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.

East Lynne is the archetypal sensation novel, filled with disaster, guilt and repentance. It also documents the growing protest against the rigid roles prescribed for Victorian women. Among the many appendices included are a selection of Victorian medical views on men, women, and sexuality.