Kept in the Dark [Paperback]

Anthony Trollope (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1604505583 | ISBN-13: 978-1604505580 | Publication Date: November 3, 2008

George Western is morbidly obsessed with his wife's past. Before her marriage to Western, Cecilia was engaged to the spiteful, conceited Sir Francis Geraldine. Unable to confide this to her husband, Western discovers her past from Geraldine and in a fit of temper deserts his young wife.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

As young adult, Trollope endured seven years of poverty in the General Post Office in London before accepting a better-paying position as postal surveyor in Banagher, Ireland in 1841. The years in Ireland formed the basis of his second career delineating clerical life in small cathedral towns. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Serenity Publishers, LLC (November 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1604505583
• ISBN-13: 978-1604505580
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #363,116 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"Anthony Trollope (1815-82) became one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of Trollope's best-loved works revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire, but he also wrote penetrating novels on political, social, and gender issues and
conflicts of his day."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an affirmation of marriage, December 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Kept in the Dark (Hardcover)

An editorial review mentioned that this is a story about the near-destruction of a marriage. I see it, rather, as the affirmation of true marriage. Both the hero and heroine--having been misled about the character of previous betrothal connections must overcome feelings of distrust and personal pride to come to a true understanding . . . Trollope uses this novel to show that honesty and integrity are not just virtues; they are essentials. In a time when so many best-sellers end in divorce, Trollope's characters come to the end of this short novel stronger and more true--and still married. And those who are untrue are exposed along the way.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Secrets and the strength of love, October 13, 2006

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kept in the Dark (Complete Novels of Anthony Trollope) (Hardcover)

One of Trollope's later and shorter novels, this tells the story of a woman who keeps secret from her husband a previous engagement to another man; when he finally finds out about it he leaves her. What happens is this: Cecilia Holt decides to break off her engagement to the neglectful Sir Francis Geraldine. Later she meets and falls in love with George Western, who has also been jilted; he tells her about his past, but she doesn't reveal hers to him, and then they marry. But Sir Francis writes to Western and spills the beans; appalled by Cecilia's silence and soon suspicious of her motives, leaves her. By the end all is made right by Western's sister Lady Grant.

The central episode that drives the novel seems like a mountain made out of a molehill today, but Cecilia Holt is an excellently drawn character - strong and determined (maybe too much so). She refuses Western's money after he leaves her and expects him to apologize to her when he returns. Trollope's realism is in full control when at the end Cecilia has romantic notions regarding Western's return, but Trollope will have none of it; Western's stoicism is something Cecilia is just going to have to accept. Some of the secondary scenes, especially those involving Sir Francis and Miss Altifiorla, are quite humorous. This novel doesn't rank with Trollope's very best work, but it's still entertaining and interesting in its own way.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kept in the Dark (Kindle edition), April 28, 2009

By 

Jane Olson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kept in the Dark (mobi) (Kindle Edition)

Kept in the Dark by Anthony Trollope. Published by MobileReference (mobi).

Trollope uses this novel to show that honesty and integrity are not just virtues - they are essentials. Trollope's characters come to the end of this short novel stronger, more true, and still married. And those who are untrue are exposed along the way.