# Clara Talboys — Lady Audley’s Secret character guide

> Clara Talboys in Lady Audley’s Secret by M. E. Braddon.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Miss Clara Talboys, Clara Talboys, Miss Talboys

**First appearance:** 0022-xxiii-clara

## Snapshot

George Talboys's resolute sister, who trades her grief for a demand for answers and drives Robert Audley toward the truth.

## Who they are

Clara Talboys is the sister of the vanished George, and she refuses the consolations of silence. Where Robert Audley hesitates, she presses; where he would rather look away, she extracts a promise and holds him to it. Her telegraphic replies and unyielding letters push the investigation forward, making her the quiet engine of a search that will cost Robert more than he expects.

## In the story

### [Coming to a Standstill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/chapters/xxii-coming-to-a-standstill)

George's sister, present during the interview; remains silent and still, though Robert notes her resemblance to George.

### [Clara](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/chapters/xxiii-clara)

Reveals her passionate grief and determination to avenge her brother's death, deducing that George disappeared in Essex.

### [George's Letters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/chapters/xxiv-george-s-letters)

Clara sends George's letters to Robert with a brief note, urging him to preserve and return them. Robert thinks of her as noble and beautiful.

### [XXVII: Beginning at the Other End](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/chapters/xxvii-beginning-at-the-other-end)

Robert writes to her for information about George's marriage; she telegraphs the name 'Wildernsea.'

### [XXVIII: Hidden in the Grave](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/chapters/xxviii-hidden-in-the-grave)

Found playing the organ in Audley church. She confronts Robert about his investigation and urges him forward.

### [XXIX: In the Lime-Walk](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/chapters/xxix-in-the-lime-walk)

Robert recalls her pale, earnest face as a contrast to Lady Audley's beauty, motivating him to pursue the truth.

### [Ghost-Haunted](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/chapters/xxxviii-ghost-haunted)

Clara writes to Robert urging him to return to Essex because Luke Marks is dying and wishes to see him. Robert dreads meeting her now that he knows the truth about her brother.

### [XXXIX: That Which the Dying Man Had to Tell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/chapters/xxxix-that-which-the-dying-man-had-to-tell)

Robert hopes to tell her that her brother still lives and has been found.

### [XL: Restored](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/chapters/xl-restored)

Walks with Robert and her father, lectures Robert on his purposeless life, and becomes the object of his affection.

### [At Peace](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/chapters/xli-at-peace)

Robert's wife and George's sister, living at the cottage and caring for the baby.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/characters/clara_talboys
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/characters