Lady Audley’s Secret · Chapter
In the First Page of the Times explained
Robert Audley, a lazy barrister who never practices, learns of his uncle's marriage to a young woman.
What happens
Robert Audley, a lazy barrister who never practices, learns of his uncle's marriage to a young woman. He encounters his old friend George Talboys, who has just returned from Australia with a fortune, eager to reunite with his wife. At a coffeehouse, George discovers a newspaper announcement of his wife Helen's death.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Ambition
Robert's idle life as a barrister without ambition contrasts with George's return with wealth and dreams of a villa.
Appearance vs. Reality
Robert appears to be a barrister but does no work; George's hopes for reunion are shattered by the reality of his wife's death.
Love and Marriage
George's romantic plans for his wife contrast with Sir Michael's sudden marriage and Alicia's disapproval.
Characters to notice
- Robert Audley
Introduced as a lazy, good-natured barrister who never works; he meets George Talboys and accompanies him to the coffeehouse.
- George Talboys
Returns to England from Australia, excited to see his wife, but learns of her death from a newspaper.
- Alicia Audley
Robert's cousin; she writes an angry letter about her father's marriage to a young woman.
- Sir Michael Audley
Robert's uncle, who recently married a young woman, Lady Audley.
- Lady Audley
Mentioned as the new wife of Sir Michael, described by Alicia as a 'wax-dollish young person'.
Key passages
“Robert Audley was supposed to be a barrister. As a barrister his name was inscribed in the law-list; as a barrister he had chambers in Figtree Court, Temple; as a barrister he had eaten the allotted number of dinners... But he had never either had a brief, or tried to get a brief, or even wished to have a brief in all those five years.”
Robert Audley was technically a barrister, having fulfilled the formal requirements, but he never practiced law or sought any work in the field.
Highlights Robert's idle, unambitious nature.
“On the 24th inst., at Ventnor, Isle of Wight, Helen Talboys, aged 22.”
The newspaper announces the death of Helen Talboys, George's wife, on the 24th of the month in Ventnor.
The pivotal moment where George learns of his wife's death.