
The Duke's Children
'The Duke's Children' Summary
Lady Glencora, the wife of Plantagenet Palliser, the Duke of Omnium, dies unexpectedly, leaving the devastated Duke to deal with their grownup children, with whom he has had a somewhat distant relationship. As the government in which he is Prime Minister has also fallen, the Duke is left bereft of both his beloved wife and his political position.
Before her death, Lady Glencora had given her private blessing to her daughter Mary's courtship by a poor gentleman, Frank Tregear, a friend of Mary's older brother, Lord Silverbridge. Mrs Finn, Lady Glencora's dearest confidante, somewhat uneasily remains after the funeral as a companion and unofficial chaperone for Lady Mary at the Duke's request. Once she becomes aware of the seriousness of the relationship between Mary and Frank, Mrs Finn insists that the Duke be informed.
Managing the Duke's two sons also proves troublesome. At first, Lord Silverbridge follows the wishes of his father by entering Parliament, and proposes to Lady Mabel Grex, whom he has known all his life, and of whom the Duke approves. She turns Silverbridge down, due to his immaturity, although with a hint of a more welcoming answer another time. In the meanwhile, however, Silverbridge becomes enamoured of American heiress Isabel Boncassen. She agrees to marry him only if the Duke is willing to welcome her into the family. At first, the Duke disapproves; and he disapproves even more of his daughter's suitor. To add to his troubles, Gerald, his younger son, gets expelled from Cambridge after attending the Derby without permission.
However, by the end of the book, the Duke grows closer to all three of his children; he allows the engagements of his oldest son and daughter, and he is invited once more to take a part in the government.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
EnglishPublished In
1880Authors

Anthony Trollope
England
Anthony Trollope was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, which revolves ar...
Books by Anthony TrollopeDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books

Familie Pfäffling by Agnes Sapper
The novel, 'Familie Pfäffling,' tells the story of a musical family with seven children in early 20th-century Germany. It offers a glimpse into the ev...

Cane by Jean Toomer
Toomer explores the lives of black people, mostly in the rural south, specifically a tiny hamlet dominated by a sawmill (marked mostly by smells and s...

Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope
Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope is the third novel in the Chronicles of Barsetshire series, between Barchester Towers and Framley Parsonage. The ide...

Fairy of the Snows by Francis J. Finn, S.J.
Alice Morrow, a young girl with a mischievous spirit, is called "the fairy of the snows" by her family and friends. Set in early 20th-century Cincinna...

The Bobbsey Twins at home by Laura Lee Hope
It is an engaging and delightful book. This enchanting story follows the beloved Bobbsey Twins on their exciting adventures. Originally published in 1...

The Garies and their Friends by Frank Webb
The book which now appears before the public may be of interest in relation to a question which the late agitation of the subject of slavery has raise...

The Friendship of Anne: A Story by Ellen Douglas Deland
In the enchanting novel "The Friendship of Anne: A Story," penned by the brilliant Ellen Douglas Deland, secrets intertwine with the delicate threads...

Pratt Potraits by Anna Fuller
Pratt Portraits by Anna Fuller is a collection of sketches, possibly memoirs, that offers a glimpse into the life of a family living in a New England...

Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner
This is the story of seven incorrigible children living near Sydney in the 1880’s with their military-man father, and a stepmother who is scarcely old...

Elsie Dinsmore by Martha Finley
Elsie Dinsmore is a children's book series written by Martha Finley (1828–1909) between 1867 and 1905. Of Finley's two girls' fiction series, the Mild...
Reviews for The Duke's Children
No reviews posted or approved, yet...