Mary Elizabeth Braddon (4 October 1835 – 4 February 1915) was an English popular novelist of the Victorian era. She is best known for her 1862 sensation novel Lady Audley’s Secret, which has also been dramatised and filmed several times.
Born in London, Mary Elizabeth Braddon was privately educated. Mary worked as an actress for three years, when she was befriended by Clara and Adelaide Biddle. They were only playing minor roles, but Braddon was able to support herself and her mother. Adelaide noted that Braddon’s interest in acting waned as she took up writing novels.
Mary Elizabeth Braddon died on 4 February 1915 in Richmond (then in Surrey) and is interred in Richmond Cemetery. She has a plaque in Richmond parish church, which calls her simply “Miss Braddon”. A number of nearby streets are named after characters in her novels – her husband was a property developer in the area.