The Eustace Diamonds (Palliser Book Three) by Anthony Trollope

 

The Eustace Diamonds (Palliser Book Three) by Anthony Trollope.

This edition published 12th May 2011. Originally published 1873.

From the cover of the book:

Lizzie Eustace is young, beautiful, and widowed. Her determination to hold on to the Eustace family's diamond necklace in the face of legal harassment by her brother-in-law's solicitor entangles her in a series of crimes - apparent and real - and contrived love-affairs. Her cousin Frank, Tory MP and struggling barrister, loyally assists her, to the distress of his fiancée, Lucy Morris.

 A pompous Under-Secretary of State, an exploitative and acquisitive American and her unhappy niece, a shady radical peer, and a brutal aristocrat are only some of the characters in this, one of Trollope's most engaging novels: part sensation fiction, part detective story, part political satire, and part ironic romance.

The Eustace Diamonds (1873) belongs to Trollope's Palliser series. Though often considered the least political of the six novels, it is a highly revealing study of Victorian Britain, its colonial activities in Ireland and India, its veneration of wealth, and its pervasive dishonesty.

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Beautiful Lizzie Greystock married for money, and was fortunate that her sickly husband, Sir Florian Eustace, did not linger long in the world. Now widowed, with a young son, Lady Eustace is determined to make the most of her inheritance, which she feels should include the famous Eustace family diamond necklace... something her brother-in-law's solicitor, Mr Camperdown, vehemently disagrees with.

The subsequent legal spat sets in motion a series of unfortunate events as Lizzie tries to hold on to the valuable diamonds, while trying to bag herself another husband. She looks around her for potential partners, torn between choosing a steady husband or the romantic delights of a 'corsair' who will sail her into stormy seas - should it be the boorish Lord Fawn, a number of shady characters with doubtful provenance, or even her cousin Frank, who is doing his best to extricate her from the mess she has got herself into? Her marriage plans serve to upset the domestic felicity of them all in one way or another - especially for Frank, who is secretly engaged to penniless governess, Lucy Morris, who lives among the Fawn family...

I had high hopes for The Eustace Diamonds as a rare gem amongst a series that largely concerns itself with Victorian politics, as this is a book Trollope himself claimed was inspired by the writings of Wilkie Collins. Yes, please Mr Trollope, I was very much up for a story about family diamonds and the fallout that results from their possession - this would be some light relief after the politically heavy storyline of the previous Palliser novel, Phineas Finn.

The story begins well, gradually introducing potentially riveting characters. Here we have a beautiful, manipulative widow keen to keep hold of a valuable necklace that may, or may not, be hers to do with as she wishes; a gaggle of suitors of varying levels of respectability to play the parts of steady potential husbands, or romantic 'corsairs'; an innocent governess ripe for being being taken advantage of; and eccentric friends and family galore who get caught up in the consequences of games within games. 

The concept of disputed ownership of the diamonds, the surprising mystery about their fate that Trollope conjures, and the absolute pickle Lizzie Eustace gets into with her lies are rather enjoyable. There are some familiar faces that it always a delight to meet in a Palliser novel - Lady Glencora is always worth reading about, as are many of the Matching Priory set, and I confess a deep affection for the unashamedly crotchety Lady Linlithgow and the enchanting Andy Gowran (Lizzie's plain-talking steward). There is also plenty of Trollope's trademark playful humour and scorching social commentary. All well and good, if not really anything like a Wilkie Collins page-turner.

Despite the magic ingredients, the novel conspires to be less than the sum of its parts. Primarily, there is simply not enough plot to sustain a book that extends to nearly 590 pages. The tortured wranglings of Lizzie's predicament are rather circular, which gets a bit tiresome after a while. Trollope does try by weaving in a sub-plot about the shady friends Lizzie welcomes into her home, but this does feel rather contrived to work in the twists he has in mind, and I simply did not care about the johnny-come-lately characters involved.

All round the characters needed more substance. The males are generally unlikeable and undeserving; and as for Lizzie's love rival Lucy Morris, she fades into insipid nothingness after a promising beginning - hardly a woman you can get your teeth into. But the biggest crime is Trollope's failure to fulfil the Becky Sharp like shenanigans from Lizzie Eustace that he promises early on in the proceedings. She really is not mean enough to put her footwear in the same closet as Becky, let alone wear her shoes. Throughout, Trollope intends you to despise Lizzie as much as he clearly does, but even though she is selfish, foolish, and a fantasist, I could not help feeling sympathy for her vulnerable situation at many points in the story. 

I am left disappointed by this third instalment of the series, which I really was not expecting. I am actually rather looking forward to the return of Phineas Finn in the next book, Phineas Redux, even if it brings with it a hefty slice of politics... 

The Eustace Diamonds is available to buy now in various formats.

About the author:

Anthony Trollope (1815-82) became one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of Trollope's best-loved works revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire, but he also wrote penetrating novels on political, social, and gender issues and conflicts of his day.