Mary Elizabeth Braddon made her name, scandalously, in the early 1860s as a founder of the intricately plotted sensation novel, and was particularly known for her transgressive heroines. Although still most strongly associated with this and the related genres of gothic, mystery and detective stories, she also contributed significantly during her 56-year career to the psychological and realist novels, in addition to writing several dramas (some of them produced) and publishing in her youth one long poem in a collection with shorter ones. Dedicated to writing for the new and expanding mass reading public (including fiction for the penny press), and associated from the outset with novel advertising and publishing practices, she issued her work serially, edited Belgravia magazine from 1866 to 1876 (as well as a Christmas annual), and survived the demise of the triple-decker novel.

Her oeuvre encompasses eighty novels, as well as several volumes in other genres, and a considerable quantity of short fiction, some of it still uncollected. The range of her topics, her experimenting over decades of prolific literary production during a period of rapid change in the market, and the moral complexity of her fiction make it a rich mine for literary and cultural analysis.