Lady Audley's secret vs The Law and the Lady: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Married women, Married people, England, English literature, Fiction
Lady Audley's secret
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Lady Audley’s Secret was the most successful of a long series of novels written by Mary Elizabeth Braddon in what was then called the “sensation” genre because of the inventive and slightly scandalous plots of such…
The Law and the Lady
“In offering this book to you, I have no Preface to write.”
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Three years ago, her husband stood accused of murder -- and the verdict that came in from the jury was the Scottish Verdict, Not Proven. The jury had not evidence enough to convict him -- nor enough to comfortably…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Lady Audley's secret is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 7 for The Law and the Lady.
- Lady Audley's secret has the widest readership — 27270 ratings behind its score.
- The Law and the Lady runs the darker storyline; Lady Audley's secret stays the lighter read.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Lady Audley's secret | The Law and the Lady | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.8 (27270) | 3.8 (3504) |
| Hardcover | 3.6 (30) | 3.1 (5) |
| Google Books | — | 5.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (84) | 4.0 (59) |
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Reception
| Lady Audley's secret | The Law and the Lady | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 27270 | 3504 |
| Editions | 221 | 384 |
| Citations | — | 22 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 37191 | 4296 |
| Reading it now | 997 | 286 |
| Written reviews | 2330 | 361 |
| Wikipedia attention | 2391 | 1529 |
| Pages | 164 | 392 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Lady Audley's secret or The Law and the Lady?
The Law and the Lady has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Law and the Lady 3.8/5, Lady Audley's secret 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: Lady Audley's secret or The Law and the Lady?
Lady Audley's secret is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Lady Audley's secret (164 pages, ≈ 3 h 02 m); The Law and the Lady (392 pages, ≈ 7 h 16 m).
Which is harder to read: Lady Audley's secret or The Law and the Lady?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Lady Audley's secret: Challenging; The Law and the Lady: Demanding.