Lady Audley’s Secret is set in several locations across England in the 19th century. Many of the book’s most important events unfold at Audley Court, an enormous house and the protagonist’s home during her second marriage. This stately mansion, surrounded by picturesque and romantic landscapes, seems to epitomize the Victorian era's romanticized pastoral ideal. It’s a beautiful house, in a beautiful place, with a beautiful mistress. On the surface, it’s absolutely emblematic of serenity and old-world charm. However, as the novel progresses, it becomes apparent that this tranquil setting is a veneer. The setting of the novel mirrors the duality of Braddon’s characters. Its attractive outside conceals the unsettling mysteries and scandals that lurk within its walls.
Braddon's choice of setting serves a dual purpose. Firstly, the peaceful countryside contrasts sharply with the novel's tumultuous events. Suspected murder and confirmed betrayals that happen in this location seem all the more shocking to the reader because of its placid beauty. The pastoral symmetry of Audley Court is a powerful force. It remains largely unchanged by the bad choices of the people in and around it.
The novel also plays out against the broader backdrop of the mid-Victorian era’s stratified town and country life. Some scenes happen in packed, bustling London, some in small villages, and many are also set in the comfortable, claustrophobic interiors of parlors and drawing-rooms. This period in British history was marked by an almost obsessive emphasis on propriety, decorum, and social stratification. For women, in particular, interpersonal constraints and the rules of good behavior were unyielding. Their roles were strictly defined, and their aspirations were often curtailed by the patriarchal structures of the time. Braddon uses this stifling atmosphere to amplify the pressures faced by characters like Lucy. Her dastardly actions, while undeniably bad, also underline the lengths to which a Victorian woman might be forced to go to secure a position of privilege and escape poverty.
