East Lynne

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East Lynne is an English sensation novel of 1861 by Mrs. Henry Wood.

[edit] Plot summary

Lady Isabel Carlyle, a beautiful and refined young woman, leaves her hard-working but neglectful lawyer-husband and her infant children to elope with an aristocratic suitor. After he deserts her, and she bears their illegitimate child, Lady Isabel disguises herself and takes the position of governess in the household of her husband and his new wife.

[edit] Adaptations

East Lynne was a Victorian bestseller and is still sometimes performed as a drama. It is remembered chiefly for its elaborate and implausible plot, centering on double identity and bigamy, and the much-quoted line:

"Gone! And never called me mother!"

Interestingly, "Gone! And never called me mother!" does not appear in the book version of East Lynne. Another variation of this dialogue often ascribed to the book is "Dead! Dead! And never called me mother!" Neither was found in the novel, but both were added to later stage adaptations.

East Lynne is frequently mentioned by author Edna Ferber as an example of typical 1880's stage melodrama, in her 1926 novel Show Boat, the basis for the classic stage and film musical.

A film version of East Lynne was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1931. The movie was adapted from the novel by Tom Barry and Bradley King and directed by Frank Lloyd. The film is a melodrama starring Ann Harding, Conrad Nagel and Cecilia Loftus. Only one copy of the film is known to exist.

There have been many silent film versions of the book. One of them, starring Theda Bara, was made in 1916. However, despite being considered hopelessly old-fashioned,^[who?] the story has been refilmed as recently as 1982, in a BBC made-for-television production starring Lisa Eichhorn.