Palliser

This revealing romp through proper society follows three different women who dare to defy Victorian standards. Can You Forgive Her? comically intertwines the stories of three very independent-minded women who each desires to decide her own fate in a world where love comes second to obedience and familial expectations set them apart from their peers. First and foremost is the spirited Alice Vavasor, whose indecision and repeated rejections of two different swains have made her a woman of both substance and suspicion. Equally determined to have her way is the recently widowed Mrs. Greenow, who was married to a wealthy man at a young age, and who can now decide whom she will take as a husband. And finally, there is the tale of the brazen, free-thinking Glencora M'Cluskie, including her rocky marriage to the loving-but hardheaded-Plantagenet Palliser, whose powerful family appears throughout Anthony Trollope's works. In this classic novel of social satire, Trollope's deft humor and biting examination of the lives and legacies of high society remain as entertaining and inviting as ever. Can You Forgive Her? is the 1st book in the Palliser Novels, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

The novel follows three parallel stories of courtship and marriage and the decisions of three strong women: Alice Vavasor, her cousin Glencora Palliser, and her aunt Arabella Greenow. Early on, Alice asks the question: What should a woman do with her life? This theme repeats itself in the dilemmas faced by the other women in the novel. Lady Glencora and her husband Plantagenet Palliser recur in the remainder of the Palliser series.

Alice Vavasor cannot decide whether to marry her ambitious but violent cousin George or the upright and gentlemanly John Grey - and finds herself accepting and rejecting each of them in turn. Increasingly confused about her own feelings and unable to forgive herself for such vacillation, her situation is contrasted with that of her friend Lady Glencora - forced to marry the rising politician Plantagenet Palliser in order to prevent the worthless Burgo Fitzgerald from wasting her vast fortune. In asking his readers to pardon Alice for her transgression of the Victorian moral code, Trollope created a telling and wide-ranging account of the social world of his day.

"Phineas Finn" follows the unpredictable political career of a handsome young Irishman in London. Son of a doctor and himself an unsuccessful law student, the charming Finn becomes involved in both the elections of Parliament and a sequence of romantic struggles. Amidst the ups and downs of his chosen profession, Finn becomes involved in turn with first his patroness Lady Laura, then the lovely heiress Violet, then the urbane Madame Goesler, and then his enduring Irish sweetheart Mary Flood Jones. In setting his novel against the backdrop of the Reform Bill of 1867 and the rise of the politician Gladstone in England, Trollope paints a fictional narrative of life during the height of British prestige. In combining these historical circumstances with Finn's politics and romances, Trollope relates a realistic and empathic portrayal of the balance between public and personal life. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

Phineas Finn, a red-blooded young Irishman possesing charm and good looks is elected to Parliament by his local borough, and in London he wins the love of the influential Lady Laura Kennedy. With her help, his Parliamentary career advances, but this is secondary to the social and sexual intrigues that beset Phineas. He encounters the lovely Violet Effingham, the mysterious Madame Max Goesler - one of Trollope's finest characters - the madcap Lord Chiltern, and is forced to fight a duel.

Finn is the only son of a successful Irish doctor who sends him to London to become a lawyer. His academic achievements were modest, but he made many influential friends. One of them, a politician, Barrington Erle, suggests that he stand for Parliament in the coming election. At first, the idea seems absurd. Finn is supported solely by a modest allowance from his father, but a stroke of luck clears his path.

An adventurous Irishman sets out to find his fortune among proper English society in this classic novel from Anthony Trollope. Sent to London to become a lawyer, young Phineas Finn proves himself to be a disappointing student but truly gifted in the ways of charm, culture, and fine appearance. It is the discovery of these talents that ultimately leads him to what he believes is his true calling: English Parliament. Through sheer luck and pluck, dashing, innocent Phineas is able to win a seat on the bench, but the real journey begins as he tours the labyrinthine halls of those who hold sway over their fellow men-and the practical and romantic quandaries he must navigate if he is to advance himself. Finding both victory and defeat, love and loneliness, the path Phineas strides is one of confidence and humanity as he seeks to fulfill his wants and desires while holding true to his convictions both in his own life and in the ever-changing arena of political expediency. In Phineas Finn, Anthony Trollope invites readers to follow an irrepressible, good-minded protagonist in a comical, exciting, heartbreaking tale that resonates as much today as it did upon its first publication. Phineas Finn is the 2nd book in the Palliser Novels, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Tells of the career of a hot-blooded middle-class politician whose sexual energies bring him much success with women.

Lizzie Greystock, a fortune-hunter, ensnares the sickly, dissipated Sir Florian Eustace and is soon left a very wealthy widow and mother. While clever and beautiful, Lizzie has several character flaws; the greatest of these is an almost pathological delight in lying, even when it cannot benefit her. Before he dies, the disillusioned Sir Florian discovers all this, but does not think to change the generous terms of his will.

This is the third of Trollope's Palliser novels and one of his most compelling works. The plot centres on the fabulous necklace owned by the Eustace family, which the beautiful but ruthless opportunist Lizzie, claims as her own after she marries Sir Florian Eustace for his money and becomes his widow after only a few months. Lizzie plots to keep the necklace, while at the same time she spreads her net over several prospective new suitors, in order to entrap another husband to keep her in the manner to which she has so rapidly become accustomed. This novel is both a gripping detective story and a fascinating study of moral duplicity.

For an ambitious, keenly intelligent woman, lying proves to be the easiest way to get through life, in this Victorian-era classic. Lizzie Greystock is a woman of rare cunning and determination-both of which she uses to better her lot in life. This is especially true when she manages to convince the ailing Sir Florian Eustace to marry her shortly before his demise, leaving Lizzie both a wealthy widow and the mother to Florian's young son. A born deceiver, Lizzie is easily able to keep up the front of a proper mourning widow. But while her inherited wealth provides her with comfort, her true love is saved for the opulent diamond necklace her late husband gifted to her. Though it is a family heirloom, she adamantly refuses to give it up, and it soon becomes the focus of her life and the lives of those around her. The story of one woman's ability to mask her true self and manipulate those who would do the same, The Eustace Diamonds shows the true mastery of witty storytelling and social mores that made Anthony Trollope a revered author. The Eustace Diamonds is the 3rd book in the Palliser Novels, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

In this novel, the characters of Plantagenet Palliser, his wife Lady Glencora and their uncle the ailing Duke of Omnium are in the background. The story centers on Lizzie Greystock, a fortune hunter who ensnares the sickly, dissipated Sir Florian Eustace and is soon left a very wealthy widow and mother. While clever and beautiful, Lizzie has several character flaws; the greatest of these is an almost pathological delight in lying, even when it cannot benefit her.

The ever-ambitious Irish rogue Phineas Finn is pulled back into the game of Parliamentary politics in this classic novel from Anthony Trollope. After his beloved wife dies in childbirth, a bored and restless Phineas Finn is compelled to seek out the never-ending war of will and words within the English Parliament. Still considered a promising prospect of the younger generation, he is welcomed back into the fold. Upon his return to London, Phineas renews his friendship with the wealthy widow Madame Max Goesler, whose offer of marriage he had once turned down. But he soon finds an enemy in Mr. Bonteen, who distrusts Phineas's loyalty to the party, and the two become harsh rivals. And when Bonteen is murdered, Phineas finds both his political fortunes and his very life in the balance. With his trademark humor and humanity, Anthony Trollope takes readers on another adventure full of heart and hope. As with the captivating Phineas Finn, Phineas Redux will have you rooting for this irrepressible protagonist all over again. Phineas Redux is the 4th book in the Palliser Novels, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

After the death of his Irish wife, Phineas Finn returns to London and to the House of Commons. But though drawn back apparently irresistibly, he never approaches politics with the zest of earlier days. What Trollope describes, in some of his most powerful writing, is a sad, at times almost sombre, progress towards maturity and self-wisdom.

The Palliser family comes to the forefront in a classic novel of politics and propriety from the series that inspired the BBC serial The Pallisers. With the Whigs and Tories at a standstill in attempts to form a working government, a compromise is finally reached, and the hardworking-and hardheaded-Plantagenet Palliser is installed as prime minister. But even as he gets used to the power and privilege of the high office, Palliser slowly and distressingly realizes that the government he leads is too fragile and disparate to actually accomplish anything. His own obstinate nature does not help matters. At home, Palliser's wife, Glencora, causes more chaos as she attempts to support her husband in any way, going as far as to suggest that her daughter's dubious suitor attempt to stand for Parliament. Subject to political embarrassment and personal turmoil, the Palliser family will have to decide on whose side they stand if they are to survive major scandal. In the penultimate installment of his epic Victorian saga, Anthony Trollope interweaves every last thread in anticipation of a truly climactic dénouement. The Prime Minister is the 5th book in the Palliser Novels, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Despite a decreasing popularity throughout his career, Anthony Trollope (1815-1882) has become one of the most notable and respected English novelists of the Victorian Era. His penetrating novels on political, social and gender issues of his day have placed him among such nineteenth century literary icons as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and George Eliot. Trollope penned 47 novels in his career, in addition to various short stories, travel books and biographies. A newfound interest in politics led to the publication of "The Prime Minister" in 1876, one of a group of novels sometimes called Trollope's parliamentary novels. This novel tells of the successes, troubles, and eventual failure of what the author calls the completed picture of a statesman, who should have "rank, and intellect, and parliamentary habits, by which to bind him to the service of his country . . . he should also have unblemished, unextinguishable, inexhaustible love of country" (from Trollope's Autobiography).

When neither the Whigs nor the Tories are able to form a government on their own, a fragile compromise coalition government is formed, with Plantagenet Palliser, the wealthy and hard-working Duke of Omnium, installed as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Duchess, formerly Lady Glencora Palliser, attempts to support her husband by hosting lavish parties at Gatherum Castle in Barsetshire, the family's largest country house, barely used until now.

Despite his mysterious antecedents, an unscrupulous financial speculator, Ferdinand Lopez, aspires to marry into respectability and wealth and join the ranks of British society. One of the nineteenth century's most memorable outsiders, Lopez's story is set against that of the ultimate insider, Plantagenet Palliser, Duke of Omnium, who reluctantly accepts the highest office of state, becoming "the greatest man in the greatest country in the world." The Prime Minister is the fifth in Trollope's six-volume Palliser series and a wonderfully subtle portrait of a marriage, political expediency, and misplaced love. Nicholas Shrimpton's introduction explores the many strands of this complex novel, the role of the "outsider" Ferdinand Lopez, and Trollope's great skill in integrating the two themes of love and politics, the marriage of Palliser and Lady Glencora and that of Emily Wharton and Ferdinand Lopez. The book includes a compact biography of Trollope, a wealth of useful explanatory notes, and a valuable appendix which outlines the chronology of the Palliser novels, providing a unique understanding of the series as a linked narrative.

Plantagenet Palliser must face new challenges and a changing world if he is to hold his family together in the final installment of the Palliser Novels. After losing his devoted wife, Glencora, Duke Plantagenet Palliser takes on a task he has never had the time or skills to bother with before: dealing with his children. Palliser has never been a doting father, what with the responsibilities of title and duty constantly beckoning him away, but now his government no longer needs him. And it does not take him long to realize that his children have somehow become adults of their own accord-though not for the better. Unbeknownst to Palliser, his late wife had given their daughter, Lady Mary, her blessing to pursue a courtship with a poor gentleman friend of the duke's eldest son, Lord Silverbridge. Meanwhile, Silverbridge has followed his father's wishes by entering Parliament only to become enamored with an American heiress who refuses to marry unless Palliser willingly welcomes her into the family. And Palliser's youngest, Lord Gerald, has managed to get himself expelled from Oxford. With such odds set against him, the duke will have to find it within himself to change, to face the end of the proper world he has always known, and to accept the new world his family has embraced for the good of all. With The Duke's Children, Anthony Trollope brings one of the great classic Victorian sagas to a close. The Duke's Children is the 6th book in the Palliser Novels, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Lady Glencora, the wife of Plantagenet Palliser, the Duke of Omnium, dies unexpectedly, leaving the Duke to deal with their grownup children, with whom he has a somewhat distant relationship. As the government in which he is Prime Minister has also fallen, the Duke is left bereft of both his beloved wife and his political position.

Plantagenet Palliser, the Duke of Omnium and former Prime Minister of England, is widowed and wracked by grief. Struggling to adapt to life without his beloved Lady Glencora, he works hard to guide and support his three adult children. Palliser soon discovers, however, that his own plans for them are very different from their desires. Sent down from university in disgrace, his two sons quickly begin to run up gambling debts. His only daughter, meanwhile, longs passionately to marry the poor son of a county squire against her father's will. But while the Duke's dearest wishes for the three are thwarted one by one, he ultimately comes to understand that parents can learn from their own children. The final volume in the Palliser novels, "The Duke's Children" (1880) is a compelling exploration of wealth, pride and ultimately the strength of love.

The work begins after the unexpected death of Plantagenet Palliser's beloved wife, Lady Glencora. Though wracked by grief over his loss, this Duke of Omnium and former Prime Minister must now become more involved in the lives of his three grown children. He soon discovers that this will be quite the challenge, for his son and heir Lord Silverbridge has been sent down from Oxford, his second son Lord Gerald is not doing well at Cambridge, and his daughter Lady Mary wishes to make an 'unsuitable' marriage. The widower is concerned for the principles of lineage they should represent, but seem reluctant to uphold. Through a series of circumstances, the Duke learns of the difficulties of weighing natural inclination and duty, progress against tradition, and especially of the strength of love in the face of wealth and pride.

Three novels of propriety and politics in Victorian England-the basis for the BBC adaptation. Also known as the Parliamentary Novels, the first three books in Anthony Trollope's renowned series follow the lives of an aristocrat, his wife, and the political and social circles in which they move. Can You Forgive Her?: This revealing romp through proper society follows three different women who dare to defy Victorian standards. Phineas Finn: An adventurous Irishman sets out to find his fortune among proper English society-and winds up entering the world of Parliament. The Eustace Diamonds: An ambitious, keenly intelligent woman finds that lying is the easiest way to get through life.

Three novels of an aristocratic British family and the world of parliamentary politics-the basis for the BBC adaptation. Phineas Redux: The ever-ambitious Irish rogue Phineas Finn, now widowed and restless, is pulled back into the game of parliamentary politics. The Prime Minister: With the Whigs and Tories at a standstill in their attempts to form a working government, a compromise is finally reached and Plantagenet Palliser is installed as prime minister-but it will soon bring turmoil, both personal and professional. The Duke's Children: Plantagenet Palliser must face new challenges and a changing world if he is to hold his family together in the final installment of the Palliser Novels.