rach_eb's review against another edition
3.0
Wow, what a wild ride. This seems to be going for a Middlemarch-esque narrator effect, but it comes off like Middlemarch would if it was super salacious and lacked its subtlety and nuance. I do appreciate the scandal of it all, but the moralizing got tiresome and the plot was just a liiiiittle too unbelievable for me (a husband not recognizing his wife because of colored glasses and baggy clothes? Really?).
saralynnburnett's review against another edition
5.0
Have you met a book that you carry around all day and pull out of your purse to eagerly read at every moment you can spare? I've met a few and this is one of them. I even found myself reaching for it while stuck in traffic! (terrible, I know). East Lynne is the very definition of a Victorian sensation novel - murder, disguise, exile, deception, a love triangle, humor, a horrific train accident, - it had it all. I hesitate to talk about any plot details because this book launches right into the drama in the first chapter... just read it, you won't regret it. I can't for the life of me figure out why this book isn't more widely read since it has all the twists of a Wilkie Collins novel and the lovely conversational tone of an Anthony Trollope book. I wish I could find more Ellen Wood books available in print but I can't seem to!
ladyhighwayman's review against another edition
3.0
East Lynne is a very engaging Victorian sensation novel written in 1861. If you like the works of Wilkie Collins and Mary Elizabeth Braddon, then I also recommend Ellen Wood.
This had everything you'd expect in a Victorian sensation novel, and probably more; murder, infidelity, betrayal, disguises and more.
The story is: Lady Isabel leaves her husband and children on the grounds of her suspecting that her husband is unfaithful. It doesn't help that a cad is helping driving that point home. Isabel runs away with said cad, only to realize she's made a mistake too late.
There's also a murder mystery about. A man is accused and is on the run, but he says another man is the actual murderer, a man by the name of Thorn. Problem is, Thorn is an alias, and no one knows who he is. I pretty much figured out who the villain was from the beginning, but I had a doubt for a quick minute when the author made me think that I was wrong. Sneaky.
I'm not sure if the author wanted us to be sympathetic to Lady Isabel or not, but I definitely was. I felt sorry for her, being the victim of trickery and an overzealous imagination. I'm not a fan of the whole 'unfaithful woman being punished,' but sensation novels from this era seemed to like this theme.
All in all, an underrated classic. A chunkster, definitely, but worth it.
This had everything you'd expect in a Victorian sensation novel, and probably more; murder, infidelity, betrayal, disguises and more.
The story is: Lady Isabel leaves her husband and children on the grounds of her suspecting that her husband is unfaithful. It doesn't help that a cad is helping driving that point home. Isabel runs away with said cad, only to realize she's made a mistake too late.
There's also a murder mystery about. A man is accused and is on the run, but he says another man is the actual murderer, a man by the name of Thorn. Problem is, Thorn is an alias, and no one knows who he is. I pretty much figured out who the villain was from the beginning, but I had a doubt for a quick minute when the author made me think that I was wrong. Sneaky.
I'm not sure if the author wanted us to be sympathetic to Lady Isabel or not, but I definitely was. I felt sorry for her, being the victim of trickery and an overzealous imagination. I'm not a fan of the whole 'unfaithful woman being punished,' but sensation novels from this era seemed to like this theme.
All in all, an underrated classic. A chunkster, definitely, but worth it.
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.
polyhy_14's review against another edition
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
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.
lynneelue's review against another edition
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.
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.
jumbleread's review against another edition
3.0
If you like to read books with jackasses as characters, then this is the book.