The Small House at Allington

‘The Small House at Allington’ is the fifth in Anthony Trollope’s ‘Chronicles of Barsetshire’ series of novels. The plot centres around the romantic fortunes of young sisters Lily and Bell Dale, who live with their widowed mother in the Small House at Allington thanks to the generosity of their uncle, Squire Dale. Packed with tangled romances and moral dilemmas, this is classic Trollope. In ‘The Small House at Allington’ we are also introduced to some of the most popular recurring Trollope characters, including Lady Glencora and Plantagenet Palliser.

Anthony Trollope (1815 – 1882) was a Victorian writer and author of 47 novels. He also wrote an autobiography, short stories and plays, travel articles, reviews and lectures. A prolific writer, he made no secret of the fact that money was his motivation for writing – an admission which raised eyebrows among his literary contemporaries at the time. The amount of works Trollope authored are testament to his belief in hard work. His first successful novel was The Warden followed by its sequel, Barchester Towers. The Chronicles of Barsetshire are perhaps his most well-known series of novels, though many of his works have been adapted for TV and radio, starring many familiar faces such as Alan Rickman, David Tennant, Bill Nighy and Tom Hollander. Alongside his literary career, Trollope also worked for some time for the Post Office and is credited with the introduction of the iconic post box to Britain. A memorial to Anthony Trollope was unveiled in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey in 1993.