Anthony Trollope’s "The Small House at Allington" is a poignant and finely observed novel from his Chronicles of Barsetshire, centered on the Dale family. The story follows the two Dale sisters, Lily and Bell, who live with their widowed mother in the "Small House," a comfortable dwelling provided by the heir of the Allington estate, their uncle the Squire. The heart of the tale is the romantic tragedy of the younger sister, Lily Dale. She falls deeply and irrevocably in love with Adolphus Crosbie, a handsome and ambitious civil servant from London who is moving in elevated social circles. Lily, innocent and wholehearted, believes herself engaged, but Crosbie, tempted by the prospect of wealth and status, cruelly jilts her to propose to the aristocratic Lady Alexandrina de Courcy. The shattering of Lily’s hopes and her subsequent, unwavering devotion to the memory of her faithless lover forms the emotional core of the book. Alongside this runs the more stable but less dramatic courtship of her sister Bell by the steadfast Dr. Crofts. The novel also follows the fortunes of the novel’s hero, Johnny Eames, a young clerk and childhood friend of the Dales, who loves Lily with a desperate and loyal passion, and whose own journey from clumsy youth to a man of character provides a counterpoint to Crosbie’s moral descent. Anthony Trollope creates a profound exploration of constancy, heartbreak, and the social pressures that dictate love and marriage.

Table of Contents:

• The Small House at Allington. Part 1

• The Small House at Allington. Part 2

• The Small House at Allington. Part 3

• The Small House at Allington. Part 4

• The Small House at Allington. Part 5

• The Small House at Allington. Part 6

• The Small House at Allington. Part 7

• The Small House at Allington. Part 8

• The Small House at Allington. Part 9

• The Small House at Allington. Part 10

• The Small House at Allington. Part 11

• The Small House at Allington. Part 12

• The Small House at Allington. Part 13