The Eustace Diamonds Illustrated edition by Anthony Trollope Literature Fiction eBooks
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I have only read one Anthony Trollope novel, and I had the very good fortune of having chosen "The Eustace Diamonds." This superbly constructed novel begins with what is probably my favorite opening sentence of a novel--it's right up there with the opening sentence to Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice"
"It was admitted by all her friends, and also by her enemies--who were in truth the more numerous and active body of the two--that Lizzie Greystock had done very well with herself." The second sentence further clarifies Lizzie's character when it goes on with, "We will tell the story of Lizzie Greystock from the beginning, but we will not dwell over it at great length, as we might do if we loved her."
Lizzie Greystock--eventually to become Lady Eustace--is a fascinating combination of cunning and foolishness, of avarice and pitiable character, of steely backbone and whimpering fits. She reminds me so very much of both Emma Bovary and Scarlett O'Hara. Her determination to keep the Eustace family diamonds entirely for herself is what sets the novel in motion, and with this rather simple device, Trollope goes on to spin out a tale which encompasses morality, greed, Victorian social mores, the corrupting influence of money, and the blindness it can cause to everything else of value.
Lizzie is contrasted, with every shade under the sun, with the sweet and constant Lucy Morris. Picture the contrast as one very much like that of Scarlett O'Hara and Melanie Wilkes. "The Eustace Diamonds" is a deliciously satisfying book, and a classic for a very good reason despite having been written in the 19th century, what it has to say reverberates as soundly now as when Trollope first published it. I can't recommend it highly enough.
The Eustace Diamonds Illustrated edition by Anthony Trollope Literature Fiction eBooks
As the dreadful tumult of the Napoleonic era drew to a close in the second decade of the 19th Century, there were born within a few years of each other half a dozen great English novelists: Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, Anthony Trollope and the three Bronte sisters, Anne, Emily and Charlotte. Together with the great novelist Jane Austen who was born a generation earlier, they would utterly dominate the literature of 19th Century England, producing dozens of classics that still delight the world to this day. Typically their heroes – and especially their heroines – were modest, truthful, devout and usually long-suffering, models of virtue and humble grace. True love always was crowned with nuptial garlands and property, meaning money and material prosperity, usually also flowed to the hero and heroine, who lived blissfully ever after.But not always. Anthony Trollope’s novels feature heroes and heroines who were more complicated amalgams of virtues and flaws, and in many ways they are more realistic and interesting as a result. But probably none of them was as deeply shocking as The Eustace Diamonds. It tells the disturbing tale of Lizzie Greystock, who calculatingly marries a Sir Florian Eustace who is dying of tuberculosis, to inherit his wealth and lift herself out of the genteel poverty she cannot bear. He duly passes away, leaving her a wealthy widow and leaving her also the fabulously valuable diamond necklace referred to in the title, which immediately becomes the subject of a long-running dispute between her and her late husband’s family. She married crassly for money and greedily clings to it, and to the family jewels, through all the twists and turns of this delightfully acidic romp through high-Victorian society.
How scandalized the reading public of the time was by a main female character, who was so suavely repulsive. Her own aunt denounces her with the contempt born of familiarity: "She's about as bad as anybody ever was. She's false, dishonest, heartless, cruel, irreligious, ungrateful, mean, ignorant, greedy, and vile!" The wealthy widow spends much of this long book, trying to decide which of four possible husbands, all of whom need to marry money as she herself had done, would be most to her calculated matrimonial advantage. Lord Fawn has his tile and a fairly high position in Government, but he is snobbish and a booby. Her cousin Frank, who is the hero of book, has no title but is a good man who has bright prospects as a barrister; unfortunately, he is already engaged to a modest and likable woman, but this of course does not stop Lizzie.
The third penniless candidate is Lord George, a rakish and despicable rogue who brings a sense of adventure as well as his title. And fourth comes Mr. Emilius, a scheming and disreputable clergyman. And here Trollope really shocks again – portraying a man of the cloth as unscrupulous and repulsive would have been deeply shocking to a contemporary audience. But Lizzie is intrigued by him nonetheless. Here is her view of him: “…he was a greasy, fawning, pawing, creeping, black-browed rascal, who could not look her full in the face, and whose every word sounded like a lie...There was an oily pretense at earnestness in his manner which ought to have told her that he was not fit to associate with gentlemen." Can you imagine?
It is a rollicking, many-faceted story of the great folly of marrying for money and of the resounding sin that lying is, shaking human relationships to their core. The Eustace Diamonds is a delicious dark comedy, with outrageous plot developments; the story twists and turns like a rattlesnake on its fascinating mission of malice. And yet, outraged propriety is rescued at the end, the scoundrels all get their just deserts, the few good people in this rollicking story find their way safely home in the end. It will make you a Trollope fan forever.
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The Eustace Diamonds Illustrated edition by Anthony Trollope Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
One does get tired of Lizzie' endless defense of her right to the diamonds and, as usual, Trollope reiterates too much of the plot. He could never be accused of leaving his reader forgetful of the plot or main characters. I have always found Trollope capable of creating the most unsympathetic players in his stories. To this charge, he answers Who of us knows any true heroes with hearts of gold, whom you would trust at all times, and always spoke the truth, and performed honorably in all situations? So, he says he is only being honest. I will grant him this, since I continue reading him with fascination. As for the tedium, one can always skim. Some interesting 19th century British views on inheritance and heirloom regulations -- issues of significant concern to the pressured aristocratic class of the day.
I suppose one should not criticize an author who cannot response from beyond the grave, so I should begin with the good sides. First, anyone who loves Victorian London (or what's left of it) will enjoy reading the book for the historical geography. Anyone who has spent time walking in the West End can close his or her eyes and let memory and imagination provide the illustrations the book lacks. Second, some will enjoy the author's asides, which explain how he is trying to reinvent the novel's concept of heroes and heroines, villains and villainesses by giving all characters darker and lighter sides. Third, I enjoyed his criticism of the Victorian class systems--the necessity of not marrying out of one's class and the perpetual chase after wealth. Fourth, the use of satire in the names of characters, such as the clinging Mrs. Carbuncle, the ultra-critical Mrs Hittaway, and cowardly Lord Faun . Fifth, Trollope's occasional support of the woman's point of view.
The very bad side? Trollope displays the rampant antisemitism present in Victorian England. The villain-in-chief is a jeweler who is Jewish. When described, his features contain all the stereotypes, and adjectives like dirty appear frequently. Even a Church of England Minister, an emigre from Eastern Europe is called a false Christian who uses his preaching skills to boost his income. He is suspected of really being "a filthy Jew" who wants to marry Lizzie Eustace for her money and class position. His voice is described as oily and his hair as greasy--you get the idea. The picture of society is true to the times, disgusting as it may be.
What a waste of $27.95! I was looking for a great hard copy of a classic and I got junk. As my pictures show, they took a library book and copied it and bound the copy. So, you have a huge, heavy book with small copies of tiny font from an old library book. Many of the pages are greyed out (from copying errors?) rendering them even more unreadable. What a rip off! I plan to complain to . Don't waste your money buying anything from this vendor, buy from a reputable publisher instead.
As the dreadful tumult of the Napoleonic era drew to a close in the second decade of the 19th Century, there were born within a few years of each other half a dozen great English novelists Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, Anthony Trollope and the three Bronte sisters, Anne, Emily and Charlotte. Together with the great novelist Jane Austen who was born a generation earlier, they would utterly dominate the literature of 19th Century England, producing dozens of classics that still delight the world to this day. Typically their heroes – and especially their heroines – were modest, truthful, devout and usually long-suffering, models of virtue and humble grace. True love always was crowned with nuptial garlands and property, meaning money and material prosperity, usually also flowed to the hero and heroine, who lived blissfully ever after.
But not always. Anthony Trollope’s novels feature heroes and heroines who were more complicated amalgams of virtues and flaws, and in many ways they are more realistic and interesting as a result. But probably none of them was as deeply shocking as The Eustace Diamonds. It tells the disturbing tale of Lizzie Greystock, who calculatingly marries a Sir Florian Eustace who is dying of tuberculosis, to inherit his wealth and lift herself out of the genteel poverty she cannot bear. He duly passes away, leaving her a wealthy widow and leaving her also the fabulously valuable diamond necklace referred to in the title, which immediately becomes the subject of a long-running dispute between her and her late husband’s family. She married crassly for money and greedily clings to it, and to the family jewels, through all the twists and turns of this delightfully acidic romp through high-Victorian society.
How scandalized the reading public of the time was by a main female character, who was so suavely repulsive. Her own aunt denounces her with the contempt born of familiarity "She's about as bad as anybody ever was. She's false, dishonest, heartless, cruel, irreligious, ungrateful, mean, ignorant, greedy, and vile!" The wealthy widow spends much of this long book, trying to decide which of four possible husbands, all of whom need to marry money as she herself had done, would be most to her calculated matrimonial advantage. Lord Fawn has his tile and a fairly high position in Government, but he is snobbish and a booby. Her cousin Frank, who is the hero of book, has no title but is a good man who has bright prospects as a barrister; unfortunately, he is already engaged to a modest and likable woman, but this of course does not stop Lizzie.
The third penniless candidate is Lord George, a rakish and despicable rogue who brings a sense of adventure as well as his title. And fourth comes Mr. Emilius, a scheming and disreputable clergyman. And here Trollope really shocks again – portraying a man of the cloth as unscrupulous and repulsive would have been deeply shocking to a contemporary audience. But Lizzie is intrigued by him nonetheless. Here is her view of him “…he was a greasy, fawning, pawing, creeping, black-browed rascal, who could not look her full in the face, and whose every word sounded like a lie...There was an oily pretense at earnestness in his manner which ought to have told her that he was not fit to associate with gentlemen." Can you imagine?
It is a rollicking, many-faceted story of the great folly of marrying for money and of the resounding sin that lying is, shaking human relationships to their core. The Eustace Diamonds is a delicious dark comedy, with outrageous plot developments; the story twists and turns like a rattlesnake on its fascinating mission of malice. And yet, outraged propriety is rescued at the end, the scoundrels all get their just deserts, the few good people in this rollicking story find their way safely home in the end. It will make you a Trollope fan forever.
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