East Lynne

By: Ellen Wood

Narrated by: Rachel Atkins

Ellen Wood’s sensation novel of 1861 found immediate popularity on its first publication. Its themes of infidelity and double identity attracted a wide range of readers, from the Prince of Wales to Joseph Conrad.

Lady Isabel Carlyle leaves her husband and children for the aristocratic Francis Levison, who, as it turns out, has no intention of marrying her. Having been disfigured in a train accident, the unrecognizable Isabel then takes up the position of governess to her own children in the Carlyle household, with tragic consequences.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2021 Naxos AudioBooks UK Ltd.

This is abridged

Says "unabridged" on cover but there were a few paragraphs missing from the book that I read, and loved, as a teenager. [Nothing major, but definitely noticeable]. Still, great story as long as you can make it past the 1st Chapter, where it reads like another silly romance. Persist and you shall find an uncharacteristically well written murder-mystery, with a sense of humor and a decent love story thrown in. Miss Corny, Barbara Hare, and Afy Halijohn are heriones I shall not easily forget with expressions, emotions, and personalities that outlast the book's ending. Justice Hare and his lovable yet cowardly son, Richard "Dick" Hare, are also two of the many chracters that put a smile to/on my face. Book is preachy at times, with the author addressing the reader directly, which can be distracting. Still, well written and narrated.

5/5 🫶s

Glad I stuck with it

I almost returned this book after listening to the first chapter. The author’s writing style seemed flat and the characters appeared to be uninteresting stereotypes. It quickly got better, however, and I’m glad I stuck with it. It won’t make the list of the world’s 100 greatest novels but the plot does take off, and I can see why it is considered a classic Victorian sensation story. There’s a murder mystery, a domestic tragedy, and plenty of the best sort of melodrama. The novel was published in 1861, one year after Wilkie Collins’s Woman in White and one year before Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Lady Audrey’s Secret. If you liked either of those books, I think you will like this one, too. Rachel Atkins’s narration is outstanding.