The Small House at Allington (version 2)


Read by Nick Whitley

(4.6 stars; 8 reviews)

The Small House at Allington concerns the widowed Mrs.Dale, her daughters Isabella ("Bell") and Lilian ("Lily"), who live in the "Small House", and their suitors. The bachelor Squire of Allington (Christopher Dale), who lives in the Great House, has allocated the Small House, rent free, to his widowed sister-in-law and her daughters.

This is the fifth of the six Chronicles of Barsetshire. As with all of Trollope's novels, this one also contains many sub-plots and numerous minor characters. Plantagenet Palliiser, of Trollope’s Palliiser series of novels makes his first appearance, as he contemplates a dalliance with Griselda Grantly, the now-married Lady Dumbello, daughter of the Archdeacon introduced earlier in the Chronicles of Barsetshire.

Another key sub-plot involves the goings-on at protagonist John Eames' London boarding house where the landlady's worldly and attractive daughter (Miss Amelia Roper) attempts to ensnare Eames into a socially downwardly-mobile marriage, and where Eames' fellow boarder and co-worker gets drawn into a love triangle with the wife of an unhappily married theatrical couple. In these London scenes at the clerks' office and the Roper boarding house, we see Dickensian echoes.

As with so many of Trollope's novels, here Trollope explores issues of emotional and generational power struggles, adultery, temptation, jilting lovers, marriage proposal refusals, and the consequences of indecision. Trollope's scene of the bull attack placed mid-way through the novel is a tour-de-force moment not to be missed by any reader interested in the art of the Victorian novel.

(Edited by N K Whitley from the Wikipedia entry for the novel which - spoiler alert – contains a much more detailed account of the main plot-lines.) (30 hr 23 min)

Chapters

The Squire of Allington 24:58 Read by Nick Whitley
The Two Pearls of Allington 34:34 Read by Nick Whitley
The Widow Dale of Allington 30:32 Read by Nick Whitley
Mrs. Roper's Boarding-House 30:59 Read by Nick Whitley
About L.D. 23:05 Read by Nick Whitley
Beautiful Days 38:02 Read by Nick Whitley
The Beginning of Troubles 37:19 Read by Nick Whitley
It Cannot Be 21:51 Read by Nick Whitley
Mrs. Dale's Little Party 35:17 Read by Nick Whitley
Mrs. Lupex and Amelia Roper 26:39 Read by Nick Whitley
Social Life 21:09 Read by Nick Whitley
Lilian Dale Becomes a Butterfly 45:51 Read by Nick Whitley
A Visit to Guestwick 31:25 Read by Nick Whitley
John Eames Takes a Walk 21:37 Read by Nick Whitley
The Last Day 37:04 Read by Nick Whitley
Mr. Crosbie Meets an Old Clergyman on His Way to Courcy Castle 19:47 Read by Nick Whitley
Courcy Castle 45:45 Read by Nick Whitley
Lily Dale's First Love-Letter 27:17 Read by Nick Whitley
The Squire Makes a Visit to the Small House 28:26 Read by Nick Whitley
Dr. Crofts 22:56 Read by Nick Whitley
John Eames Encounters Two Adventures and Displays Great Courage in Both 36:15 Read by Nick Whitley
Lord De Guest at Home 24:37 Read by Nick Whitley
Mr. Plantaganet Palliser 54:08 Read by Nick Whitley
A Mother-In-Law and a Father-In-Law 15:20 Read by Nick Whitley
Adolphus Crosbie Spends an Evening at His Club 29:59 Read by Nick Whitley
Lord De Courcy in the Bosom of His Family 26:45 Read by Nick Whitley
"On My Honour, I Do Not Understand It" 32:09 Read by Nick Whitley
The Board 34:09 Read by Nick Whitley
John Eames Returns to Burton Crescent 25:57 Read by Nick Whitley
Is It From Him? 32:46 Read by Nick Whitley
The Wounded Fawn 26:51 Read by Nick Whitley
Pawkins's in Jermyn Street 25:58 Read by Nick Whitley
The Time Will Come 31:26 Read by Nick Whitley
The Combat 22:51 Read by Nick Whitley
Vae Victis 35:14 Read by Nick Whitley
"See the Conquering Hero Comes" 33:17 Read by Nick Whitley
An Old Man's Complaint 21:06 Read by Nick Whitley
Doctor Crofts is Called in. 30:52 Read by Nick Whitley
Doctor Crofts is Turned Out 34:19 Read by Nick Whitley
Preparations for the Wedding 44:18 Read by Nick Whitley
Domestic Troubles 23:52 Read by Nick Whitley
Lily's Bedside 24:48 Read by Nick Whitley
Fie Fie 35:13 Read by Nick Whitley
Valentine's Day at Allington 23:54 Read by Nick Whitley
Valentine's Day in London 37:07 Read by Nick Whitley
John Eames at His Office 34:48 Read by Nick Whitley
The New Private Secretary 25:57 Read by Nick Whitley
Nemesis 34:27 Read by Nick Whitley
Preparations for Going 28:39 Read by Nick Whitley
Mrs. Dale is Thankful for a Good Thing 22:08 Read by Nick Whitley
John Eames Does Things Which He Ought Not to Have Done 39:11 Read by Nick Whitley
The First Visit to the Guestwick Bridge 28:23 Read by Nick Whitley
Loquitur Hopkins 27:23 Read by Nick Whitley
The Second Visit to the Guestwick Bridge 33:54 Read by Nick Whitley
Not Very Fie Fie After All 43:25 Read by Nick Whitley
Showing How Mr. Crosbie Became Again a Happy Man 26:00 Read by Nick Whitley
Lilian Dale Vanquishes Her Mother 26:55 Read by Nick Whitley
The Fate of the Small House 25:19 Read by Nick Whitley
John Eames Becomes a Man 28:19 Read by Nick Whitley
Conclusion 30:34 Read by Nick Whitley

Reviews


(3.5 stars)

Nick Whitley is one of the very best. The story is enjoyable, but I haven't found any truly memorable characters, such as Mr. Slope in one of the previous volumes.