The Eustace diamonds
Following the death of her husband Sir Florian, beautiful Lizzie Eustace mysteriously comes into possession of a hugely expensive diamond necklace. She maintains it was a gift from her husband, but the Eustace lawyers insist she give it up, and while her cousin Frank takes her side, her new lover Lord Fawn states that he will only marry her if the necklace is surrendered. As gossip and scandal intensify, Lizzie's truthfulness is thrown into doubt, and, in her desire to keep the jewels, she is driven to increasingly desperate acts. The third in Trollope's Palliser series, The Eustace Diamonds bears all the hallmarks of his later works, blending dark cynicism with humour and a keen perception of human nature.
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What Hacker News says
- Impressive. Thanks for the link.
I am now on a Trollope binge. That man distilled all of his hard life experiences as musings interspersed between the social dilemmas his characters were facing.
Recommend you start with either the "Eustace Diamonds" or "The small house at Allington".
- I am on a Trollope binge. Just finished:
He knew he was right 800+ pages
Framley Parsonage 700+
Eustace Diamonds 800+
And currently reading:
The small house at Allington 800+
Now, why did I list the pages? Because I have ADHD and it's very hard for me to read even 100 pages. So that should say sth about the quality of writing Trollope has.
I have reviewed them on my blog (link on HN profile). But I will mention here:
Forget Dickens, and any other 18-to-19th century writer from Britain. Trollope is far more intelligent, his prose elegant like well-written code, his style inimitable yet persistent, his works useful but also entertaining and usually hilarious.
According to WKPD:
"It (The small house at Allington) enjoyed a revival in popularity in the early 1990s when the British prime minister, John Major, declared it his favourite book."
Also of interest:
Wilson, Jennifer Preston (2012). “On Honour and Consequences: The Duel in Trollope’s The Small House at Allington.” Dickens Studies Annual: Essays on Victorian Fiction 43: 169–186.
- Antony Trollope says in 'Eustace Diamonds' that he feels in a lot of professions, experience creates more competent people than mere learning. (Rough paraphrase). In other words, you don't get to be truly competent unless you are earning that experience!
