The Small House at Allington

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The Small House at Allington

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1Cariola
Editado: Dic 8, 2007, 12:51 am

I just started reading my first Trollope, The Small House at Allington, and I'm enjoying it immensely. Can't wait to get to some of his others--I think I've found a new love!

2digifish_books
Dic 7, 2007, 10:46 pm

Hi Cariola ~ Welcome aboard! I'm a relative newcomer to Trollope myself, having started the Barset series about a year ago. Trollope wrote so many great books that there is enough to keep me occupied for many years to come!

My order of Lady Anna, Rachel Ray and The Last Chronicle of Barset arrived this week. Pity I have to work this month ;)

3Cariola
Dic 8, 2007, 12:53 am

I will be going slowly with this one, as I have to write two exams, grade 58 exams, 58 analytic papers, and 38 short essays, plus read multiple Blackboard discussions and calculate 96 semester grades by 12/18.

So Trollope will be something to look forward to!

4littlegeek
Dic 26, 2007, 12:00 pm

Just started Small House last night. How is everyone else doing with it?

5Cariola
Dic 28, 2007, 4:09 pm

I finished the novel on my Christmas flight to Texas. Overall, I really enjoyed it, although I was left wondering what happened to Lily Dale and John Eames. Such a silly girl in the end for one who seemed so levelheaded!

6Cariola
Dic 28, 2007, 4:10 pm

Oh, and four Trollopes arrived while I was away: Lady Anna, Cousin Henry, The American Senator, and Castle Richmond. Anyone want to make a recommendation?

7digifish_books
Dic 30, 2007, 4:55 am

>6 Cariola: Lucky you, Cariola! :) I haven't read any of those four books yet, but I have heard good things about both Lady Anna and The American Senator.

8littlegeek
Dic 31, 2007, 2:04 pm

I'm about 1/2 way through Small House, and it strikes me that there isn't all that much difference between the behaviour of Crosbie and Johnny Eames, although it seems as though we are supposed to sympathize with Johnny. He's just as much of a cad to Amelia Roper as Crosbie is to Lily. I guess we're supposed to forgive that because she's so low class and obviously an operator. But if your only way of securing your future was to marry, to what would you stoop? And is the class divide between Amelia & Johnny any more pronounced than between Lily & Crosbie?

Lily is insufferable. Are we supposed to believe that anyone would behave in this way, even a country bumpkin like her?

I'm really enjoying it, but there is a considerable gap between class perceptions of 19th century England and 21st century California.

9Cariola
Dic 31, 2007, 9:31 pm

#8 I know what you mean about Crosbie and Eames. I guess the difference is that Eames always loved Lily and found himself giving in to pressures from Amelia because it was too difficult for him to coldly reject her. In short, he never loved her nor could he ever. But I found his behavior disturbing, too.

Sorry to tell you that Lily only gets worse. My skin crawled when she said she would always think of herself as a widow--Crosbie's widow.

I liked the old earl, the squire, and Lady Julia much better than the young'uns in this novel.

10Grograman Primer Mensaje
Ene 1, 2008, 11:50 pm

Hi all,
I'm relatively new to LT (meaning I just finished putting my profile together about 8 minutes ago). I'm glad to see all of you getting into Trollope. He's an author I found I could sit down with and read no matter what mood I was in. He's never too demanding and yet highly enjoyable in a reserved, measured way. I've read through all six Barset novels and it is well worth it. I see some of you starting with Small House ... just FYI, here's the order:

The Warden, Barchester Towers, Doctor Thorne, Framley Parsonage, Small House, and The Last Chronicle of Barset.

It doesn't really hurt to read them out of order, though. Again, I'm glad to hear of all of you reading Trollope and encourage to continue :)

11littlegeek
Ene 2, 2008, 2:05 pm

Grogman, we aren't reading them out of order, this is just the Small House thread. There's threads on the other books. Welcome to LT! Feel free to comment on the books, the more the merrier!

Anyhoo, I'm almost done, so here's a couple more observations: Why are the oldsters all such busybodies? They're forever trying to hook up the young people. Especially the ones who themselves have stayed single. I'm pretty sure there were plenty of people in Victorian England that stayed single by choice, not just because they had one bad love affair and took themselves out of the running. Trollope makes it seem like Lily's reaction isn't that extreme what with Lady Julia & the squire. Then again, Miss Spruce is pretty cool.

There's this "upstairs, downstairs" kind of vibe, too, with similar assignations going on with the nobility and the lower classes: Lily/Crosbie & Eames/Amelia Roper, Palliser/Lady Dumbello and Cradell/Mrs. Lupex.

I love how Lady Dumbello messes with everyone. What a beotch! In Framley Parsonage I would never have given her credit for that much conniving; she just seemed like a pretty, shallow girl who got lucky.

I think my fav character is the squire. He's such a tragic figure--he means well, but people just think he's cranky and mean. He can't win for losing.

12Cariola
Ene 2, 2008, 7:24 pm

I liked the squire, too, but the blustery old earl was my favorite. He was so bemused by the bull's change in character--and felt so sorry that it finally had to go. And of course, I loved the way he took to Eames after he was "rescued."

13notmyrealname
Ago 25, 2008, 10:42 pm

I'm about 2/3 of the way through this and really enjoying it. I found myself reading the above and asking who is actually worse - Eames or Crosbie? I know who we are meant to say, and I'm just playing devil's advocate here, but at least Crosbie is open about his 'change of heart', where Eames is too cowardly to drop Roper, thereby admitting his mistake as to falling into her clutches. I think Crosbie is the nastier character in the end, but I also think Eames beating him up is a bit rich, given his own situation...

14digifish_books
Sep 24, 2008, 4:17 am

>13 notmyrealname: ...who is actually worse - Eames or Crosbie?...

I guess it depends on whether you prefer a hobbledehoy or a cad... ;P