Book description
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.
Anthony Trollope (1815 - 1882) established a successful career in the
Post Office whilst also writing over forty novels, plus short stories.
He enjoyed considerable acclaim during his lifetime. He is best
remembered for the Barsetshire Chronicles.
Stephen Wall has edited other works for Penguin Classics, including
Bleak House, Little Dorrit and Great Expectations.
