The Eustace Diamonds

"The Barchester novels are his tales of clerical and ecclesiastical life and the Pallisers are the political novels and are all about power. The Eustace Diamonds is part of the Palliser sequence, but I read the Pallisers out of sequence and it was not a problem. The Eustace Diamonds, in particular, is a great one to start off with, because, again, it’s one of those wonderful heroines, Lizzie Eustace. She is a wealthy widow and she wants to keep this valuable family necklace—the Eustace Diamonds—and insists that her husband gave it to her. The family are furious. They want it back because it’s an heirloom. There are also all these men who want to marry her because she’s gorgeous and sexy and rich, but she’s interested in her cousin, who is engaged to marry a mousy governess. Again, this cousin is trying to calculate, if he marries the mousy governess—who he does love—he’ll be stuck in a small house somewhere near the Swiss Cottage (Trollope is always very precise about London). This governess has got all the virtues, but does he want to be living in a small house near the Swiss Cottage (the equivalent of Siberia back then)? “The other thing it’s important to remember about Trollope is his absolute fixation on money” So in this book the heroine is a wealthy widow trying to hold on to the wealth that she has. She’s on her own, which does give her a lot of autonomy as she tries to make her way in the world. She is a schemer, because her husband didn’t give her the diamonds, but she persuades herself that he did. The other reason this is a really good book is that I can never remember how it ends. Even though I have read it many times, it’s always a good one to reread because I can’t remember what happens. I have a feeling that Frank does go and marry Lucy Morris, the virtuous governess, but he’s probably sad that he’s ended up in a house near the Swiss Cottage when he could have been in Mayfair where he belonged. His heroine does usually get married, but it’s often slightly bittersweet. Arabella Trefoil does get married, but to a really pompous diplomat. She won’t be very happy, but it’ll be better than the life that she’s been living. It’s not like she marries her one true love. Sometimes the more minor characters, like little Lucy, the governess, do. There’s normally an impediment like someone is illegitimate or somebody doesn’t have any money, but their virtue shines through. But where Trollope is really strong is with his adventuresses, his Arabella Trefoils and his Lizzie Eustaces. It’s kind of fun because they’re so scheming. They’re shameless. They just go for it and sometimes it’s heart-stopping: ‘Oh my God! She’s really going to do it. She is actually going to wear those diamonds at this event.’ How do you behave shamelessly and yet keep your reputation? It’s those important kinds of question."