The Cloven Foot

The novel was generally well-received, with praise for Braddon’s deft handling of a complex plot. Sensational elements such as murder, mistaken identity, and bigamy feature prominently in The Cloven Foot, as they do in many of her novels; but an important new theme is that of fraud—a theme which has been identified as part of an increasing trend in the era’s sensation fiction towards featuring more white-collar crimes.

The Cloven Foot was initially published in serial form in the Newcastle Weekly Chronicle in 1878. It was subsequently published in three volumes in 1879. A stage play based on the novel, radically simplifying the plot, was performed in 1890.

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