Lady Dedlock

<em>Bleak House</em>Lady Dedlock entertaining a visit from her lawyer, Tulkinghorn (left); illustration by Hablot Knight Browne for Charles Dickens's Bleak House (1853).

Lady Dedlock, fictional character in the novel Bleak House (1853) by Charles Dickens, a beautiful woman who harbours the secret that she bore a daughter before her marriage to Sir Leicester Dedlock, a wealthy baronet. Privilege and wealth have not fulfilled Lady Dedlock’s expectations of life. When she learns that her daughter is alive and that her own past is in danger of being exposed, she runs away in shame and despair.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by J.E. Luebering.
Citation Information
Article Title: Lady Dedlock
Website Name: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published: 30 January 2024
Access Date: February 22, 2025