The Eustace Diamonds

by Anthony Trollope Narrated by Simon Vance

Overview

The third and least political novel of the Palliser series, The Eustace Diamonds concerns the beautiful pathological liar Lizzie Greystock. Determined to marry into wealth, Lizzie snares the ailing Sir Florian Eustace and quickly becomes a widow. Despite the brevity of their marriage, Lizzie still 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 begins to weave a tangled web of deception and crime to gain possession of the diamonds.

Enlisting the aid of her cousin Frank Greystock, much to the dismay of his fiancée, Lucy Morris, Lizzie seeks to both avoid legal prosecution and have a true love affair, first with Frank, and later with Lord George de Bruce Carruthers. Considered a satire of the acceptance of the corrupting influence of money and greed in Victorian society, Trollope's novel blends elements of mystery, politics, and romance in a memorable and thought-provoking work.

Editorial Reviews

AUGUST 2018 - AudioFile

Narrator David Shaw-Parker continues his marvelous tour of Trollope with this audiobook from the Palliser novels. Although the Pallisers are minor characters in this volume, we do get Shaw-Parker's memorable portrayal of the Duke of Omnium, as well as Lady Eustace's almost-but-not-quite-incomprehensible rural Scottish steward, Andy Gowran. Without doing full impersonations, this narrator uses intonation and accents—and his accents are masterly—to distinguish and portray the characters. Trollope was a man of his time, so there is an unfortunate anti-Semitic undertone to the audiobook, but the main story is about women in Victorian England and how they deal with the limitations of their social roles. There are also some interesting resonances with Thackeray's VANITY FAIR. D.M.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169776591
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	04/13/2011
Series:	Palliser , #3
Edition description:	Unabridged

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