Anthony Trollope 
The Duke’s Children 

The sixth and final novel in Trollope’s ‘Palliser’ series, this 1879 work begins after the unexpected death of Plantagenet Palliser’s beloved wife, Lady Glencora. Though wracked by grief over his loss, this Duke of Omnium and former Prime Minister must now become more involved in the lives of his three grown children. He soon discovers that this will be quite the challenge, for his son and heir Lord Silverbridge has been sent down from Oxford, his second son Lord Gerald is not doing well at Cambridge, and his daughter Lady Mary wishes to make an ‘unsuitable’ marriage. The widower is concerned for the principles of lineage they should represent, but seem reluctant to uphold. Through a series of circumstances, the duke learns of the difficulties of weighing natural inclination and duty, progress against tradition, and especially of the strength of love in the face of wealth and pride. ‘The Duke’s Children’ gives, as all the best Trollope novels do, an amazing view of British life at the height of the country’s prominence.