047 - Chapter 47

When it was first published in 1874, Lady Anna faced a lukewarm reception, even provoking outrage among conservative critics who claimed, This is the sort of thing the reading public will never stand...a man must be embittered by some violent present exasperation who can like such disruptions of social order as this. Yet, Anthony Trollope regarded it as the best novel I ever wrote! Very much! Quite far away above all others! This carefully crafted and impassioned exploration of forced marriage within the tumultuous backdrop of Radical politics and social inequality chronicles Countess Lovel’s lifelong struggle to validate her title and her daughter Annas legitimacy, especially after her husband reveals he has another wife. Tensions mount as Anna defies her mothers wishes to marry her cousin, the heir to her father’s title, and instead falls for the young Radical, journeyman tailor Daniel Thwaite. While the outcome may seem predictable, Trollopes nuanced ambivalence on the matter creates a narrative that is both intense and deeply powerful.