The Way We Live Now Illustrated edition by Anthony Trollope Literature Fiction eBooks
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Often considered Trollope's greatest novel, this satire of British life, written in 1875, leaves no aspect of society unexamined. Through his large cast of characters, who represent many levels of society, Trollope examines the hypocrisies of class, at the same time that he often develops sympathy for these characters who are sometimes caught in crises not of their own making. Filling the novel with realistic details and providing vivid pictures of the various settings in which the characters find themselves, Trollope also creates a series of exceptionally vibrant characters who give life to this long and sometimes cynical portrait of those who move the country.
Lady Carbury, her innocent daughter Henrietta (Hetta), and her attractive but irresponsible son Felix are the family around which much of the action rotates. They are always in need of money and Lady Carbury writes pap novels to support the family (and Felix's drinking and gambling). In contrast to the Carburys, and just as important to the plot, are the Melmottes. Augustus Melmotte, who has come from Vienna under a cloud of financial suspicions, has acquired a huge estate for himself, his foreign wife, and his marriageable daughter. Boorish, but determined to become a leader of society, Melmotte provides moments of humor for the reader, though he is scorned by an aristocracy which is nevertheless beholden to him for his investments.
When Melmotte becomes the major investor in a plan to build a railway from California to Mexico, Paul Montague, a young businessman who has invested in a railroad in America, arrives in town. A ward of Roger Carbury, cousin of Felix and Hetta, he soon finds himself in love with Hetta--and in competition with Roger for her hand. Felix courts the Melmottes' daughter for her fortune, and she falls in love with him while he dallies with a local domestic worker. Investors dash to buy shares in the Mexican railway, with their investments ending in the sticky hands of Melmotte, who has bigger plans.
Often addressing the reader directly, Trollope fills the novel with action and subplots which illustrate a wide variety of themes, often depicting his characters satirically to illustrate the social, political, and financial ills of the day. Ahead of his time for his depiction of the lively, intelligent woman whose role is defined (and limited) by her social and financial position, Trollope creates a number of resourceful women--and a number who are willing to do almost anything to marry a wealthy man. As is customary in Victorian novels, the good are rewarded here, and the evil are punished, but Trollope's characters, unlike those by Dickens, for example, usually control their own destinies. Broad in scope, thoughtful in construction, complete in its depiction of 1870s' England, filled with wonderful characters, and absolutely engrossing to read, The Way We Live Now is one of the great novels of the nineteenth century.
The Way We Live Now Illustrated edition by Anthony Trollope Literature Fiction eBooks
This was a riveting novel, for reasons I did not expect. I gave it 4.5 stars and not 5 simply because I felt it stretched on a bit long and was quite repetitious in certain areas. Watching the cast of characters (a sorry lot of reproachable and generally dissolute people) slog through their corrupt and embarrassing problems was very interesting. I kept waiting for the ground to begin to erode beneath “The Great Man” Melmotte, or the absolutely despicable Felix Carbury, to name only two. There is one stellar exception to the dismal personalities in the book, and that is Sir Roger Carbury, who is a voice of reason in the midst of utter foolishness. I also felt rather deeply for Georgiana Longstaffe, even though her background and values were nothing hugely admirable. Definitely worth reading, and I think most readers will see parallels between the 1870s and the 21st century, since people are still living well beyond their means and deceiving themselves about it.Product details
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The Way We Live Now Illustrated edition by Anthony Trollope Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
Trollope's magnum opus, according to many. The Guardian included it in a list of the 100 best novels in English.
Most of Trollope's work was big, and some of it quite great. Anyway, I always find him enjoyable, if sometimes too much stuck in unwinding the knots of his plots. Those pains often spoil the last 50 to 100 pages. The master didn't master the art of brevity and omission.
The plot driver of this big novel (100 chapters!) is a financial swindle about a big American railway project and the related fundraising in London society. Trollope shows himself quite the psychologist on the subject of financial confidence tricks, and of public reactions to them. A solid amount of anti-semitism comes into play, and one wonders if Trollope writes as a faithful observer of society, or if he discloses some personal attitudes of his own.
Money worries and match making shenanigans of English aristocrats and landed gentry provide further amusement, as do politics and gambling. Hunting can never fail to happen in Trollope, but is kept a a bare minimum here.
While I enjoyed reading it at a leisurely pace, not too much in one go, I remember that I was emotionally more invested in Trollope's Barchester Series, or in the Palliser novels. Maybe that's because there isn't any really interesting person in this whole long story. Or maybe I am getting too cynical with age anyway.
This is one of the best of Trollope's novels. It is set in the late Nineteenth Century (1870s) when things are changing and people, some at least, live differently than in earlier times.
For one thing there is Lady Carbury, widowed and trying to supplement a small income by writing novels of all things! She has a son, Sir Felix Carbury, who is the complete lout. There is not much new in his case. He has squandered his own inheritance in drinking and gambling at cards, and is the near-ruin of two women in the story. His sister Hetta is a beauty and of course in a Trollope novel is pursued by two men. Hetta's rejection of the rich and steady man against all family advice is perhaps not new, but it is something that happens more frequently in "modern" times.
The really new thing is the appearance of a modern financier, Mr. Melmotte. He uses leverage, watered stock and ponzi-like schemes to build a huge house of financial cards (think Bernie Madoff et al.). He entertains the visiting Emperor of Japan and English royalty and gets himself a seat in the House of Commons. Along the way he fleeces the old landed aristocracy represented by Mr. Longstaffe whose daughter Georgiana is particularly afflicted. Georgiana is of marriageable age but when her father must lose his house in London (due to Melmotte's scheming) Georgiana has no access to the London marriage market. She first contemplates marrying a rich Jew but family outrage puts a stop to that. Ultimately she is left with no better choice than to run off with an impoverished curate.
I won't say what becomes of Melmotte, but it's dramatic.
As an author who can develop and write wholly believable and interesting characters I rate Trollope on the top tier, along with Austen and Tolstoy. Other really excellent novels by Trollope include "Barchester Towers," "Dr. Thorne," "Can You Forgive Her," "The Eustace Diamonds," "Phineas Finn," "Phineas Redux," "The Prime Minister," and "The Three Clerks," at least these are my favorites.
The late nineteenth century story of a well to do con man who out of vanity runs for political office based on his perceived wealth even though he knows absolutely nothing about government. The story chronicles all of the poor saps who are pulled into his circle and the various falls they take as a result. Of course, in typical Trollop style, there are ample humorously tragic sub-plots as well. It's a very engaging read. I really enjoyed it.
This was a riveting novel, for reasons I did not expect. I gave it 4.5 stars and not 5 simply because I felt it stretched on a bit long and was quite repetitious in certain areas. Watching the cast of characters (a sorry lot of reproachable and generally dissolute people) slog through their corrupt and embarrassing problems was very interesting. I kept waiting for the ground to begin to erode beneath “The Great Man” Melmotte, or the absolutely despicable Felix Carbury, to name only two. There is one stellar exception to the dismal personalities in the book, and that is Sir Roger Carbury, who is a voice of reason in the midst of utter foolishness. I also felt rather deeply for Georgiana Longstaffe, even though her background and values were nothing hugely admirable. Definitely worth reading, and I think most readers will see parallels between the 1870s and the 21st century, since people are still living well beyond their means and deceiving themselves about it.
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