Reviews

Les Mystères d'East Lynne by Mrs. Henry Wood

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kdferrin's review against another edition

4.0

If you love English literature and you can get hold of this book (it is not available at my local library) it is well worth reading. Even though it is over 600 pages long and it is a sad cautionary morality tale that seems like it should be a total downer I was able to breeze right through it. It reminded me a bit of [b:Adam Bede|20563|Adam Bede (Modern Library Classics)|George Eliot|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167298252s/20563.jpg|1015873] but with a chic-lit twist. Just like Adam Bede I spent much of the book wanting to reach in an shake the women by the shoulders and make they realize how unhappy they were making themselves but instead of all the sermonizing [a:George Eliot|173|George Eliot|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1190493613p2/173.jpg] seemed so fond of [a:Ellen Wood|165808|John Grafton|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] included lots of gossip, fashion and fun.

thedramareader's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

4.0

polyhy_14's review against another edition

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4.0

Written and set in the late 1800's, this is a rattling good yarn. I'd have given it 5 stars if it weren't for the Victorian tendency to over-moralise throughout. Still well worth reading however.

bookpossum's review against another edition

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3.0

I enjoyed this melodrama more than I expected to do. Mrs Wood's style leaves a lot to be desired, but the story, with all its amazing coincidences and plot turns, moves along at a satisfactory pace.

kvegan's review against another edition

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3.0

Novel dealing with suspicion, infidelity and it’s consequences that was scandalous in its day. Great understanding of Human nature and surprising humour. An enjoyable classic read.

lynneelue's review against another edition

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2.0

This was really disappointing because as a top sensational fiction book up there with Lady Audley's Secret and The Woman in White, I was expecting it to be really interesting. It wasn't. It went on and on, and it was all woe-me. There was a single plot really, and no surprising twists--even I could foresee who the real murderer was. It was about a weak murder plot, and a un-pursuasive decision of infidelity. The murder plot is solved without contestation and the build up to it is unnecessarily long. There was no believable chemistry between Isabel Carlyle and Francis Levison. The infidelity act occurs because of a frustrating lack of communication between the couple, and she lives with the consequences without letting it go, which makes her mopey and teary all the time. It was tiring and boring to read, and after the fatal night, there wasn't much plot left despite going on for about 400 more pages; I'm surprised I got through it so quickly, and that it was such a popular "sensational" fiction of the time. The serial cliffhangers weren't terrible but they were nothing more special than a chapter ending.

Not as mopey of a book as Elizabeth Gaskell's book Ruth, but at least Ruth reformed and worked hard to recover her reputation rather than just sitting, disguising herself with ridiculous masks and suspicious slip-ups. That made Ruth a much stronger character than Isabel Vane.