[1] Lady Isabel Vane, a beautiful and refined young woman, is distraught when her beloved father dies suddenly.

Suspicious of the relationship, Isabel leaves her husband and their infant children to elope with aristocratic but poor Captain Francis Levison.

Isabel, in disguise and under a new name, takes the position of governess in the household of her former husband and his new wife (Barbara Hare), allowing her to be close to her children.

The pressure of maintaining a façade (wearing blue glasses, adopting a foreign accent) to disguise her identity and being constantly reminded that her husband has moved on physically weakens Isabel.

[3] It became so common that theatres stuck with a badly received play would assuage audiences with the hopeful promise, "Next week, East Lynne!

The play was staged so often that critic Sally Mitchell estimates that some version was seen by audiences in either England or North America every week for more than 40 years.

"[4] The most successful version was written by Clifton W. Tayleur for actress Lucille Western, who was paid $350 a night for her performance as Isabel Vane.

[6] In the 1970s, a TV dramatisation was broadcast from the City Varieties Theatre in Leeds, with the audience all in Victorian costume and Queen Victoria in the royal box.

The story was filmed in 1982, in a BBC made-for-television production starring amongst Martin Shaw, Gemma Craven, Lisa Eichhorn, Jane Asher, Annette Crosbie and Tim Woodward.

[10] A radio serial was produced in Australia in 1939 with Queenie Ashton (as Lady Isabel) and Ronald Morse (as Francis Levison).