The Doctor's Wife: An absolutely gripping and unputdownable psychological thriller with a shocking twist

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But he’s underestimated me. I’ve had plenty of time, in this big, isolated house, to think about all of his mistakes. Doctor Drew Devlin is not the respectable figure he makes out to be. The reason we moved to this beautiful, old property with a gorgeous view of the sea was because we needed to put our past behind us. It should’ve been a fresh start for us both. The book includes a lot of repetitions (for example, "she was trying to be good" !!) and it sometimes felt like the author was trying to hammer thoughts into my head, something I didn't need. The "heroin" was not bad (hey, she was trying to be good !), just not educated, reading only silly novels and, finding life too dreary, practised literary escapism at any opportunity. She was simply not good... with reality

Totally addicted… gripping… Just read this book, it is SO good (just make sure you clear your diary first - it is very hard to put down!!)… awesome!!’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ All in all, I would recommend this book if you love reading Victorian literature; otherwise, The Doctor's Wife won't be for you by any means. In the end I believe this reading is sort of skippable, but as I always say, it's up to you. Secondly, Braddon's story is plain and sometimes boring; the author is going on and on about the protagonist's thoughts, that are somewhat interesting but not enough to grab the reader's attention throughout the whole book. She—our protagonist—is literally daydreaming about her life, thinking of the possibility of living like her favorite characters in this or that novel, and even though I found some descriptions really compelling, most of them were repetitive and tedious, hence my disappointing experience. I thought some of the minor characters were much more interesting and I would have liked them to have played a bigger part in the story. I particularly loved Sigismund Smith, who was a friend of both George and Isabel, and a 'sensation author' – probably a parody of Mary Elizabeth Braddon herself. Sigismund (whose real name is Sam) is a writer of 'penny numbers' – cheap, serialised adventure stories. His enthusiasm for his work and his unusual methods of researching his novels provide most of the humour in the book. People magazine observed that in this novel, as in two of his previous works, Judith Hearne and I Am Mary Dunne, Moore writes from "inside the consciousness of a woman... Moore, who has always loved Paris, splendidly evokes shuttered French hotel rooms and boulevard cafes with precise, echoing details. But in telling explicitly of the ardor and the loyalties which rend the doctor’s wife, he will doubtless divide women readers who crave romance from feminists who don’t." [2]

Elizabeth Brundage

Perhaps only the fact that both Emma Bovary and Isabel Gilbert (the protagonist of this story) are very much into reading books and married to a rural doctor makes The Doctor's Wife be similar to Madame Bovary in terms of their protagonists, but this fact is by no means enough to say these two books have a similar plot. According to eNotes, "Moore dramatizes Sheila’s psychological crisis in spiritual terms: She has attained a state of grace during the Villefranche episode, but, according to her Catholic outlook, she must enter purgatory to expiate her venial sins. She chooses an uncertain new life in London, where she can shed her past yet continue her penance for having betrayed both her husband and her lover. Moore, with his sober artistry, has created in Sheila Redden a heroine of a depth, intensity, and subtlety rare in contemporary fiction." [5] Except I’ve discovered my husband has been lying to me again. He’s using the power he has in his job to mess with people’s lives, and to get exactly what he wants – no matter who it hurts. Obviously, one quite significant difference between The Doctor’s Wife and its Flaubertian model is that it isn’t in the same league in literary terms. Braddon is rather a blunt instrument in stylistic terms, although she’s generally a pleasing, easy read. As a take on the theme of the bored and provincially adulterous provincial wife, I found her novel an interesting comparison with George Moore’s very different The Mummer’s Wife (1885), which I read recently. Moore is savage in his Zolaesque realism, and Braddon can feel quite vanilla by comparison, but I did find myself thinking about the element of near-sadistic misogynism often implicit in the theme of the “fallen woman,” and rather liking Braddon’s determination to make Isabel redeemable, despite her folly. I can see why feminist critics like her work.

he ventured to remark that the spot was so peaceful it reminded him of slow poisoning, and demanded whether there would be any objection to his making the quiet grange the scene of his next fiction,—the cordial cheery host cried out, in a big voice that resounded high up among the trees where the rooks were cawing, "People it with fiends, my dear boy ! You're welcome to people the place with fiends" To begin with, according to its blurb, this novel is supposed to be a new version of Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert), where basically the 'essence' of that French classic should have been here, however, The Doctor's Wife has almost nothing to do with that Flaubert's novel and its storyline. The Doctor’s Wife (1864) was the hyper-prolific Mary Elizabeth Bradden’s eighth novel, written in the wake of her prototypical sensation novel Lady Audley’s Secret (1861), which catapulted her to fame, or notoriety. Three years on, Braddon was tiring of critics “pelting” her with the word “sensational” (as she wrote in a letter to her literary mentor, Edward Bulwer-Lytton). The Doctor’s Wife was intended to redeem her by showcasing her skills as a serious novelist.

The Doctor's Wife

I will do anything to stop my past from catching up with me… But is Roger really who he says he is? Or is my life now in danger? Lynda Bryans, TV presenter and lecturer, commenting in the Belfast Telegraph, said: "The book is beautifully written... It describes passion, pain, love and grief. Moore writes about the feelings of Mrs Redden (the doctor's wife) so well it's hard to imagine the book is written by a man.” [3] The most enjoyable thing about this book for me, though, was its metaliterary dimension. Some of the obscure literary figures who haunt Isabel’s miscued romantic dreams were unfamiliar to me, and I had a lot of fun looking them up (I’d recommend the Oxford World’s Classics edition, which has good notes). I was especially taken with Eugene Aram, a real-life eighteenth-century philologist and murderer (d. 1759), and the subject of a long-forgotten novel by Bulwer-Lytton. He is definitely ripe for a biopic.

But then one night, when we’re curled up in bed together, Roger says something that makes my blood run cold. I think he knows the truth about my life as the doctor’s wife. I remember my first time reading a novel by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, it was a short story called The Christmas Hirelings, a very sweet, uplifting, and wholesome story set on Christmas Day that was actually one of my best readings in December 2021. Also, the audiobook that you can find easily on Audible and is actually very well narrated by Richard Armitage was definitely the cherry on the cake. In short, I'd wholeheartedly recommend giving it a try, especially during this Christmas season that is just around the corner.

Advance Praise

Unfortunately, The Doctor's Wife is a completely different scenario, perhaps not a terrible reading experience, but a novel that didn't live up to my expectations. Then I meet handsome Roger. I wasn’t looking for a relationship but as we spend our evenings drinking wine on my sunny terrace, I realise he’s just what I need right now. Roger is nothing like Drew, he’s spontaneous and romantic. And most of all, he’s honest. This is the second Mary Elizabeth Braddon book I've read – the first was the book that she's best known for today, the sensation novel Lady Audley's Secret. Apparently The Doctor's Wife was Braddon's attempt at writing a more serious, literary novel, with a plot inspired by Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary. The Doctor's Wife is not very 'sensational' – apart from maybe the final few chapters – and although it's interesting and compelling in a different way, if you're expecting something similar to Lady Audley you might be slightly disappointed. At one point in the book, Braddon even tells us "this is not a sensation novel!" This is a Victorian retelling of Flaubert's Madame Bovary - that I DNFed recently. It was written by the prolific Mary Elizabeth Braddon, who has gained fame as a sensational novelist, and who, this time, tried for something different. There was sensation inside, but mostly in the shape of Sigismund Smith, a sort of parody of herself, I presume. I actually enjoyed his character very much !

I hesitated between giving this novel 2 or 3 stars, but I finally decided upon 3 because it was a group read, which has its disadvantages when you're reading a book you're not particularly fond of. What I mean is I was supposed to read it in a month and a half, a few chapters a week. When I was finally getting into the novel, I had to put it down to wait for other readers and I'm pretty sure I would have enjoyed it more if I had read it in one go. Considering I hardly participated in sharing my feelings in this group, because I was just not feeling great at the moment, I should have read the book at my own pace. Hit it out of the park with, possibly, his best yet… had my head spinning from beginning to end with its brilliant twists and turns.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. I mean wow. This book was so freakin good!!… really exciting plot… I was thrown for a loop, and then another one.’ @thrilleraddict1986, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ On the surface, it looks like I have it all – the perfect marriage, the perfect husband, the perfect life. But it’s far from the truth. However, Julian Moynahan, reviewing the book for The New York Times, said: "Despite its great technical skill and air of timeliness", The Doctor's Wife "is really quite old‐fashioned in plot management and quite conventional in its implications... When Moore is writing at his serious best, as in 'The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne' or in 'Catholics,' that small, somber near‐masterpiece, he ranks with the finest novelists of today. 'The Doctor's Wife' is not serious in that sense. it may appear to raise many important questions about passion, family commitments, woman's self‐determination — also about the interconnections of private and public violence and cruelty — yet even in storytelling a parade of appearances must not be confused with the real thing." [4]Hooked… I could NOT put this down! I finished it all in one sitting… I lost count of how many times I said “OMG!” and “WHAT!?”. The twists and turns in this psychological thriller are so good!’