Last year I finished Anthony Trollope’s absolutely delightful six-book series The Barchester Chronicles. I loved it so much that I was excited to start the six books comprising his Palliser, and I’ve just finished the third book, The Eustace Diamonds. Of all of the Palliser books, this is the one I had heard the most about before starting the project, and I think that’s because it is essentially a standalone book that contains a mystery. Someone steals the diamonds! But as it turns out, any mystery is quite incidental to Trollope’s always exceptional plots that find his characters trying to succeed in love and life.

The story begins by introducing us to Lizzie Greystock, a beautiful young woman who unabashedly lies in order to get ahead in life. It works when she becomes the wife to the wealthy Sir Florian Eustace. He doesn’t last long, though, and soon Lizzie is the widowed Lady Eustace. She doesn’t want to be a single lady, though, so, after a suitable period of mourning, she finds herself engaged to Lord Fawn, a boring politician.

Now, Trollope doesn’t need a mystery to keep us engaged. Indeed, the first three or four chapters of this book are absolutely delightful as he takes us through the above plot points. Soon, though, there is some intrigue that really winds things up. Lizzie’s dead husband had a valuable diamond necklace, and his family would like it back. Lizzie, for her part, says Sir Florian gave it to her, it is now hers, and she will not give it back.

A delicious family scandal soon begins to suck in many characters on the periphery. First, Lord Fawn, who actually doesn’t like Lizzie that much (and she loathes him), sees this as his way out; how could he marry a woman who, according to the lawyers he’s talking to, has refused to give property back that is not hers. Lacking support from her fiancé, Lizzie seeks support from her cousin, Frank Greystock. Frank believes her (her beauty makes it difficult for him to accept that she is a well known liar). Here is a great passage where Trollope shows how Lizzie’s lies manipulate her cousin, though she likes the effect:

But, by degrees, her courage returned to her, as she remembered that her cousin had told her that, as far as he could see, the necklace was legally her own. Her cousin had, of course, been deceived by the lies which she had repeated to him; but lies which had been efficacious with him might be efficacious with others.

Finding Frank’s support invaluable, Lizzie starts to think maybe Frank would actually be the better husband . . . if only he weren’t already engaged! And it’s not like she wants to let her own fiancé off the hook! Should she break off that engagement or, vindictive, hold to it? Here is a passage about this that I found particularly delightful:

Lizzie hesitated for a moment before she answered, and then remembered that revenge, at least, would be sweet to her. She had sworn that she would be revenged upon Lord Fawn. After all, might it not suit her best to carry out her oath by marrying him?

Notice how I haven’t even brought up the mystery! That’s because, as much intrigue as it adds to the plot, the plot is already moving along well, and the mystery is just another thing that makes the dynamics of these relationships so intriguing!

On to the next one, Phineas Redux, where I get to reconnect with the young Phineas Finn!