Orley Farm turns on a disputed inheritance: years after Sir Joseph Mason's death, suspicion reopens a case over a codicil that secured the estate for Lady Mason's son, Lucius. Trollope follows the scandal from country drawing rooms to the assizes, tracking the canny Mr. Furnival, the ruthless Chaffanbrass, idealistic Felix Graham, and scrupulous Judge Staveley. In patient omniscient prose he blends legal maneuver with domestic life and moral inquiry, adapting the 1860s taste for sensation fiction to his own realism. Issued in monthly parts with Millais's illustrations, it remains a subtle study of guilt, reputation, and truth. Anthony Trollope (1815-82), a Post Office civil servant turned prodigious novelist, wrote with clockwork discipline on trains and before breakfast. Administrative tours and electioneering sharpened his eye for institutions; acquaintances among barristers and editors tuned his ear to forensic rhetoric and scandal. Orley Farm channels these materials into an inquiry into conscience constrained by property law and patriarchal custom. Recommended to readers of Victorian fiction who value moral complexity over mere plot: a courtroom drama of rare inwardness, instructive for students of law, gender, and the making of public reputation.
Quickie Classics summarizes timeless works with precision, preserving the author's voice and keeping the prose clear, fast, and readable-distilled, never diluted. Enriched Edition extras: Introduction · Synopsis · Historical Context · Author Biography · Brief Analysis · 4 Reflection Q&As · Editorial Footnotes.
