This was Trollope's last completed novel, and he may have acquired his sympathy for older lovers with age! A not-so-very-old man, Mr. Whittlestaff, dearly loves Mary Lawrie, the girl he provides a home for after her father's death. He wishes to marry her, and she reluctantly accepts him, but warns him of her deep regard for a young man she had known years earlier. That Mr. Gordon had not exactly engaged her, but had gone off to seek his fortune and had not communicated with Mary ever since. Shortly after Mary accepts Mr. Whittlestaff, Gordon shows up. Trollope works out a final arrangement which resolves the quandary, but not with comfort. (Arnold Banner)

This is the story of the Macdermots of Ballycloran the story is about the tragic demise of a landowning family. Larry Macdermot lives in a dilapidated mansion in Co. Leitrim, whose mortgage to Joe Flannelly he cannot keep up. Enmity between the Macdermot and Flannelly families is sharpened by son Thady's having declined to marry Joe Flannelly's daughter, Sally. Macdermot's daughter, Feemy, is herself seduced by the locally hated English police officer, Captain Myles Ussher. This was Trollope's first published novel, which he began in September 1843 and completed by June 1845. However, it was not published until 1847.

Marion Fay (1882) offers a pair of romances, each involving a match between one titled personage and one commoner. The misalliances lead to the typical strains between parental desires and romantic wishes of the young. The novel’s primary characters have such noble dispositions that Trollope was impelled to create several far more interesting minor characters who either threaten mayhem or provide amusing diversions.

Billed as a satire concerning the dishonest advertising and business practices of the day, it tells the tale of an upstart clothing business doomed from the get-go to utter failure. Its senior partner (the elderly Brown, who provides the investment) is far too timid for business. His son-in-law (Jones, who runs the store) is stealing from the till, and the junior partner, Robinson (who writes advertisements for the store) is so obsessed with the idea that advertising alone will drive the business, he uses up every last penny of the capital investment in a series of increasingly ludicrous ad campaigns and publicity stunts...

As usual, Trollope creates a nice variety of characters of different English classes, sentiments and positions. The primary themes are the inheritance of property, extravagance or reason in the spending of assets, the mating of young people, and the electoral practices of the time. The election chapters are based on Trollope's own experiences when he ran for Parliament.There are, of course, many subplots which allow Trollope to express, through dialog, his opinions about greed, snobbery, work ethics and dandyism...

A romance set in Prague between a Catholic and a Jew. In this short novel, Trollope moves away from his usual milieu to explore a theme which has universal resonance.

reader Nicholas Clifford calls this Trollope's best novel in his introduction to the collaborative version of this fine novel - and he is right! A wonderful study of its central character, the proud, irascible, tormented, poverty-stricken clergyman, Josiah Crawley, who pays a heavy price for his human failings when he is brought to trial for the alleged theft of a cheque for twenty pounds. The trial is the source of much grief for his long-suffering family, not least his wife Mary and daughter Grace , whilst the Reverend Crawley reminds us more and more of a mad King Lear on the heath.

The Warden is the first novel in Anthony Trollope's series known as the "Chronicles of Barsetshire", making fun of the Church of England of his time, together with the religious controversies, and the press. It was his fourth novel. The Warden concerns Mr Septimus Harding, the meek, elderly warden of Hiram's Hospital and precentor of Barchester Cathedral, in the fictional county of Barsetshire.The story concerns the impact upon Harding and his circle when a zealous young reformer, John Bold, launches a campaign to expose the disparity in the apportionment of the charity's income between its object, the bedesmen, and its officer, Mr Harding...

Barchester Towers, published in 1857, is the 2nd novel in Anthony Trollope's series known as the "Chronicles of Barsetshire". It follows on from The Warden, set some years later, with some of the same characters. Among other things it satirises the then raging antipathy in the Church of England between High Church and Evangelical adherents. Trollope began writing this book in 1855. He wrote constantly, and made himself a writing-desk so he could continue writing while travelling by train. "Pray know that when a man begins writing a book he never gives over," he wrote in a letter during this period...

An ordinary village girl's plans for the future with her long-standing beau are threatened when he is seen to be an attractive prospect by a local noble family Trollope's novella works through the consequences with typical affection and sensitivity. - Summary by Anthony Ogus

Romance and crime in the mid-19th century British Civil Service. In this early novel,Trollope draws on his own experiences as a junior clerk in the General Post Office to provide an entertaining and moving account of how ambition within the service can affect friendship and love.

These 'tales' describe a series of encounters between various magazine editors and those who wish to have their works published. While containing some amusing bits, the tales are relatively grim, compared to most Trollope stories. The Turkish Bath: This editor, visiting a Turkish bath, is accosted by an Irish stranger, who, after some conversation, requests to submit a manuscript to the magazine. The editor's reactions to the solicitation and subsequent familiarity with the writer's circumstances forms the frame of the story...

In the small English Town of Plumplington the daughter of a brewer and that of a banker each has selected her future husband contrary to the wishes of her father. Both young men are regarded as not 'good enough', though each is, in fact, much like the respective father when at that age. The girls, with the support of various townspeople, endeavor to get their way. One refuses to wear the nice clothes her father so much admires her in, while the other takes to her bed and refuses to eat. The fathers, of course, give in, and ultimately agree to the happy ending. (Arnold Banner)

"A Mid-Victorian Christmas Tale"; tells of a night time encounter between relatives who had never before met, resulting in minor injuries, embarassment, and Trollope's usual 'nice' social interactions.

A collection of five stories by Anthony Trollope: Why Frau Frohmann Raised Her Prices; The Lady of Launay; Christmas at Thompson Hall; The Telegraph Girl; and Alice Dugdale

This 1866 book was published in a time of great change in the Church of England. Trollope began as a High Church adherent and then worked his way to a Broad Church stance, a theological liberalism . This book deals with a crisis of faith and a crisis of structural form in the Victorian Church of England. It possesses all the interesting attributes of the novelist’s style. Note on the final chapter: John William Colenso was a British mathematician, theologian, Biblical scholar and social activist, who was the first Church of England Bishop of Natal. His progressive views on biblical criticism and treatment of African natives were controversial. - Summary by David Wales

This book is set in 1980 in the Republic of Britannula, which is a fictional island near New Zealand. It deals with euthanasia as a radical solution to the problem of the aged. The novel is in the form of a personal account written by the President of Britannula about the island's recent history. It has often been said that when the book came out Trollope had reached the age of 67. Interesting is the fact that this is the exact age at which all Britannulans are required by law to retire from their worldly affairs and begin a year of preparation for death.

Framley Parsonage is the fourth novel in Anthony Trollope's series known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire. It was first published in serial form in the Cornhill Magazine in 1860, then in book form in 1861.The hero of Framley Parsonage, Mark Robarts, is a young vicar, settled in the village of Framley in Barsetshire with his wife and children. The living has come into his hands through Lady Lufton, the mother of his childhood friend Ludovic, Lord Lufton. Mark has ambitions to further his career and begins to seek connections in the county's high society...

This is the third book in The Chronicles of Barsetshire, the first two being The Warden and Barchester Towers; however, although some characters from the first two books are referred to, there is no need to read/ listen to them first to enjoy Dr. Thorne. It is mainly concerned with the romantic problems of Mary Thorne, niece of Doctor Thomas Thorne , and Frank Gresham, the only son of the local squire, although Trollope as the omniscient narrator assures the reader at the beginning that the hero is really the doctor...

Gossipy exposés of shenanigans at the heart of government are nothing new. The author, Sir Anthony Weldon , was a courtier of years of experience and standing; his account of court intrigues around the Stuart Kings James I and Charles I was written seemingly in the tense period leading up to the English Civil War in the 1640s, and for a private readership . This text, known as the source for the summing up of James I as "the wisest fool in Christendom", gives us an insider's partisan, at times...

The Proposal is a one act comic farce by Anton Chekhov. In Chekhov’s Russia, marriage was a means of economic stability for most people. They married to gain wealth and possessions. In this play, the concept of marriage is being satirized to show the real purpose of marriage – materialistic gain rather than true love.

This is the first of thirteen volumes of Anton Chekhov’s short stories, translated by Constance Garnett. Anton Chekhov was a Russian doctor who turned to fiction as a hobby, and quickly blossomed into one of the masters of the short story genre. Though he is arguably best known for his dramatic works, such as The Cherry Orchard, his stories are widely considered to be some of the most perfect examples of short fiction ever written. Constance Black Garnett was an English housewife who taught herself Russian as a hobby, and subsequently introduced the English-speaking world to some of the greatest Russian authors, including Chekhov and Dostoevsky...

The Seagull (Russian: Чайка, Chayka) is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The play was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. It dramatises the romantic and artistic conflicts between four characters: the ingenue Nina, the fading leading lady Irina Arkadina, her son the experimental playwright Konstantin Treplyov, and the famous middlebrow story writer Trigorin.

The Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on directing the play as a tragedy. Since this initial production, directors have had to contend with the dual nature of this play. The play concerns an aristocratic Russian woman and her family as they return to the family's estate (which includes a large and well-known cherry orchard) just before it is auctioned to pay the mortgage...

Uncle Vanya (subtitled “Scenes From Country Life”) is a tragicomedy by Anton Chekhov. It is set on the failing country estate of a retired professor, Serebrakoff, who returns after a long absence with his beautiful young wife, and throws the household into confusion. Rivalry, unrequited love, illicit romance, and attempted suicide are the result, punctuated throughout by Chekhov’s sad, wistful humor.

Three Sisters is a naturalistic play about the decay of the privileged class in Russia and the search for meaning in the modern world. It describes the lives and aspirations of the Prozorov family, the three sisters (Olga, Masha, and Irina) and their brother Andrei. They are a family dissatisfied and frustrated with their present existence. The sisters are refined and cultured young women who grew up in urban Moscow; however for the past eleven years they have been living in a small provincial town...

The plot centres around Laevsky, who is living in a small seaside town in the Caucasus after running away with another man's wife, Nadyezhda Fyodorovna, amid dreams of starting a new life.The dreams have come to nothing as Laevsky idles away his life drinking and playing cards, and Nadyezhda begins to have other affairs.Laevsky's scheme to run away again, this time without his mistress, brings him into conflict with the rationalist Von Koren, who believes in Darwinian principles of natural selection and extinction of the weak and useless.Matters come to a head when an outburst from Laevsky leads to a duel. Von Koren is determined to teach Laevksy a lesson.(Introduction by Phil)

In 'The Swan Song' an aging actor reminisces about his life and the parts he's played. The piece takes a tragic look at ambition and the sacrifices that must be made in order to succeed. Chekhov’s ability to capture and explore human nature and experience is showcased here.

Anton Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Chekhov practiced as a doctor throughout most of his literary career: "Medicine is my lawful wife", he once said, "and literature is my mistress." Chekhov had at first written stories only for financial gain, but as his artistic ambition grew, he made formal innovations which have influenced the evolution of the modern short story...

Six short stories and a novella by the Russian master. (david wales)

The line between sanity and insanity is blurred in this classic novella by Anton Chekhov. The disillusioned idealist Dr. Rabin is in charge of a provincial lunatic asylum, overseeing with weary, dubious policies a motley group of patients, a group that mirrors in microcosm all of human and especially Russian society. Seeking answers to profound questions, Dr. Rabin enters into dialogues with both staff members and patients, trying to make sense out of what has become of his life, until it becomes less and less clear who is the doctor and who is the patient...