Castle Richmond: A Novel (Trollope, Penguin)

Only a writer like Anthony Trollope could make the tragedy of the Great Hunger, Ireland's tragic famine of the 1840s, pale in comparison to the trials and tribulations of the Fitzgeralds of Castle Richmond. Herbert Fitzgerald was destined to inherit the estate in the southwest of Ireland and with it the title of Lord. His family--mother, father, two sisters, and himself--are beloved in that area of the country. Herbert is a steady young man, unlike his dashing but less wealthy cousin Owen Fitzgerald, who lives a few miles away in Hap House. As the story begins, Lord Thomas Fitzgerald, Herbert's father, has withdrawn from society and seems to be failing in health. Could the cause be the two scoundrels who have been seen at Castle Richmond, leaving Lord Fitzgerald in a worsening state with every visit? How wise of Trollope to provide just enough clues to enable the reader to unravel the mystery affecting the lives of the Castle Richmond denizens for him- or herself! In the midst of unwinding the plot, Trollope often reverts to speaking in his voice as narrator regarding the famine that rages around these major characters and other weighty matters such as the importance of proper dress. Meanwhile, nearby lives the lovely but impoverished Lady Clara Desmond, whose youthful beauty has inflamed the hearts of both Owen and Herbert. I found it refreshing that neither suitor for Clara's hand was painted with a black brush. She might have been happy with either, but it was honor, more than love, that guided her. The story has its flaws, but it is difficult for the reader to resist succumbing to its elegant prose and flowing story line.