The Small House at Allington

Written at the height of Trollope's popularity, The Small Hosue at Allington (1864) features his most admired heroine, Lily Dale. The sisters Lily and Bell Dale, along with their widowed mother, live on the charity of their uncle, the squire of Allington, who has granted them use of a small house on his estate. While Bell falls in love with the local doctor, Lily's romantic path runs less smoothly. Handsome and ambitious Adolphus Crosbie impulsively proposes to her, but then jilts her in favor of a more advantageous alliance with Lady Alexandrina De Courcy. Though brokenhearted, Lily stubbornly believes herself bound to her faithless fiance and feels compelled to reject her more deserving admirer, the devoted clerk John Earnes. A host of colorful minor characters enliven the story, including the haughty De Courcy family, fussy Sir Raffle Buffle, the blustery Earl De Guest, and the first appearance in print of two of Trollope's most famous recurring characters--the relentless politician Plantagenet Palliser (future Duke of Omnium) and his irrepressible wife, Lady Glencora. In this fifth novel in the Barsetshire series, Trollope displays all the humor, drama, and subtle grasp of character and motive that have, for generations of readers, made his novels a total pleasure to read.