Buy this book
The Way We Live Now is Anthony Trollope’s longest novel, published in two volumes in 1875 after first appearing in serial form.
After an extended visit to Australia and New Zealand in 1872, Trollope was outraged on his return to England by a number of financial scandals, and was determined to expose the dishonesty, corruption, and greed they embodied. The Way We Live Now centers around a foreign businessman, Augustus Melmotte, who has come to prominence in London despite rumors about his past dealings on the Continent. He is immensely rich, and his daughter Marie is considered to be a desirable catch for several aristocratic young men in search of a fortune. Melmotte gains substantial influence because of his wealth. He rises in society and is even put up as a candidate for Parliament, despite a general feeling that he must be a fraudster and liar. A variety of sub-plots are woven around this central idea.
The Way We Live Now is generally considered to be one of Trollope’s best novels and is often included in lists of the best novels written in English.
Buy this book
Previews available in: English
Subjects
Fiction, Capitalists and financiers in fiction, Commercial crimes in fiction, Capitalists and financiers, Commercial crimes, Social life and customs, England in fiction, Classic Literature, British and irish fiction (fictional works by one author), England, fiction, American fiction (fictional works by one author), Politics and government, Policy sciences, Fiction, historical, general, London (england), fiction, Fiction, humorous, general, Fiction, media tie-in, Fiction, general, English literature, Crime, fiction, Satire, London (England) -- Fiction, Mate selection -- Fiction, Commercial crimes -- Fiction, Capitalists and financiers -- FictionPlaces
London (England), England, LondonTimes
19th centuryShowing 11 featured editions. View all 75 editions?
Edition | Availability |
---|---|
01 |
aaaa
|
02 |
cccc
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
03
The way we live now
2009, Norilana Books
in English
- Reprint trade hardcover ed.
1607620375 9781607620372
|
cccc
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
04 |
cccc
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
05
The Way We Live Now (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (Barnes & Noble Classics)
August 1, 2005, Barnes & Noble Classics
Paperback
in English
- 1st edition
1593083041 9781593083045
|
cccc
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
06 |
cccc
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
07
The Way We Live Now (Oxford World's Classics)
October 25, 1999, Oxford University Press, USA
in English
0192835610 9780192835611
|
cccc
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
08 |
cccc
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
09 |
cccc
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
10 |
cccc
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
11 |
bbbb
|
Book Details
ID Numbers
Work Description
From a review of the Anthony Trollope canon in The Economist (2020/04/08 edition):
*“The Way We Live Now” (1875) is as much a portrait of the last few decades as it is of the high Victorian age, and every bit as addictive as HBO’s hit series “Succession”. The novel’s anti-hero, Augustus Melmotte, is one of the great portraits of the businessman as ogre—a “horrid, big, rich scoundrel”, “a bloated swindler” and “vile city ruffian” who bears an uncanny resemblance to the late Robert Maxwell (and to living figures who had best not be named for legal reasons). Despite his foreign birth and mysterious past, Melmotte forces his way into British society by playing on the greed of bigwigs who despise him yet compete for his favours. He buys his way into the House of Commons; he floats a railway company that is ostensibly designed to build a line between Mexico and America but is really a paper scheme for selling shares. The Ponzi scam eventually collapses, exposing Britain’s great commercial empire for a greed-fuelled racket and its high society as a hypocritical sham.
“The Way We Live Now” is an excellent place to begin an affair with Trollope. It is relatively short by his standards and exquisitely executed. If you don’t like it, Trollope’s world is not for you. If you do, another 46 novels await you.*
Community Reviews (0)
Feedback?History
- Created February 9, 2022
- 2 revisions
Wikipedia citation
×CloseCopy and paste this code into your Wikipedia page. Need help?
September 8, 2023 | Edited by bitnapper | Merge works (MRID: 77267) |
February 9, 2022 | Created by ImportBot | Imported from standard_ebooks:anthony-trollope MARC record. |