The Duke's Children

By Anthony Trollope

Book Overview

The Duke's Children explores the intricate dynamics of family, love, and societal expectations within the British aristocracy. Following the death of his wife, the Duke must navigate the complexities of raising his three children, each struggling with their own desires and challenges. The narrative delves into how familial duty clashes with personal freedom, especially as one of the children faces romantic choices that defy the norms of their status. The story highlights the tension between parental authority and individual aspirations, particularly as the Duke must come to terms with his feelings for his children while grappling with his own grief. As the characters evolve, the novel examines the balance between love, duty, and societal pressures, with a focus on the emotional growth and independence of the younger generation. Through the Duke's internal struggles and the children's pursuit of their own happiness, the book offers a poignant reflection on how family dynamics are tested by loss, love, and the weight of societal expectations.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9370422498
• ISBN13: 9789370422490
• Release Date: March 2025
• Publisher: Double 9 Books
• Length: 566 Pages
• Weight: 1.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The Duke's Children

"The Duke's Children" written by Anthony Trollope is the last of the "Palliser" novels written in the 19th. century. I have been very entertained by the series and suggest the reader begin with the first in the series "Can You Forgive Her"?Classic British Fiction: Trollope's Palliser Novels, all six of them in a single file, with active table of contents This series is political. The "Barset" series is more about the politics of religion. I highly recommend both series which will provide a great summer read!

Victorian generation clash.

Lady Glencora Palliser is dead. This must be understood or nothing wonderful can come of this tale. The last installment of Trollope's Palliser series begins with this sad development. Long Victorian faces grow even longer with grief. Now ex-Prime Minster, Plantagenet Palliser must cope alone with the foibles of his three adult children. As the reader discovers, their expectations are not consistent with their father's ideas. Typical of Anthony Trollope, the story unfolds leisurely for 600+ pages. Regardless, the quiet little story urges one to keep turning the pages. 19th century British politics, social customs, and romantic attitudes seem quaint, even amusing, by today's standards. Much as the writings of Jane Austen, reconciling marriage and money drive the story. Trollope's elegant style is a delight. The reader is lulled into a quiet sense of relaxation. No great truths or insights to report, but good downtime reading. Appreciate the novel as you would a fine painting or a delicate antique tea set. If one seeks a pleasant diversion from the noise, clatter, and electronics of modern life this is recommended reading. Relish the experience. ;-)

The Duke's Children?

Rascals and confusion, Trollope wrote with all the elements that excited that of readers from the Victorian Era, and that can also excite ones from our age.

A battle between generations ends the Palliser series.

One of the brightest lights of the Palliser novels is extinguished in the first chapter with the death of the Duchess Glencora. Bereft of her vivacious influence the grieving Duke, already reserved and traditional, sinks into stodginess. Far worse than this, he is left with three young adult children whom he fails completely to understand. To say that they cause him many heartaches is to greatly understate the situation.The eldest, heir to the title, Lord Silverbridge has already been booted out of Oxford for a silly prank. Now he goes into horse racing with questionable companions and winds up as the victim of a major scandal, which costs his father a huge sum. Next he deserts his father's choice for his bride to woo an American girl whose grandfather was a laborer.The Duke's daughter, Mary, wants to marry a commoner, son of a country squire, a good man, but with no title and little money. The outraged Duke is adamantly opposed to such a match, but Mary vows to marry no other and is constantly miserable.The youngest son, Gerald, who plays a relatively minor role in the novel, is forced to leave Cambridge because he was away without permission attending a race in which his brother's horse was running. Later he loses several thousand pounds in a card game.The Duke bemoans his children's foolishness and their lack of respect for the traditions of their fathers. He pays for their mistakes, but vigorously opposes the two unwise marriages. But although he is a strict, authoritarian man, he is also a compassionate and loving father. Will he yield to the fervent desires of his rebellious offspring? The resolution of this clash of generations brings the Palliser novels to a satisfying conclusion.As always, it is Trollope's great gift of characterization which makes THE DUKE'S CHILDREN an outstanding novel. From the outwardly firm but inwardly doubting Duke to the very sincere but frequently erring Silverbridge to the tragic Lady Mabel Grex, who has the young heir in her grasp only to let him slip away, these are well-rounded figures with whom the reader lives intimately and comes to understand thoroughly. With the perfectly depicted ambience of upper-class Victoriana as the setting, this novel is an absorbing work of genius.