Definition
Published in three volumes in 1861, East Lynne by Ellen (Mrs Henry) Wood became one of the best-selling novels of the nineteenth century. Melodramatic and sentimental, it had cross-class appeal, and its fame was bolstered by the numerous stage adaptations made of it: the role of its heroine Isabel Vane becoming (like Nancy in Oliver Twist) a favorite part of the repertoire for actresses.
In January 1860 the New Monthly Magazine began serialization of East Lynne by one of his regular contributors, the little-known Ellen (Mrs Henry) Wood (Balee 1993). Little seems to have been expected of the novel, but when the three-volume edition was published by Richard Bentley on 19 September 1861, it became a “must-read” book, thanks in part to a review in The Times. It went quickly through different editions, and by 1895 its publishers boasted sales of 400,000 – although its reach was much greater. Plays based on the novel – for which Ellen Wood received no payment – became part of the...
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References
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Maunder, A. (2019). Wood, Ellen East Lynne. In: The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Victorian Women's Writing. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02721-6_132-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02721-6_132-1
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