The titular woman, Sarah, is living in disgrace in Lyme Regis, she fell in love and was jilted by a French officer. She spends her free time brooding by the sea, despite people's attempts to "redeem" her. She is noticed by a gentleman, Charles, who finds himself drawn towards her, despite his being engaged to a "good" woman.

Sarah is a difficult character to pigeon hole, she is, in many ways, ahead of her time, refusing to fit into society's place for her. For me, this is what makes her a great character, she is determined to choose her own path as much as she can, and is what attracts Charles to her.

A literary device I enjoyed was the interjections of the author. He talks about writing the characters, and how they don't always follow their masters orders, gives us insight into the characters' futures.

Upstairs.