Orley Farm

Anthony Trollope

• Publisher: Caelwick Press
• Year: 2026
• Topic: Literature
• eBook ISBN:
  9782216995868
• Subtopic: Classics
• Index: Literature

When the elderly magnate Sir Joseph Mason died, he left behind a very young widow and their little boy. This was his second marriage, the children by his first wife being fully grown with families of their own. He left his main Yorkshire estate to his eldest son, also Joseph Mason, but a codicil to his will left his town estate, Orley Farm, to the infant son of his second marriage. The eldest son believed his father intended to leave him the full estate, however, and the matter was taken up in court. The codicil was proved, despite irregularities, and Orley Farm became the home of Lady Mason and her boy, Lucius. This is the state of affairs as Orley Farm begins, with Lucius now coming of age and taking possession of his inheritance. Owing to his own ambitious and stern personality—something of a Mason family trait—he claims back some acres that a local solicitor had been managing. The aggrieved solicitor cannot let matters rest, goes back over old papers, and discovers evidence which he believes demonstrates that the eldest son, Joseph Mason, had been in the right all along. This sets in motion the main plot of the novel, declared already in its opening paragraph. But the plot thickens nicely and, as the legal case develops, a number of subplots emerge. The neighboring gentry, the lawyers, the judges, the witnesses—these each have their own tales to tell, and across generations: both the older ones who remember the original case, and the younger ones (contemporaries of Lucius Mason himself) embarking on adult life, with hopes and ideals of their own. As ever, Trollope will not (and, it appears, cannot) keep secrets from his readers. The inherent drama of "Did she? or didn't she?" is of little concern to Trollope's crafting of the plot. In his autobiography he expresses some regret that he didn't withhold a little more from the reader to heighten the drama, although he was pleased overall with the story itself. Despite this, his chief gifts as a novelist reach maturity with Orley Farm —his insight into human nature in particular—and these gifts have ample scope for expression in a novel deeply engaged in the great themes of sin and forgiveness, greed and.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• The commencement of the great Orley Farm case.
• Lady Mason And Her Son
• The Cleeve
• The Perils Of Youth
• Sir Peregrine Makes A Second Promise
• The Commercial Room, Bull Inn, Leeds
• The Masons Of Groby Park
• Mrs. Mason’s Hot Luncheon
• A Convivial Meeting
• Mr., Mrs., And Miss Furnival
• Mrs. Furnival At Home
• Mr. Furnival’s Chambers
• Guilty, Or Not Guilty
• Dinner At The Cleeve
• A Morning Call At Mount Pleasant Villa
• Mr. Dockwrath In Bedford Row
• Von Bauhr
• The English Von Bauhr
• The Staveley Family
• Mr. Dockwrath In His Own Office
• Christmas In Harley Street
• Christmas At Noningsby
• Christmas At Groby Park
• Christmas In Great St. Helens
• Mr. Furnival Again At His Chambers
• Why Should I Not?
• Commerce
• Monkton Grange
• Breaking Covert
• Another Fall
• Footsteps In The Corridor
• What Bridget Bolster Had To Say
• Mr. Furnival Looks For Assistance
• Love Was Still The Lord Of All
• What The Young Men Thought About It
• Peregrine’s Eloquence
• Oh, Indeed!
• Why Should He Go?
• I Call It Awful
• How Can I Save Him?
• John Kenneby Goes To Hamworth
• John Kenneby’s Courtship
• Showing how lady mason could Be Very Noble
• Showing how mrs. Orme could Be Very Weak Minded
• A Woman’s Idea Of Friendship
• The Gem Of The Four Families
• The Angel Of Light Under A Cloud
• Mrs. Furnival Can’t Put Up With It
• It Is Quite Impossible
• Mrs. Furnival’s Journey To Hamworth
• Showing How Things Went On At Noningsby
• Lady Mason Returns Home
• Telling all that happened Beneath The Lamp-Post
• What Took Place In Harley Street
• How sir peregrine did business with Mr. Round
• The Loves And Hopes Of Albert Fitzallen
• Miss Staveley Declines To Eat Minced Veal
• No Surrender
• What Rebekah Did For Her Son
• The State Of Public Opinion
• What The Four Lawyers Thought About It
• The Evening Before The Trial
• The First Journey To Alston
• Felix Graham Returns To Noningsby
• Showing how miss furnival treated her lovers.
• Mr. Moulder Backs His Opinion
• The First Day Of The Trial
• The Two Judges
• How Am I To Bear It?
• showing how john kenneby and bridget bolster bore themselves in court.
• Mr. Furnival’s Speech
• Mrs. Orme Tells The Story
• Young Lochinvar
• The Last Day
• I Love Her Still
• John Kenneby’s Doom
• The Last Of The Lawyers
• Farewell
• showing how john kenneby settled themselves at noningsby