The Way We Live Now

Anthony Trollope (1815 - 1882) was an English novelist of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, which revolves around the imaginary county of Barsetshire. He also wrote novels on political, social and gender issues and other topical matters. Trollope's literary reputation dipped somewhat during the last years of his life but he had regained the esteem of critics by the mid-20th century. Trollope began writing on the numerous long train trips around Ireland he had to take to carry out his postal duties. Setting very firm goals about how much he would write each day, he eventually became one of the most prolific writers of all time. He wrote his earliest novels while working as a Post Office inspector, occasionally dipping into the "lost-letter" box for ideas.

"Trollope's masterpiece...its examination of how hopes of easy money can corrupt individuals and sections of society remains relevant today... It is all too easy to imagine the "Great Financier", Augustus Melmotte a shadowy, egotistical and tyrannical swindler, at the top of a contemporary investment bank." Observer "Dominating the narrative is the majestically dishonest Augustus Melmotte: a speculative railroad financier who buys an English society only too willing to sell itself...The darkest of Trollope's 47 novels." Guardian "A tale of financial skulduggery reminiscent of recent city scandals" Daily Telegraph "His subtle depiction of relationships and the struggle to make decisions is unrivalled. He's so funny, so perceptive, so clear-sighted about the pursuit of money and power and status. Everyone with a pulse should read him." -- Francesca Simon Guardian

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'Love is like any other luxury. You have no right to it unless you can afford it.'It is impossible to be sure who Melmotte is, let alone what exactly he has done. He is, seemingly, a gentleman, and a great financier, who penetrates to the heart of the state, reaching even inside the Houses of Parliament. He draws the English establishment into his circle, including Lady Carbury, a 43 year-old coquette and her son Felix, who is persuaded to invest in a notional railway business. Huge sums of money are at stake, as well as romantic happiness.The Way We Live Now is usually thought Trollope's major work of satire but is better described as his most substantial exploration of a form of crime fiction, where the crimes are both literal and moral. It is a text preoccupied by detection and the unmasking of swindlers. As such it is a narrative of exceptional tension: a novel of rumour, gossip, and misjudgment, where every second counts. For many of Trollope's characters, calamity and exposure are just around the corner.