Audiobooks by Anthony Trollope

The Barchester Chronicles: Six BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations

Six lavish BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations of Anthony Trollope's much-loved novels.Anthony Trollope’s series of witty and gently satirical stories of provincial life are set in the fictional town of Barchester and its surrounding county of Barsetshire. The canvas is broad and colourful, with a set of iconic characters in whose lives we become intimately involved as they grow up, grow old, and fall in or out of love and friendship, across the years.The Warden: The gentle Mr Harding finds his peaceful life disrupted, when his would-be son-in-law calls into question the large income he receives as warden of Barchester alms house.Barchester Towers: The cathedral town is changing again, with the arrival of a new Bishop, his wife and his Chaplain from London throwing all Barchester into disarray.Dr Thorne: When young heir Frank Gresham expresses his desire to marry Mary, her uncle Dr Thorne realises that a secret he has concealed for so long can no longer stay secret.Framley Parsonage: Mark Robarts, the young vicar of Framley, cannot resist the lure of celebrity beyond his own village. But his ambitious pursuits will lead him to risk his devoted wife and children, as well as his sister's happiness.The Small House at Allington: The Arrival of the handsome Adolphus Crosbie causes quite a stir at Allington. There is concern for Lily Dale in her fight against scarlet fever, and Dr Crofts is a frequent visitor to the Small House.The Last Chronicle of Barset: Henry Grantley has fallen in love again, Lily's past returns to haunt her, and Mr Crawley must reckon with an angry butcher. Johnny traverses Europe trying to save Mr Crawley, and meets an unexpected new friend."Rich in character detail, beautifully cast and absorbing" - Moira Petty, The Stage

Anthony Trollope (Author), , Clive Mantle, David Bamber, Iain Glen, Maggie Steed, Tim Pigott-Smith (Narrator)

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The Eustace Diamonds: The Palliser Novels, Book 3

The third novel in the Palliser series, The Eustace Diamonds is a satirical study of the influence of money and greed on human relationships in Victorian society.The story follows two contrasting women and their courtships. Lizzie Greystock and Lucy Morris are both hampered in their love affairs by their lack of money. Lizzie's trickery and deceit, however, contrast with Lucy's constancy.Lizzie Greystock, determined to marry into wealth, snares the ailing Sir Florian Eustace and quickly becomes a widow. Despite the brevity of their marriage, Lizzie inherits according to the generous terms of Sir Florian's will, which include the Eustace diamonds. When the Eustace family solicitor, Mr. Camperdown, begins to question her legal claim to the family heirloom, Lizzie weaves a tangled web of deception and crime to gain possession of the diamonds. Enlisting the aid of her cousin, Frank, much to the dismay of Frank's fianc'e, Lizzie seeks to avoid legal prosecution while pursuing one love affair after another.In this third novel of the Palliser series and the one least focused on the politics of the time, Trollope was understood to be commenting on the malaise in Victorian England that allowed a character like Lizzie, who marries for money, steals the family diamonds, and behaves despicably throughout, to rise unscathed in society.Trollope's The Eustace Diamonds blends elements of mystery, politics, and romance in a memorable work. Praise for Anthony Trollope: 'Trollope will remain one of the most trustworthy'of the writers who have helped the heart of man to know itself.''Henry James

Anthony Trollope (Author), Simon Vance (Narrator)

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The Last Chronicle of Barset

This last novel in the Chronicles of Barsetshire series involves Mr. Crawley, the impoverished curate of Hogglestock, who is accused of theft when he uses a large check to pay off his debts. The scandal fiercely divides the citizens of Barsetshire and threatens to tear apart Mr. Crawley's family. "I regard this as the best novel I have written...there is a true savour of English life all through the book....I claim to have portrayed the mind of the unfortunate man with great accuracy and great delicacy."-Anthony Trollope

Anthony Trollope (Author), Simon Vance (Narrator)

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Phineas Finn

Phineas Finn is an Irishman climbing the political ladder, largely through the assistance of his string of lovers. The questions he is forced to ask himself about honesty, independence, and parliamentary democracy are questions still asked today. Phineas Finn is the second of the six Palliser novels that effectively capture parliamentary political society in England's high Victorian period.

Anthony Trollope (Author), Simon Vance (Narrator)

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Sir Harry Hotspur

A man of conscience, duty and tradition, an immature, impressionable girl of supreme virtue and perhaps the greatest cad in English Literature are the chief protagonists of this tale. Tragedy falls upon the House of Humblethwaite. Sir Harry Hotspur's son dies at 21 years of age. There is no other male heir save a second cousin, a scapegrace seemingly beyond redemption. Can Sir Harry's daughter, Emily, effect a miracle and hold property and title together by an affectionate and honourable marriage to such a fellow, or is the demise of the ancient Hotspur family and all it stands for inevitable? "A novel can hardly be made interesting or successful without love. It is necessary because the passion is one which interests or has interested all. Everyone feels it, has felt it or expects to feel it." The Author . It turned out to be Trollope’s Jude the Obscure moment: life was treating Trollope, who was in his fifties, harshly. He is wilfully brutal to his heroine and her anxious parents, but the portrait of a charming, though irredeemable, cad and his patient mistress are two of Trollope’s finest.

Anthony Trollope (Author), Peter Joyce (Narrator)

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The Pallisers: 12 BBC Radio 4 full cast dramatisations

A sweeping radio saga of political intrigue, love affairs, financial wrangles and murder, based on the books by Anthony Trollope, creator of The Barchester Chronicles This epic drama follows several generations of the Palliser dynasty, as they navigate the twists and turns of political and high society in Victorian England. Wealthy aristocrat and politician Plantagenet Palliser and beautiful, spirited Lady Glencora.embark on an arranged marriage, despite her passion for the dashing but debt-ridden Burgo Fitzgerald. As her husband rises through the ranks of government, she becomes a faithful wife and mother - but her children face the same fateful choice between love and duty. Meanwhile, young Irish barrister Phineas Finn is introduced to the temptations of London life when he wins a seat in Parliament. He catches the eye of several society ladies, but fails to win their hearts. Rumours about his love life threaten his political career - and worse trouble is in store for him... Based on the six Palliser novels by Anthony Trollope, this captivating adaptation stars Ben Miles as Plantagenet, Sophie Thompson as Glencora, Conleth Hill as Phineas and David Troughton as the Narrator, with a star cast including Bertie Carvel, Juliet Stevenson, Greg Wise and Rachael Stirling.

Anthony Trollope (Author), , Ben Miles, David Troughton, Full Cast, Sophie Thompson (Narrator)

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The Small House at Allington

The fifth novel in the Chronicles of Barsetshire, The Small House at Allington, concerns the lives of the two Dale girls, Lily and Bell, who live at the Small House. While Bell is in love with the local doctor, James Crofts, Lily is pursued by two men: the worldly, rich and handsome Adolphus Crosbie and the poor but honest Johnny Eames. With each determined to gain her hand in marriage, who will she choose? Enshrined as a literary classic, The Small House takes the reader on a delightful visit to rural England, and presents an insightful, compassionate and amusing examination of human nature, along with Trollope's signature flashes of genius.

Anthony Trollope (Author), David Shaw Parker (Narrator)

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Can You Forgive Her?

Can You Forgive Her? is the first of the six Palliser novels. Here Trollope examines parliamentary election and marriage, politics and privacy. As he dissects the Victorian upper class, issues and people shed their pretenses under his patient, ironic probe. Alice Vavasor cannot decide whether to marry her ambitious but violent cousin George or the upright and gentlemanly John Grey'and so finds herself accepting and rejecting each of them in turn. She is increasingly confused about her own feelings and unable to forgive herself for such vacillation'a situation contrasted with that of her friend Lady Glencora, forced by 'sagacious heads' to marry the rising politician Plantagenet Palliser in order to prevent her true love, the worthless Burgo Fitzgerald, from wasting her vast fortune. In asking his readers to pardon Alice for her transgression of the Victorian moral code, Trollope created a telling and wide-ranging account of the social world of his day. Praise for Barchester Towers: 'Obviously, [Vance] relishes impersonating the dramatis personae.''AudioFile

Anthony Trollope (Author), Simon Vance (Narrator)

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The Duke's Children

The brilliant conclusion to the Palliser novels, this touching story follows the elderly Duke of Omnium, the former prime minister of England, as he struggles to overcome his grief at the loss of his beloved wife, Lady Glencora. To complicate matters, he must also deal with the willfulness of his three adult children as he tries to guide and support them-his plans for them are quite different from their own. While his two sons, sent down from university in disgrace, rack up gambling debts, the duke's only daughter yearns to marry the poor son of a country squire. Though the duke's noble plans for his children are ultimately thwarted, he comes to realize that parents can learn from their children as well. This final Palliser novel is a tale of love, family relationships, loyalty, and principles, as well as a compelling exploration of wealth, pride, and the strength of love. "The Duke's Children remains a comedy, beginning with a death and ending with marriages. For all its sobriety, it is among the most optimistic of Trollope's novels. The Duke is thwarted, but he is also educated, and his story reflects Trollope's faith that parents can and should learn from their inheritors."-Dinah Birch, professor of English literature, University of Liverpool

Anthony Trollope (Author), Simon Vance (Narrator)

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The Warden

Anthony Trollope's classic novel centers on Mr. Harding, a clergyman of great personal integrity whose charitable income far exceeds the purpose for which it was intended. On discovering this, young John Bold determines to expose what he regards as an abuse of privilege, despite the fact that he is in love with Mr. Harding's daughter. Set in the world of the Victorian professional and landed classes he portrayed so superbly, Trollope explores the complexities of human motivation and social morality.

Anthony Trollope (Author), Simon Vance (Narrator)

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The Prime Minister

Unscrupulous financial speculator Ferdinand Lopez, aspiring to marry into respectability and wealth, has society at his feet: well-connected ladies vying with each other to exert influence on his behalf. Even Lady Glencora, the wife of Plantagenet Palliser, prime minister of England, supports the exotic imposter. Palliser, respectable man of power and inherited wealth, is appalled by the rise of this man who seemingly appeared out of nowhere. When Lopez achieves his socially advantageous marriage, Palliser must decide whether to stand by his wife's support for Lopez in a by-election or leave him to face exposure as a fortune-hunting adventurer. This fifth installment in Trollope's six-volume Palliser series is a brilliantly subtle portrait of love, marriage, and politics. "Considered by modern critics to represent the apex of the Palliser novels...The novel brilliantly dissects the politics of both marriage and government."-Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature

Anthony Trollope (Author), Simon Vance (Narrator)

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Doctor Thorne

Doctor Thorne adopts his niece Mary, keeping secret her illegitimate birth as he introduces her to the best local social circles. There she meets and falls in love with Frank Gresham, who is intent on marrying her despite her seeming poverty. Only Doctor Thorne knows that Mary is to inherit a large legacy.

Anthony Trollope (Author), Simon Vance (Narrator)

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