Heaven: October Book Club - East Lynne by Mrs. Henry Woods
This month our book is East Lynne an 1860 English 'sensation novel'. This book has births, deaths marriages and even divorce. There's romance, drama, murder and even politics. It is rather dramatic in parts, though the author tends to kill some of the suspense with very heavy handed foreshadowing. However, the book still has surprises in store. It is moralistic and reflects the moral double standards for men and women at the time, but is also surprisingly sympathetic to 'fallen women'.
Unfortunately there are a number of editions that differ from each other. I have been reading the 1881 edition on Project Gutenberg, but found it has added and excluded events compared to my parents' 1903 edition. The story is overall the same, but the portrayal of some characters' motivations and actions may colour how readers view them in the various editions. Some versions are apparently 'slangier' than others. I will provide the link to the free to read Gutenberg edition, but feel free to read other editions if you have them on hand. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3322
Questions will be up on October 20th and hopefully the book inspires an interesting discussion.
Unfortunately there are a number of editions that differ from each other. I have been reading the 1881 edition on Project Gutenberg, but found it has added and excluded events compared to my parents' 1903 edition. The story is overall the same, but the portrayal of some characters' motivations and actions may colour how readers view them in the various editions. Some versions are apparently 'slangier' than others. I will provide the link to the free to read Gutenberg edition, but feel free to read other editions if you have them on hand. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3322
Questions will be up on October 20th and hopefully the book inspires an interesting discussion.
Comments
I'd read it when in my twenties as my grandma was a big fan of the stage play, which must have been one of the most popular plays of the 19th and early 20th centuries and often talked about it.
Re-reading it in my sixties there were several things that interested me. In this book Ellen Wood seemed more sympathetic to her 'fallen woman' than in Parkwater, a novella I read by her in which a governess is seduced by a member of the family and then kills her child to stop her new husband finding out. It might be because that character had ideas above her station, whereas Isabel Vane is shown as a gentle aristocratic woman, beaten down by circumstances.
I thought some of the characters were interesting. Barbara, for instance, isn't particularly nice even though I think you are supposed to side with her and Affy is so full of life that I wanted more of her, even though I think we are supposed to disapprove.
I also found all the stuff about elections fascinating.
Apparently this book was more popular than Dicken's novels in Australia when it first came out. I first read it as a teenager and enjoyed it, despite it being a bit melodramatic. Rereading it now I was more affected by the deaths as I have experienced more tragic deaths of friends and relatives since then.
There are so many themes covered. Another was Barbara's view that mother's should only be kind to their children, and any discipline, moral teaching or punishment should be provided by nannies or governesses. However this meant mothers like Barbara only spent minimal time with their children.
I have a number of Mrs Henry Wood’s books (a friend regularly visits Hay on Wye and very kindly finds them for me) and several of them are considerably better than “East Lynne”. Personally I think her best was “Verner’s Pride” which now seems to be accessible online.
2. East Lynne was published in 1861, four years after the Matrimonial Causes Act allowed for divorce in cases of adultery (when a woman was the one committing adultery, but not the man), abandonment, bigamy or cruelty. Before this time divorce was based on marriage as a sacrament, rather than a contract and was extremely rare and expensive. Hundreds of people petitioned for divorce in the years following the 1857 Act. Do you feel that Woods is for or against these new divorce reforms, based on the Carlyle's divorce?
3. There were a number of intertwined plot lines. Did you have a favourite or one you found the most enlightening about the time period?
4. Leaving aside the murder, was Francis Levison a typical aristocratic cad for his time, or too villainous to be believable?
5. Could the Lady Isabelle returning as governess plot line been more believable if written differently, or do you think Woods should have changed that plot line entirely?
6. How much responsibility did Cornelia Carlyle bear for making Lady Isabelle's marriage difficult compared to other factors such as Isabelle not really loving Archibald Carlyle, Francis Levison's romantic pursuit and the amount of time Archibald spent with Barbara Hare?
7. Do you trust Barbara to be a good stepmother to Lady Isabelle's children and treat them equally to her own children? What did you make of her parenting style and choices?
8. Would Archibald have been better off marrying Barbara in the first place? What do you think Wood's opinion of the matter would be?
9. Was justice served in the case of Hallijohn's murder - did Levison get off lightly due to his position in society as an aristocrat?
Although the plot is far-fetched there is a lot of drama in it, so I can see people wondering what was going to happen next. As I said my grandmother thought it a very moving story, my grandfather on the other line was chucked out of a theatre for laughing at the 'dead and never called me mother' line that isn't in the book. The whole story seemed to have captured the public imagination a bit like soap operas today. I can imagine everyone talking about would Isabelle be recognised in the same way people wondered who shot JR.
2. East Lynne was published in 1861, four years after the Matrimonial Causes Act allowed for divorce in cases of adultery (when a woman was the one committing adultery, but not the man), abandonment, bigamy or cruelty. Before this time divorce was based on marriage as a sacrament, rather than a contract and was extremely rare and expensive. Hundreds of people petitioned for divorce in the years following the 1857 Act. Do you feel that Woods is for or against these new divorce reforms, based on the Carlyle's divorce?
I found Archibald's assertion that he considered himself still married to Isabelle despite the divorce interesting, so doesn't marry Barbara until he thinks she is dead. I assume Woods didn't agree with the divorce laws as such, but maybe thought that sometimes it would have been a necessary evil.
3. There were a number of intertwined plot lines. Did you have a favourite or one you found the most enlightening about the time period?
I found the whole election story fascinating. The way that candidates were put forward, the hustings etc. Reading another Victorian novel recently (Reuben Sachs by Amy Levy it seemed to suggest that being returned as an MP unopposed was common, presumably if the other parties knew that local interests were against them.
4. Leaving aside the murder, was Francis Levison a typical aristocratic cad for his time, or too villainous to be believable?
Seeing as I live in a country with a past and possible future MP who has done similar things regarding his promises and otherwise to women, I think Levison is fairly typical. I'm not quite sure why he resorted to murder.
5. Could the Lady Isabelle returning as governess plot line been more believable if written differently, or do you think Woods should have changed that plot line entirely?
It's the bit everyone knows about the book, but it is actually quite a small part. I think she needed something so outrageous to keep her public with her. I guess she could have had had the dying Isabelle coming back to try and see her children one more time, but it wouldn't have had as much oomph.
6. How much responsibility did Cornelia Carlyle bear for making Lady Isabelle's marriage difficult compared to other factors such as Isabelle not really loving Archibald Carlyle, Francis Levison's romantic pursuit and the amount of time Archibald spent with Barbara Hare?
I think Cornelia is the best drawn and most believable character in the book. She bares some responsibility for Isabelle's unhappiness, but she could have stood up to her, and told Archibald how his sister made her feel. Archibald was incredibly naïve if he thought his wife wouldn't mind him spending time with another woman, and also very short-sighted about Levison.
7. Do you trust Barbara to be a good stepmother to Lady Isabelle's children and treat them equally to her own children? What did you make of her parenting style and choices?
I really disliked Barbara for her attitude towards her step-children, specially as she was seen as being so doting on her own. I also thought changing the name of his daughter to Lucy was a dreadful thing for Archibald to do. Hopefully by the end Barbara might have had a more balanced attitude, and have been kinder to her two remaining step-children.
8. Would Archibald have been better off marrying Barbara in the first place? What do you think Wood's opinion of the matter would be?
Archibald would never have considered offering to marry Isabelle if she hadn't lost her money as she was far above him in status. If he had married Barbara first her very staidness might have made him wish to stray.
9. Was justice served in the case of Hallijohn's murder - did Levison get off lightly due to his position in society as an aristocrat?
Probably, though by the end I'd rather lost interest in that thread. Richard was a total wet blanket who could have sorted everything out if he hadn't run away. Mind you his father, another well drawn character, was rather a tyrant. He should have married Cornelia rather than the woman he did.
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I thought it was disturbing that she was so upset she couldn't name her first son after Archibald that she gave him it as a middle name (Arthur Archibald). She seemed to want to care for her step-children, but didn't really see them as equal to her own children.
I'm glad you are enjoying the book. I found it entertaining on a second read and found I thought more deeply about the issues involved.
1. The story-line of East Lynne is pretty far fetched and contains a lot of unlikely coincidences to keep the plot going. Despite this why do you think it was such a popular magazine serial and then novel and finally theatre production in the 19th century?
Well I was utterly drawn in, and as such I can see that I might not be alone in this. I guess there was a bit of wonder as to what would happen to Lady Isabel, and Mr Carlyle and the subplots that emerged brought about short stories in themselves.
The character of Mr Carlyle makes a dashing hero - somewhat super-human. there are a lot of rather weak women - but that might be endemic of the times.
I did wonder if the book was a "Mills and Boon" of its time.
2. East Lynne was published in 1861, four years after the Matrimonial Causes Act allowed for divorce in cases of adultery (when a woman was the one committing adultery, but not the man), abandonment, bigamy or cruelty. Before this time divorce was based on marriage as a sacrament, rather than a contract and was extremely rare and expensive. Hundreds of people petitioned for divorce in the years following the 1857 Act. Do you feel that Woods is for or against these new divorce reforms, based on the Carlyle's divorce?
I felt that Woods was in favour - Mr Carlyle was a man of immense kindness and integrity, and I felt the way he eradicated Lady Isabel was somewhat out of character. If Woods had not agreed with the divorce, I feel that Mr Carlyle would have followed a different course of actions - and perhaps waited patiently or tried to bring Lady Isabel home and work towards patching things up as much as possible. Divorce was still not a common occurrence and it did fit his personality that he didn't seek to remarry immediately on the back of the divorce but rather waited until he believed Lady Isabel to be dead.
3. There were a number of intertwined plot lines. Did you have a favourite or one you found the most enlightening about the time period?
I always find the courting process of the times fascinating - hugely different from the times now.
I disliked the skittish Afy and the way she ended up betrothed.
4. Leaving aside the murder, was Francis Levison a typical aristocratic cad for his time, or too villainous to be believable?
I struggled to understand the murder of Mr Hallijohn as I never got underneath the motive / series of events that led to it. His risk taking was phenomenal - the treatment of Lady Isabel - and then to a lesser extent Blanche, not really leaving the area where he had committed the murder, his debts - all pointed to someone with an inflated sense of entitlement. It seems that such behaviours still last out to various degrees today amongst many of us and so yes to being believable.
5. Could the Lady Isabelle returning as governess plot line been more believable if written differently, or do you think Woods should have changed that plot line entirely?
The writing of this part was very amusing to me. The description of her with her clothing, her background, and the spectacles (and the wonder of having an optician to hand when she broke them!) and the conversations that she had where the Carlyle family really spilled their guts - I found it farcical.
I did think it sad that her character seemed to weaken over time rather than become stronger, she started off as a sensitive flower but never seemed to find her backbone.
6. How much responsibility did Cornelia Carlyle bear for making Lady Isabelle's marriage difficult compared to other factors such as Isabelle not really loving Archibald Carlyle, Francis Levison's romantic pursuit and the amount of time Archibald spent with Barbara Hare?
I thought Lady Cornelia's behaviour was very in tune with other books I have read around the time, the rather passive-aggressive (well perhaps more aggressive than the passive) controlling behaviour. I found her to be one of the more credible characters. And as such, Lady Isabel, I would have thought, have grown up with such personalities and found a way through. But she seemed to flail at every junction. I thought she could have found a way through one or maybe two of these challenges - Lady Cornelia, Francis Levison, and Barbara Hare - but the combination of the three of them, along with her rather flakey personality created a perfect storm.
It was surprising (to me) that her children weren't enough for her.
7. Do you trust Barbara to be a good stepmother to Lady Isabelle's children and treat them equally to her own children? What did you make of her parenting style and choices?
I wasn't sure about the role of the step-mother in these situations. Is it about employing the right staff, or what. Certainly, she was much more preoccupied with her own children for the most part - although there is the moment when she rescues William in the "fire". Mr Carlyle demonstrated that all his children were important to him and I think Barbara knew that she had to be mindful of this and not push things too far.
8. Would Archibald have been better off marrying Barbara in the first place? What do you think Wood's opinion of the matter would be?
A lot of heartache would have been spared had Lady Isabel and Mr Carlyle married - and likely or not - where would the drama have lain!
9. Was justice served in the case of Hallijohn's murder - did Levison get off lightly due to his position in society as an aristocrat?
Being in prison doesn't sound much fun, probably even less than then now. But again, his sentence being reduced to life was a surprise and probably less fair on his wife than anyone else.
1. The story-line of East Lynne is pretty far fetched and contains a lot of unlikely coincidences to keep the plot going. Despite this why do you think it was such a popular magazine serial and then novel and finally theatre production in the 19th century?
I agree with Sarasa that this book, originally published in serial form, would have been like today's soap operas. Perhaps the novel theme of divorce attracted readers as well and I guess a lot of people like melodrama.
2. East Lynne was published in 1861, four years after the Matrimonial Causes Act allowed for divorce in cases of adultery (when a woman was the one committing adultery, but not the man), abandonment, bigamy or cruelty. Before this time divorce was based on marriage as a sacrament, rather than a contract and was extremely rare and expensive. Hundreds of people petitioned for divorce in the years following the 1857 Act. Do you feel that Woods is for or against these new divorce reforms, based on the Carlyle's divorce?
On reflection I'm not sure if Woods supported divorce or not, given Carlyle waited until Isabelle's death to remarry. He believed he was still married in a spiritual sense and would be committing adultery to remarry while she was alive. However he acted very quickly on the divorce and never regretted his decision. He forgave Isabelle in the end, but only on her deathbed. By his divorce he granted Isabelle the chance to marry again, so he could have punished her in a worse way by refusing to divorce her.
There were plenty of other characters with bad marriages where no inkling of divorce was suggested. Mrs. Hare would have found it hard to prove her husband's cruelty even if she had wanted to divorce. The younger Lord Mount Severn probably had grounds for divorce, as the book hinted his wife was not faithful,but I don't think he believed in it. Was it possible he was also off having affairs in all the time he spent away from his unlikable wife?
3. There were a number of intertwined plot lines. Did you have a favourite or one you found the most enlightening about the time period?
I definitely found the political plot line more interesting this time round, from a historical point of view and to compare to the present day. It was interesting that someone like Francis Levison could be nominated by the government to be their candidate in a by-election totally based on his connections and class rather than ability.
Nobody would get away with ducking a political candidate in the pond these days though (rightfully). Was this accepted because all the local lawmen were on Carlyle's side? Given they perpetrators could not vote due to not owning land is it more sympathetic that they could show their political allegiance in other ways, or were they just doing what their employer would have liked? It was interesting that non-landowning men had to pander to their employer's political views and couldn't even publicly hold an opposing view. The women in the book did not even seem to be considering if they should have the right to vote, not even Cornelia.
4. Leaving aside the murder, was Francis Levison a typical aristocratic cad for his time, or too villainous to be believable?
Francis did seem fairly typical for his time. Certainly many men of his class would think nothing of having a relationship outside marriage with women of Afy's class, even when engaged or married. Affairs among the upper class, who often married for position or wealth rather than love, were also common, though most people seemed to remain married to their spouses.
5. Could the Lady Isabelle returning as governess plot line been more believable if written differently, or do you think Woods should have changed that plot line entirely?
It was all a bit coincidental that Lady Isabelle was recommended to fill the position at East Lynne in the first place. Perhaps she could have come back to town in disguise and found employment independently and endeavoured to see her children that way? I did think it was a bit much how many times people criticised her to her face, not realising who she was. They really rubbed in how sinful she was!
6. How much responsibility did Cornelia Carlyle bear for making Lady Isabelle's marriage difficult compared to other factors such as Isabelle not really loving Archibald Carlyle, Francis Levison's romantic pursuit and the amount of time Archibald spent with Barbara Hare?
Without the other factors I think eventually Lady Isabelle would have found the courage to ask Cornelia to live elsewhere. She was very young when she got married and didn't have the confidence or household management skills to feel she could stand up to her. Archibald really should have explained more about why he had to see Barbara so often. In the same circumstance I would have suspected him too.
Cornelia probably would have been a lot less controlling in the personal sphere if she had been allowed to study to become a lawyer. It was stated she had the intelligence to study law, but of course could not as a woman.
7. Do you trust Barbara to be a good stepmother to Lady Isabelle's children and treat them equally to her own children? What did you make of her parenting style and choices?b]
I wonder how deep a relationship Barbara would have developed with her children given she left raising them largely to others. She was a reasonably good stepmother, but definitely felt more for her own children. At least she always treated her stepchildren with kindness and looked out for their welfare. Interestingly she seemed to have been brought up in a much closer relationship with her own mother.
8. Would Archibald have been better off marrying Barbara in the first place? What do you think Wood's opinion of the matter would be?
He would have been better of marrying Barbara, but maybe he appreciated her more after his bad first marriage. He did seem to fall in love with Barbara, even after having always seen her as a sister and perhaps having a crush on Ann Hare, however his love did not seem the same as that he had for Lady Isabelle. Perhaps he should have gotten his act together and proposed to Ann Hare before someone else did!
9. Was justice served in the case of Hallijohn's murder - did Levison get off lightly due to his position in society as an aristocrat?
In a time when people were hung for far less than murder, I feel Levison got off easy due to his class. Richard would more likely have got a death sentence and somebody of a lower class than Hallijohn certainly would.