The Small House at Allington
by Anthony Trollope
The fifth novel in the Barsetshire Chronicles series is primarily about the story of Lily Dale, a young woman who lives with her mother and sister Bell in the Dover house of the Allington estate. Although Lily secretly loves John Ames, the young clerk in the tax service, she admires Adolf Crosby, an ambitious and self-centered man from a more urban setting. When Crosby's discontinuous behavior breaks Lily's heart, she must decide whether to accept Ames' honest outfit or choose a protected, lonely spinster life. In addition to the struggle of the most beloved heroine of Trollope, the author includes many other characters who develop the story and the skillful depiction of the inner life and complexity of men and women.
