Isabel’s father dies shortly after and Isabel finds herself left with a not so nice member of the family before accepting Archibald Carlyle’s hand in marriage admitting to him she doesn’t love him but one day she may. The very same night Lady Isabel meets Captain Francis Levison a charming man who she instantly falls in love with though he proves a real rogue. We join them as they first meet and naturally Carlyle falls in love with her one site, as one must this is after all a sensation novel. From the first chapter we are introduced to the main character of the book Isabel Vane or as the first chapter is called ‘The Lady Isabel’ who lives in East Lynne with her father not knowing he has sold the house to local solicitor Archibald Carlyle.

Once you have read the final page though you will be left in no doubt that this is a masterpiece and may, as many say, be the mother of all sensation novels.Įast Lynne is a grand old house not to far from the village of West Lynne, you will learn to love the village and all of its wonderful (even if some are downright evil) characters. This isn’t for those of you who are looking for a throw away sensational read you have to dive in and just go for it.

In fact the main reason it’s quite a book to get through is because of a whole host of characters (initially a village full) and a whole host of plots. I want to make it clear that I don’t mean that in a bad way. I mentioned the other day that out of all the sensation season reading material so far Ellen Wood’s (or Mrs Henry Wood) ‘East Lynne’ has been by far the most complex and difficult to get through.

East Lynne by Mrs. Henry Wood