Book description
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY D. J. TAYLOR
Alice Vavasor should be married to the sensible, kindly John Grey.
But despite what her respectable relations might think, Alice cannot
quite reconcile herself to this fate. Once upon a time she was engaged
to her wild cousin George, and now he stands in need of her money and,
perhaps too, her good influence. Meanwhile Alice's friend Lady
Glencora has married the rising politician Plantagenet Palliser, but
is still pursued by Burgo Fitzgerald, the handsome rascal she loves.
In this hugely compelling novel,Trollope shows the two women
struggling to reconcile heart, mind and moral code whilst enduring the
stifling scrutiny of their contemporaries.
Anthony Trollope was born on 24 April 1815 and attended both Harrow
and Winchester schools. His family were poor and eventually were forced
to move to Belgium, where his father died. His mother, Frances Trollope,
supported the family through writing. Trollope began a life-long career
in the civil service with a position as clerk in the General Post Office
in London - he is also credited with later introducing the pillar box.
He published his first novel,
The Macdermots of Ballycloran
in 1847, but his fourth novel,
The Warden
(1855) began the series of 'Barsetshire' novels for which he was to
become best known. This series of five novels featuring interconnecting
characters spanned twenty years of Trollope's career as a novelist, as
did the 'Palliser' series. He wrong over 47 novels in total, as well as
short stories, biographies, travel books and his own autobiography,
which was published posthumously in 1883. Trollope resigned from the
Post Office in 1867 and stood for Parliament as a Liberal, though he was
not elected. He died on 6 December 1882.
