby, and his father and his uncle were both dead, and he would be reunited with his daughter, Laura, who he hadn’t seen since he sent her home many years earlier, after the death of the wife he met and married in India.
Joseph Wilmot, with no character from his employer, had been unable to secure another position without a reference, had fallen into bad company had transported after a conviction. He was back in England, living with his daughter, Margaret, who knew nothing of his past, when he learned from his brother, still an employee of Dunbar, Dunbar & Balderby, that his nemesis was returning to England.
And so two men set off to welcome Henry Dunbar. One who was sent by the bank and one who was determined to call him to account for the downward spiral that his life had taken.
Only one of those two men would meet Henry Dunbar.
Only one of the three would return to London; much later than he had been expected, and not quite freed from his entanglement in a criminal investigation that had baffled police.
The plotting is very well done, but I’d be giving too much away if I said more.
What makes this book particularly interesting is the two young women – Laura and Margaret. Their stations in life are very different, but each has a suitor and is very close to marriage, and each must come to terms with their father’s past and the fact that there is much too his character of which they were unaware. And of course one has a father who is present, and who is behaving in ways that they can’t quite understand; and the one has a father who has not come home and who she will do all that she can to find.
The joy of this book comes not from the revelation of its secret – which is easy to work out, not least because the author herself drops such heavy hints – but from seeing the reactions to the revelation and watching the drama unfold.
The plot continues to intrigue. There’s a mysterious stranger; there’s a jewellery theft; there’s blackmail; there’s a dramatic chase across country with a police inspector determined to get his man; and there’s a good dash of love and romance.
Pretty much everything a sensation novel could want!
Mary Elizabeth Braddon manages her plot very well, she writes engagingly, and if her characters are not quite so finely drawn, her plots not quite so innovative, and those of her contemporaries …. well that didn’t spoil my enjoyment of this book, because she did all of the things that she needed to make it work.
If you enjoy sensation novels this one is well worth reading; for the story and for its view of the period.
March 17, 2021
La Braddon si ritiene l'equivalente femminile di Wilkie Collins in termini di sensational novel vittoriana, di cui già ho avuto modo anni fa di apprezzarne la penna con "Il segreto di Lady Audley".
Avvincente e ben scritto, "Henry Dunbar" vibra come un giallo seppur di facile intuizione, ma ha la verve interpretativa del romanzo da critica sociale (il titolo originale lascia ben pochi dubbi in merito - "Henry Dunbar: The Story of an Outcast").
Avvincente e ben scritto, "Henry Dunbar" vibra come un giallo seppur di facile intuizione, ma ha la verve interpretativa del romanzo da critica sociale (il titolo originale lascia ben pochi dubbi in merito - "Henry Dunbar: The Story of an Outcast").
January 30, 2021
Thirty-five years before the action of this novel, Henry Dunbar and his valet perpetrated forgery upon the banking firm of Henry's father in order to pay Henry's gambling debts. The crime is discovered but covered up and Henry is sent to India to serve in the firm's offices there. The valet, Joseph Wilmot, was dismissed and told never to darken the firms doors again. When the novel opens, the elder Dunbar has died and Henry is recalled home to assume the mantle of enormous wealth.
To tell further here wanders into spoiler territory. I see that some say this is not her best. It has been some time since I have read Braddon and am unable to make much comparison, but I can say that I think only the most naive reader would be fooled as to what has happened. The fun is in watching to see if/when/how the characters learn of the deceit.
Much of what I have read of 19th Century fiction would be classed as realism. There is little about this that would fall into that class, other than the consultation of a Bradshaw, train travel, and perhaps food items at various hotels. This is sensation fiction and fits the Wikipedia definition admirably.
To tell further here wanders into spoiler territory. I see that some say this is not her best. It has been some time since I have read Braddon and am unable to make much comparison, but I can say that I think only the most naive reader would be fooled as to what has happened. The fun is in watching to see if/when/how the characters learn of the deceit.
Much of what I have read of 19th Century fiction would be classed as realism. There is little about this that would fall into that class, other than the consultation of a Bradshaw, train travel, and perhaps food items at various hotels. This is sensation fiction and fits the Wikipedia definition admirably.
Typically the sensation novel focused on shocking subject matter including adultery, theft, kidnapping, insanity, bigamy, forgery, seduction and murder. It distinguished itself from other contemporary genres, including the Gothic novel, by setting these themes in ordinary, familiar and often domestic settings, thereby undermining the common Victorian-era assumption that sensational events were something foreign and divorced from comfortable middle-class life.This was just what I wanted at this time. Is it really worth my rating of 4-stars? I guess it depends on what your reading mouth is watering for.
September 22, 2013
Purple and Black
I’m a fan of Braddon and the Sensationalists in general but this isn’t among the best of her books. It is entertaining however. The main flaw is that the solution to the mystery is obvious from the beginning but the journey is still enjoyable. And that’s the main point of “Henry Dunbar”…the journey. Dunbar is a scion of an important English banking firm but commits a grave mistake in his youth. His father and uncle banish him to India for his sins. Of course things aren’t too grave since his isolation includes heading up their Indian branch. Then, on his father’s death, he returns to England. This all happens in the first few chapters!
Then a murder is committed (remember this is Braddon) and the rest of the book centers around who dun it. The ladies figure prominently in the mystery especially the daughter of an old friend of Dunbar’s and his own daughter who’s he hasn’t seen since she was two years old. There are love affairs (still Braddon with the pen in her hand remember?). As always Braddon has a large amount of purple ink in her pen. The whole thing is great fun as long as you suspend belief.
I’m a fan of Braddon and the Sensationalists in general but this isn’t among the best of her books. It is entertaining however. The main flaw is that the solution to the mystery is obvious from the beginning but the journey is still enjoyable. And that’s the main point of “Henry Dunbar”…the journey. Dunbar is a scion of an important English banking firm but commits a grave mistake in his youth. His father and uncle banish him to India for his sins. Of course things aren’t too grave since his isolation includes heading up their Indian branch. Then, on his father’s death, he returns to England. This all happens in the first few chapters!
Then a murder is committed (remember this is Braddon) and the rest of the book centers around who dun it. The ladies figure prominently in the mystery especially the daughter of an old friend of Dunbar’s and his own daughter who’s he hasn’t seen since she was two years old. There are love affairs (still Braddon with the pen in her hand remember?). As always Braddon has a large amount of purple ink in her pen. The whole thing is great fun as long as you suspend belief.
March 23, 2021
I think the solution to mystery was obvious from the beginning of the story. The scene and circumstances were very clearly set for the crime. What made the story compelling was the tension of how and when the truth would be discovered. What I loved about the story was the moral character development, the way Braddon showed the necessity of sacrifice to help secure others' salvation, and how she left us with hope in God's mercy.
December 18, 2016
Ho sempre amato i gialli vittoriani, con le loro storie che si dipanano lentamente e i detective che (contrariamente a quanto succederà ai loro colleghi nei racconti 'polizieschi' di qualche decennio più tardi) il più delle volte risultano beffati dagli eventi.
Mary Elizabeth Braddon dimostra ancora una volta la sua grande abilità di scrittrice; e ancora una volta mi trovo ad ammirare le figure femminili (coraggiose, determinate, indipendenti) disegnate da queste splendide signore romanziere dell'ottocento.
Mary Elizabeth Braddon dimostra ancora una volta la sua grande abilità di scrittrice; e ancora una volta mi trovo ad ammirare le figure femminili (coraggiose, determinate, indipendenti) disegnate da queste splendide signore romanziere dell'ottocento.
March 10, 2020
Una lettura mozzafiato! Ho divorato fino all'ultima pagina questo thriller vittoriano che non dimostra affatto i suoi anni in quanto a suspance.
Di solito nei romanzi di M.E.Braddon, anche nei più avvincenti, ho riscontrato la presenza di "tempi morti". Ebbene, qui non ce ne sono.
È un meccanismo narrativo impeccabile, con uno degli inseguimenti più spettacolari che abbia mai letto.
Unico neo, la mancanza di una vicenda sentimentale davvero appassionante, presente invece in quasi tutti gli altri romanzi di questa autrice.
Di solito nei romanzi di M.E.Braddon, anche nei più avvincenti, ho riscontrato la presenza di "tempi morti". Ebbene, qui non ce ne sono.
È un meccanismo narrativo impeccabile, con uno degli inseguimenti più spettacolari che abbia mai letto.
Unico neo, la mancanza di una vicenda sentimentale davvero appassionante, presente invece in quasi tutti gli altri romanzi di questa autrice.
February 16, 2018
This is an intriguing story of identity theft, love, murder, privileges of wealth, dysfunctional families, and detective work without phones or computers. Braddon’s characters are realistically well-rounded: the good guys often show some less-than admirable trait, and the bad guys sometimes surprise with their kindness or repentance.
First published in 1864. I listened to this novel as a free download from LibriVox.org
First published in 1864. I listened to this novel as a free download from LibriVox.org
March 26, 2021
There's no way around it. Mary Elizabeth Braddon was a talented author who knew how to weave her story, keeping her audience enthralled. Even though it's rather obvious what happened during the murder, the reader can't help but be drawn into the story eager to know how it will all play out. What's the saying? Revenge is a dish best served cold. That's definitely an apt description in the case of Henry Dunbar. Originally published in 1863-64 as The Outcasts, Henry Dunbar is one I highly recommend.
April 18, 2021
Valutazione quasi 4 stelline.
Un sensation novel scritto bene ma di facile intuizione sin dalle prime battute. Si riprende abbastanza verso la fine, quando il ritmo diventa più serrato e incalzante coinvolgendo di più il lettore. Mentre leggevo pensavo cosa sarebbe potuto diventare un simile intreccio, che aveva del potenziale, nelle mani di un Wilkie Collins. E che capolavoro di caratterizzazioni avrebbe creato con il suo particolare dono di dar vita a protagonisti, ma anche antagonisti, vedi il Conte Fosco, o Miss Gwilt, o Miserrimus Dexter, indimenticabili....
Un sensation novel scritto bene ma di facile intuizione sin dalle prime battute. Si riprende abbastanza verso la fine, quando il ritmo diventa più serrato e incalzante coinvolgendo di più il lettore. Mentre leggevo pensavo cosa sarebbe potuto diventare un simile intreccio, che aveva del potenziale, nelle mani di un Wilkie Collins. E che capolavoro di caratterizzazioni avrebbe creato con il suo particolare dono di dar vita a protagonisti, ma anche antagonisti, vedi il Conte Fosco, o Miss Gwilt, o Miserrimus Dexter, indimenticabili....
February 23, 2023
Classic mid-Victorian sensational novel with all the appropriate ingredients, including murder, deception, impersonation and general criminality. But significantly none of the above causes happiness or fulfillment, only despair and dishonour. Protestant values, and filial loyalty, ultimately triumph - the criminal is found out, but allowed to seek redemption before death, allowing the hero and heroine an opportunity for a life together.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 26, 2015
I enjoyed this, but along with other reviewers here, I didn't feel it was Braddon's best and/or my favorite of hers. It's true that the mystery isn't much of a mystery at all (you KNOW even before anything happens what will happen), but seeing the plot build and develop kept me on the edge of my seat for the resolution.
Bottom line, yes, it wasn't my favorite, but I still loved reading it and had trouble putting it down for real life stuff. :)
Bottom line, yes, it wasn't my favorite, but I still loved reading it and had trouble putting it down for real life stuff. :)
October 28, 2017
This mystery was first published in 1864 and in 2015 I still found it to be an impressive read. This is one of those "sensation" novels so popular during Victorian times and is one of 75 novels written by prolific author Mary Elizabeth Braddon. Braddon is best known for Lady Audley's Secret, but I find HENRY DUNBAR to be the much better book.
There's fraud, betrayal, bitterness and revenge, murder, mistaken or assumed identities, blackmail, suspense, interesting detection work by various characters, a cat-and-mouse chase, a cast of characters to rival any Dickens' book, and a fascinating look at the Victorian era and people's perception of crime, socioeconomic status and gender. Oh, and there's even romance here, actually two romances.
Although a serious crime story, this has its humorous moments and entertaining characters. It may seem at times that the author has gone off on tangents about someone or something, and I'll grant you that she is a bit wordy (in the Victorian sensation style), but each tangent actually ties in in an important way to the story, while entertaining in its own right.
Braddon also offers up red herrings both to the reader and to the characters of the story. I pretty much figured out whodunit early on but there's still suspense in waiting for the characters of the book to figure things out. All in all, I found this to be a very good read, but I don't recommend it to anyone who finds the melodramatic style of Victorian novels to be tedious.
There's fraud, betrayal, bitterness and revenge, murder, mistaken or assumed identities, blackmail, suspense, interesting detection work by various characters, a cat-and-mouse chase, a cast of characters to rival any Dickens' book, and a fascinating look at the Victorian era and people's perception of crime, socioeconomic status and gender. Oh, and there's even romance here, actually two romances.
Although a serious crime story, this has its humorous moments and entertaining characters. It may seem at times that the author has gone off on tangents about someone or something, and I'll grant you that she is a bit wordy (in the Victorian sensation style), but each tangent actually ties in in an important way to the story, while entertaining in its own right.
Braddon also offers up red herrings both to the reader and to the characters of the story. I pretty much figured out whodunit early on but there's still suspense in waiting for the characters of the book to figure things out. All in all, I found this to be a very good read, but I don't recommend it to anyone who finds the melodramatic style of Victorian novels to be tedious.
August 13, 2016
This was quite entertaining, but I think that the "mystery" part was way too easy to figure out, so instead of suspense of "WHAT HAPPENED?" there was a "WHEN ARE THEY ALL GOING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT I ALREADY KNOW?" so it was kind of slow going towards the end. Still, quite clever and a fun, easy read. My third Mary Elizabeth Braddon in a row. I need a break!
Want to read
September 1, 201531 AUG 2015 - find it here
Manybooks.net - http://manybooks.net/titles/braddonme...
Project Gutenberg - http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9189
(This one worked for me with the iBooks for iPad/iPod Touch)
Archive.org - https://archive.org/details/henrydunb...
Manybooks.net - http://manybooks.net/titles/braddonme...
Project Gutenberg - http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9189
(This one worked for me with the iBooks for iPad/iPod Touch)
Archive.org - https://archive.org/details/henrydunb...
Want to read
July 20, 2013Free download available at Project Gutenberg.
February 24, 2024
That twist was so obvious and yet I’m still shocked
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2024
Another classic from M.E. Braddon. She has stopped surprising me now; one can always trust her to write something phenomenal. (The mystery here is easy to solve, but that does not ruin it at all.)
The last two chapters were especially beautifully written: “Margaret’s skilful fingers glide softly over the [piano] keys in wandering snatches of melody that melt and die away like the low breath of the summer wind.” (3880)
This is a slightly less emotional drama than Lady Audley’s Secret or Aurora Floyd - although there is a very touching romantic breakup (and then reunion) towards the ending. Instead, this novel prioritises clues, evidence, and the murder mystery! It’s perfect for anyone studying how Victorian sensationalism influenced crime fiction, because it is basically a detective novel. It also has that very Braddonesque, proto-Line-of-Duty structure where each novel focuses on an eponymous ethically murky character…and then at the end, we get a rundown of each character’s happy ending. It has that proto-Golden-Age quality of prioritising deduction and plot over rigorous character studies. Two couples get married or engaged quite quickly in this text, and while the latter couple is endowed with some emotional investment for the reader, they are still generally there to serve as devices for the unfolding of the (brilliant) mystery.
Yet despite this novel’s relative simplicity when compared to Braddon’s two more famous works, there are still occasional character flourishes. As said, the way she writes Clement Austin’s heartbreak towards the end is quite touching. We also get some funny one-liners from Clement’s hired detective, Mr Carter:
“Master didn’t say nothing, sir,” she [a nursemaid] said.
“Master didn’t say nothing! Your morals and your grammar are about a match, Miss Betsy.”
Surprisingly, the novel also has a strong social justice bent to it. Braddon is concerned in this novel with how society approaches the rich versus the poor, and specifically how “Mr Dunbar” was seen as exempt from having committed the crime because it’s not what a gentleman does. Like Victor Hugo’s Les Mis, it examines how the criminal justice system creates very bitter people who struggle to reintegrate (see Joseph Wilmot), but goes further in suggesting that this wouldn’t apply to wealthier victims of the system (3753).
Plot: when Henry Dunbar returns from India to accept his inheritance (a family business banking firm), he bumps into Joseph Wilmot. Dunbar went to India because he was caught out in a cheque forgery, a scheme he roped Joseph into before throwing him under the bus and letting him suffer more for it. Joseph has led a life of destitution since. When they reunite…one of them dies! Havoc ensues.
The last two chapters were especially beautifully written: “Margaret’s skilful fingers glide softly over the [piano] keys in wandering snatches of melody that melt and die away like the low breath of the summer wind.” (3880)
This is a slightly less emotional drama than Lady Audley’s Secret or Aurora Floyd - although there is a very touching romantic breakup (and then reunion) towards the ending. Instead, this novel prioritises clues, evidence, and the murder mystery! It’s perfect for anyone studying how Victorian sensationalism influenced crime fiction, because it is basically a detective novel. It also has that very Braddonesque, proto-Line-of-Duty structure where each novel focuses on an eponymous ethically murky character…and then at the end, we get a rundown of each character’s happy ending. It has that proto-Golden-Age quality of prioritising deduction and plot over rigorous character studies. Two couples get married or engaged quite quickly in this text, and while the latter couple is endowed with some emotional investment for the reader, they are still generally there to serve as devices for the unfolding of the (brilliant) mystery.
Yet despite this novel’s relative simplicity when compared to Braddon’s two more famous works, there are still occasional character flourishes. As said, the way she writes Clement Austin’s heartbreak towards the end is quite touching. We also get some funny one-liners from Clement’s hired detective, Mr Carter:
“Master didn’t say nothing, sir,” she [a nursemaid] said.
“Master didn’t say nothing! Your morals and your grammar are about a match, Miss Betsy.”
Surprisingly, the novel also has a strong social justice bent to it. Braddon is concerned in this novel with how society approaches the rich versus the poor, and specifically how “Mr Dunbar” was seen as exempt from having committed the crime because it’s not what a gentleman does. Like Victor Hugo’s Les Mis, it examines how the criminal justice system creates very bitter people who struggle to reintegrate (see Joseph Wilmot), but goes further in suggesting that this wouldn’t apply to wealthier victims of the system (3753).
Plot: when Henry Dunbar returns from India to accept his inheritance (a family business banking firm), he bumps into Joseph Wilmot. Dunbar went to India because he was caught out in a cheque forgery, a scheme he roped Joseph into before throwing him under the bus and letting him suffer more for it. Joseph has led a life of destitution since. When they reunite…one of them dies! Havoc ensues.
January 22, 2022
Miss Braddon è senza ombra di dubbio una delle più talentuose scrittrici mai esistite. La sua penna scorre fluida come se scrivere meravigliose descrizioni e arzigogolate avventure le venisse semplice quanto bere un bicchier d'acqua. Un talento senza precedenti e senza pari nella scrittura di romanzi, ineguagliabile. La nota dolente per me è la lungaggine nelle descrizioni di personaggi, luoghi ed episodi, niente di nuovo sul fronte dei romanzi dell'epoca, ma da lettrice "moderna" soffro per la suspance costantemente richiamata dalle sue scene. D'altronde parliamo di uno dei 4 moschettieri del Sensation Novel e dunque i punti che a me sono risultati un po' tediosi nella lettura, sono invero le sue caratteristiche salienti e che meglio si confacciono all'epoca in cui la Braddon operava. La storia gira intorno a uno dei tropi più famosi del sensation novel ovvero lo scambio di identità che tuttavia, in modo geniale, è intuibile già da subito. Il genio sta nel farti capire che c'è stato uno scambio, facendoti allo stesso tempo dubitare dello stesso. Amo il fatto che la figura del detective sia stata introdotta solo tardi nel romanzo e che venga sottilmente apprezzata ma anche denigrata poiché risulta, dopotutto, inutile allo scioglimento del mistero. D'altronde in tempi in cui le ricerche dei criminali scarsamente portavano alla cattura del vero colpevole ed era molto facile sfuggire alla legge e farsi passare per qualcun altro, l'epilogo non poteva essere diverso, anche se dopo le lungaggini dello svolgimento della trama, avrei preferito un finale più articolato. Nel complesso che dire, Ave Miss Braddon.
July 25, 2022
Another solid sensation novel. Braddon makes what's going on pretty apparent from the beginning, but that doesn't really hurt it too much; you know the facts behind the ending, but not how everyone involved will respond to them.
Near the end, a Scotland Yard detective shows up who is so much like the Scotland Yard detective that shows up near the end of Aurora Floyd—extremely capable, funnily matter-of-fact in a very emotionally heightened book, unable to collect his reward because he can't put his hand on the villain in time—that I was stunned to read back in A.F. and realize he has a different last name there.
Near the end, a Scotland Yard detective shows up who is so much like the Scotland Yard detective that shows up near the end of Aurora Floyd—extremely capable, funnily matter-of-fact in a very emotionally heightened book, unable to collect his reward because he can't put his hand on the villain in time—that I was stunned to read back in A.F. and realize he has a different last name there.
January 13, 2024
Another bloodcurdling thriller from a talent capable of much greater work. Mary Elizabeth Braddon's ‘Henry Dunbar’ is a kind of ‘reversed’ detective novel: that is, when the reader is taken step by step through the crime and has no doubt by whom it has been committed. With the plot out of the way, Braddon has fun with the characters and the psychological tension of the situation. The women are disappointing – beautiful, loyal, with every virtue shining from them – but the men have some individuality and personality. Of course, nature plays its part, reflecting the mood of the moment, one of Braddon's favourite tricks.
A delightful book by a master storyteller.
A delightful book by a master storyteller.
October 20, 2020
**uni read - lit and publish**
this book was incredibly interesting, but I have to say, due to a slight obsession with crime dramas, I knew instantly what had truly happened that night in the grove! however reading and watching as it played out was incredibly interesting, and it is certainly a book I would read again!
this book was incredibly interesting, but I have to say, due to a slight obsession with crime dramas, I knew instantly what had truly happened that night in the grove! however reading and watching as it played out was incredibly interesting, and it is certainly a book I would read again!
December 9, 2016
Great mystery by Elizabeth Braddon. Even if it was pretty clear who the villan was and what had he done since the very first pages of the book, yet the plot keeps you chained and it turns till the very end of the novel.
Great writer Braddon is, if not known enough ...
Great writer Braddon is, if not known enough ...
September 27, 2023
Una sensation novel da cui mi aspettavo di più, dopo aver letto "Lady Audley's Secret".
Lo ammetto: sono arrivato a poco più di 2/3 del romanzo, ma facevo davvero fatica a sopportare i panegirici vittoriani che rendono lo sviluppo della trama troppo lento.
Lo ammetto: sono arrivato a poco più di 2/3 del romanzo, ma facevo davvero fatica a sopportare i panegirici vittoriani che rendono lo sviluppo della trama troppo lento.
October 6, 2024
Read for the Victober readathon. It was an interesting mystery even if it was easy to guess what really happened but I liked it. This was my first book by M.E.Braddon and I've got some of her other books, hoping to be able to read them this October.
September 4, 2020
Drab!
This book was dull. Outside of part about cats, it was boring! If you need something to put you to sleep this is the one
This book was dull. Outside of part about cats, it was boring! If you need something to put you to sleep this is the one
January 27, 2021
An intriguing novel about forgery, murder, and mystery. Braddon even managed to work some social critique into the novel, making it an interesting and amusing read.
May 21, 2021
My 6th or 7th ME Braddon; not as good as some of her other novels and I almost gave up. I’m glad I didn’t as it was still worth the listen on LibriVox . All the readers were good
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews