Lady Athlyne

Lady Athlyne is a romance novel by Bram Stoker (the author of Dracula), written in 1908. It was published one year before the release of Stoker's The Lady of the Shroud. The novel begins on a journey from New York to Italy. Joy and her Aunt Judith meet Mrs. O’Brian who claims to have fostered Earl Athlyne. Since Mrs. O’Brien describes the Earl Athlyne’s son in such great detail all of the women, including Joy, begin to develop an interest in a man they had never met or heard of until that moment. Her Aunt Judy even calls her Lady Athlyne. The mysterious woman warns them that by linking her name to his that they have sealed her fate and Aunt Judy believes that there is truth to this statement. At first, the women are careful not to tell anyone about their joke or their (secret) but it is used in front of Joy’s father by mistake. He warns her that by linking her name to a man she does not know can harm her in the future.