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BEYOND THESE VOICES: M. E. BRADDON AND THE GHOST OF SENSATIONALISM

This essay argues that M. E. Braddon used spiritualism in Beyond These Voices (1910) to explore her position as a popular writer of sensation fiction. It outlines how Braddon's early experiences as an actress informed her particular brand of sensationalism. The author argues that Braddon became haunted by her reputation as a theatrical writer and that, as a result, representations of theatricality and spiritualism pervade her work. The final section of the essay illustrates how Braddon explored the complex negotiation between the theatricality that gave her financial security and a spiritual desire for artistic integrity in her Edwardian novel Beyond These Voices. At the end of her long career, Braddon used the trope of spiritualism to articulate her own spiritual and artistic crisis precipitated by modernism's rejection of the theatrical.