The Duke's Children (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

by Anthony Trollope (Author), Hermione Lee (Editor), Charles Mozley (Illustrator)
Key Phrases: pert poppet, Lord Silverbridge, Lady Mary, Lady Mabel (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
'No-one probably, ever felt himself to be more alone in the world than our old friend, the Duke of Omnium, when the Duchess died.' Her death leaves to the Duke the care of his three wilful children and to the children the continuing social education of their father. The eldest, Lord Silverbridge, has been sent down from Oxford; Lord Gerald Palliser is doing indifferently well at Cambridge; and Lady Mary Palliser, the only daughter, is set on what seems to her father an unsuitable marriage. While the Duke must learn to accept that 'nothing will ever be quite what it used to be', his heir must acquire, his father hopes, a respect for justice, self-sacrifice, and honour, and a suitable wife. The rival claims of Lady Mabel Grex and Isabel Boncassen, the American granddaughter of a dock-worker, are emblematic of the claims on the Palliser family: tradition against progress, duty against natural feelings. The Duke's Children is the sixth and last of the Palliser novels (1864-80), which together provide an exceptionally rich expose of the British way of life during its most prestigious period.

About the Author
Editor Hermione Lee is Goldsmiths' Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford.

Product Details

• Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199537682
• ISBN-13: 978-0199537686
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #356,334 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Dull Lot, May 3, 2009

By	David Cady (Jersey City, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Much as I hate to admit it, this last of the hugely entertaining Palliser Chronicles, is a dud. It's Trollope, of course, so it's beautifully written, with all of his usual political and psychological instincts intact. But he hasn't given himself much to work with. The Duke's children are a dull, uninteresting trio, and their troubles not particularly involving. Trollope explored the notion of love between the classes many times before, as well as the pitfalls of debt (Mark Robarts in "Framley Parsonage" and Felix Carbury in "The Way We Live Now" come to mind)...and in each instance did so with far more humor, energy and insight. And the loss of Glencora early on (the book's first sentence, actually!) leaves a hole from which Trollope never quite digs himself out. All in all, a necessary read for those who want to find out how it all ends, but not one they're likely to enjoy as much as previous volumes.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the duke's children, February 18, 2009

By	M. K. dekay - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

THE DUKE'S CHILDREN by Anthony Trollope is yet another gem, this one being a kind of finale for the Pallisers.
Poor Duke! a distracted father at best, he is left, after Glencora's death, with three almost-grown children-- each of whom, in his and her way, rebels against expectations that have long been a part of Platangenet's very being.
We return to Mrs. Finn and meet new characters, some American.
What a wonderful read from one of the literary geniuses of his time!

miranda de kay