# Helen Talboys — Lady Audley’s Secret character guide

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

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Talboys, Helen, this Helen Talboys, Helen Maldon

**First appearance:** 0003-iv-in-the-first-page-of-the-times

## Snapshot

George Talboys's young wife, whose brief marriage and reported death leave behind a trail of unanswered questions.

## Who they are

Helen Talboys married George in haste and was left behind when he sailed for Australia, a desertion that shadowed his conscience and his silence. Word of her death reached him through a newspaper notice, and from that hour he would not speak of her. Yet the particulars of her life — where she came from, whom she knew, how she died — remain stubbornly obscure, and Robert Audley's promise to Clara forces him to trace her history from the beginning.

## Relationships

### [Robert Audley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/characters/robert_audley)

_psychological_

Helen (Lady Audley's former identity) is the object of Robert's obsessive investigation, representing the mystery he must solve.

### [Lady Audley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/characters/lady_audley)

_psychological_

Helen Talboys is Lady Audley's former identity, which she desperately tries to erase through lies and crime.

### [George Talboys](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/characters/george_talboys)

_romantic_

George was deeply in love with Helen, but she abandoned him and their child, leading to his heartbreak and quest.

### [Robert Audley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/characters/robert_audley)

_psychological_

Helen (Lady Audley's former identity) is the object of Robert's obsessive investigation, representing the mystery he must solve.

### [Robert Audley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/characters/robert_audley)

_psychological_

Helen (Lady Audley's former identity) is the object of Robert's obsessive investigation, representing the mystery he must solve.

### [Lady Audley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/characters/lady_audley)

_psychological_

Helen Talboys is Lady Audley's former identity, which she desperately tries to erase through lies and crime.

### [Lady Audley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/characters/lady_audley)

_psychological_

Helen Talboys is Lady Audley's former identity, which she desperately tries to erase through lies and crime.

### [George Talboys](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/characters/george_talboys)

_romantic_

George was deeply in love with Helen, but she abandoned him and their child, leading to his heartbreak and quest.

### [George Talboys](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/characters/george_talboys)

_romantic_

George was deeply in love with Helen, but she abandoned him and their child, leading to his heartbreak and quest.

## In the story

### [II: On Board the Argus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/chapters/ii-on-board-the-argus)

George's wife, who is not present in the chapter but is the subject of George's story and his anxious thoughts.

### [V: The Headstone at Ventnor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/chapters/v-the-headstone-at-ventnor)

Deceased; her death is confirmed, and her final days are described by the landlady.

### [XIX: The Writing in the Book](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/chapters/xix-the-writing-in-the-book)

Inscribed the annual to George Talboys; the discovery shocks Robert.

### [So Far and No Farther](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/chapters/xxvi-so-far-and-no-farther)

Identified as Miss Graham, the former pupil at Mrs. Vincent's school.

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

Her letter to her father is discovered; she left Wildernsea abruptly on August 16, 1854.

### [XXXIV: My Lady Tells the Truth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/chapters/xxxiv-my-lady-tells-the-truth)

Revealed as Lady Audley's true identity; her faked death is described.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_audley_s_secret_se/characters/helen_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