- East Lynne
"East Lynne" is an English
sensation novel of 1861 by Mrs. Henry Wood.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.
Adaptations
"East Lynne" was a Victorian
bestseller and is still sometimes performed as adrama . 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 in her 1926 novel "Show Boat", as an example of typical 1880's stagemelodrama .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 andBradley King and directed byFrank Lloyd . The film is a melodrama starringAnn Harding ,Conrad Nagel andCecilia 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 aBBC made-for-television production starringLisa Eichhorn .External links
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* [http://www.lrb.co.uk/v23/n03/birc01_.html Review of a recent printing of East Lynne in the London Review of Books]
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