There is a Great House at Allington, occupied by Squire Dale, a bachelor lord, and there is a Small House at Allington, that he has given to the use of his brother’s widow and her two girls. I very much like Squire Dale, who tries to do well and be fair to everyone and gets too little credit for it, particularly from those for whom he has so provided. He is awkward and insecure when it comes to expressing his emotions toward his nieces, as might be expected from a man who is a confirmed bachelor and has no children of his own, but this awkwardness leads sometimes to a very unfortunate misunderstanding of the man.

The girls in question, Lily and Bell Dale, are privileged in many ways and poverty stricken in others. They are proud, but also quite naive, particularly when it comes to love and marriage. Enter a group of young men, Adolphus Crosbie, Bernard Dale, Johnny Eames and John Crofts. To say the path of true love never did run smooth is an understatement. No one gets a smooth ride in this novel. There are also the worldly considerations of position and career and the practice of maintaining appearance at whatever cost, themes that Trollope always addresses so beautifully.

Trollope is a witty writer, often making me pause to laugh; and he is an astute writer, often making me stop to think. He reminds me that the more things change the more they remain the same, for his Victorian characters, in the way they feel, could be easily found today.

I could give you the names of some of these people:

Oh, deliver us from the poverty of those who, with small means, affect a show of wealth!

And, heavens I hope this is true, for it often appears that people get away with the unkindness and evil they sow.:

Those who offend us are generally punished for the offence they give; but we so frequently miss the satisfaction of knowing that we are avenged!

And bits of wisdom regarding how the heart works:

It is the view which the mind takes of a thing which creates the sorrow that arises from it. If the heart were always malleable and the feelings could be controlled, who would permit himself to be tormented by any of the reverses which affection meets? Death would create no sorrow, ingratitude would lose its sting; and the betrayal of love would do no injury beyond that which it might entail upon worldly circumstances. But the heart is not malleable; nor will the feelings admit of such control.

This is one of Trollope’s best, although I cannot find fault with a single one of the books in this series. I have the final installment to read and I am hoping that Trollope will have something to say about the future of a few of the characters in this book.




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Slow building, rather unambitious book. I'd say the value here is the minute character examination of Crosby and Eames. Both flawed, but attractive leads. Crosby- smart, up and coming, man about town - everyone wants a piece of him due to his sheen and he falls for our heroine- Lily Dale, she the daughter of the "small house". He proposes, but quickly learn that she has to have nothing of the estate (nothing! shocking) and so he worries about funding. He quickly turns to Alexandrina Courcey, daughter of an earl (!) and proposes to her too (the cad!). Yes, he dumps poor Lily, and finally Eames catches up with Crosby on a train and gives him a good punch in the eye. How that punch is magnified and gloried in for chapters and chapters and pages and pages in this book- whoa! Crosby does marry the grand Alexandrina, but he gets little glory out of it and we see him ruing his choice for the rest of the book. Eames is another mixed character bag. True to Lily all the way except for giving into quick fun with the daughter of a gal at his rooming house- she traps him and he speaks of love and even kisses the tease to seal the deal. He must maneuver his way out of her clutches, but happily he is also a good brave soul (remember that punch? ) who even saves some nearby rich titled fellow from his prize bull going crazy and nearly killing him. Because of that, we know he is due to become rich and successful. But can he get away from the tease and find his way to his true Lily, so treacherously tossed over by the Crosby. You'll have to read to find out. Still- both of these leads are interesting, attractive but pretty well flawed- which is interesting. I also greatly enjoy the dynamic between the Squire of the big house of allington and his widowed sister in law (of the small house). He is presented rather unpleasantly - gruff, isolated and snobby - but slowly revealed to have a heart of gold and just a bit socially awkward. ( )

Trollope once again casts a thousand characters doing almost nothing in this sort of 19th century parlor drama. We get all worked up about various matrimonial and career prospects all centered around that Small House that really isn't in Barsetshire. The main caterwauling is about Mrs. Dale and her two daughters and whether anybody will actually get up the nerve to say what they really want marriage-wise. We're on the edge of our seats as the suspense builds. After about 600 pages half the young people are disappointed in their amours and especially Lily Dale is held up as a model woman because she stays "true" to her rakish and self-centered lover, that "swell" Mr. Crosbie who spurns her for a more financially sound mate. As our gorge rises thinking about good women that know their proper place and duty it finally all finishes and nobody moves out of the Small House.

Trollope likes to make fun of class distinctions but can't quite find a way to really give it up in the end so we're never really sure if he's just fooling. The end would be truly sad except in 19th century fashion Lily just suffers honorably instead of trying to get what she wants even when everyone else throws it in front of her. You want to strangle her just so she'll quit letting herself be the victim. I'm glad I don't live back then or in England even now.

Great fun for the Upstairs-Downstairs, Downton Abbey crowd. I actually find it more fun to read than watch this sort of thing. ( )

Well, that went places I didn't expect. Nothing much happens in this novel - it is more character studies. But id did not end as I expected - kudos to Trollope for that. I don't know why these novels work for me but they do. ( )

The penultimate novel in Trollope’s Barsetshire series, this novel primarily concerns the Dale family:, although it also introduces us to Plantagenet Pallister, the heir to the mighty Duke of Omnium and to hi soon-to-be-wife, Lady Glencora, who will be the main characters in Trollope’s multi-volume political novels.

In this book, the widowed Mrs. Dale and her two daughters Bele & Lily, live in the house of the title rent free as a gift of Mrs. Dale’s much wealthier brother-in-law, the Squire. Bell is being pursued by the squire’s nephew, Bernard (romances of first cousins seemingly very common in these novels) and Lily is worshiped from afar by John Eames, who is seeking his fortune in London.

At the beginning of the novel, Bernard arrives for a visit t his uncle with his friend, Adolphus Crosbie. Crosbie is handsome and charming and soon makes an attachment to Lily. However, upon learning that she will have no dowery from her uncle, the squire, he goes for a visit to the De Cousey family in Barsetshire where the Countess de Courcy views him as fair game and a viable match for her only single daughter still of marriageable age, Alexandrina, and he ends up jilting Lily for what he perceives as greener pastures with an Earl’s daughter.

Lily is heartbroken, but feels that as she still loves Crosbie, she must refuse the much more honorable Mr. Eames and remain true to the lover who has spurned her. Bell also resists the entreaties of Bernard and finds true happiness with the local doctor.

As always, Trollope know the society that he is writing about and the book is full of insights into life in Victorian England as well as subtle humor to the many foibles of his characters. This book is a doorstop, but well worth your time. ( )