The Small House At Allington

By: Anthony Trollope

Narrated by: Timothy West

Length: 23 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Exclusively from Audible

The spirited Lily Dale, who longs to be loved, is devastated when her fiancé, the self-interested Adolphus Crosbie, jilts her for the aristocratic Lady Alexandrina. Although heartbroken, Lily still loves Crosbie and believes she must remain single despite him being unworthy of her affections. Even when the more deserving John Eame presents himself, she is still unable to see past her feelings for Crosbie.

Meanwhile, Lily's sister Bell is also under pressure to marry for money, not for love. With an array of wonderful subplots, this audiobook is full of subtle humour as well as heartbreak.

The Small House at Allington is the fifth audiobook in the series known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire and as usual, Trollope shows his skill at analysing the thoughts and emotions of his characters, a craft that makes them appear truly life-like. Each character feels human, even Crosbie who also suffers himself for the mistakes he makes. Trollope possesses the ability to take everyday events and turn them into a gripping tale.

The novel was written at the height of Trollope's popularity and contains one of his most admired heroines, Lily Dale. Former British Prime Minister, John Major, declared it his favourite book, propelling it back into the limelight in the 1990s.

Narrator Biography

Timothy West is prolific in film, television, theatre, and audiobooks. He has narrated a number of Anthony Trollope's classic audiobooks, including the six Chronicles of Barsetshire and The Pallisers series. He has also narrated volumes of Simon Schama's A History of Britain and John Mortimer's Rumpole on Trial.

Timothy West's theatrical credits include King Lear, The Vote, Uncle Vanya, A Number, Quarter, and Coriolanus and his films include Ever After, Joan Of Arc, Endgame, Iris, and The Day of the Jackal. On television, Timothy has appeared in Broken Biscuits (BBC), Great Canal Journeys (across 3 Series), and the regular role of Stan Carter on EastEnders (BBC).

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What a lovely experience

Beautifully written, very well spoken, a reminder of times gone by, I will look for other books by this author, and also the narrator (first class) this gentleman is splendid.

Wonderful!

Loved the Small House, brilliant Timothy West, and am sad only one Barchestshire story remains.

Good as always

A little different in that there are a few sad stories but enough happy ever afters all the same.

Wonderful!

A great reader reading a great book. As usual, Timothy West captures all the humor and greatness of Trollope in his narration of The Small House At Allington.

Fun listen

Anthony Trollope is usually a delightful read. In this case with Timothy West reading, a delightful listen.
Not so serious, it is a charming story of family and manners .A dash of independence, lovely young women, a gossipy group, a rouge, scandal, a few good fellows, supportive relatives and friends all make for some good hours of listening pleasure. While most 'unbecoming' behavior is referred to, you will find no jarring descriptions of who did what to whom.This is the time and society of glances and a gentle pressure of the hand. All written and read with subtle humour.

Delightful language and wonderful story

Trollope is one of the authors a literate person is supposed to read, but I expect that few of us do. To remedy that deficit in my own list, I purchased this book due to the interesting description. What an happy surprise to realize that almost 200 years later, the humor is fresh and the story is still appealing. I loved the self-aware narration speaking to the reader "around" the tale, and the assumption in the writing that we are clever enough to listen between the lines for the meaning of the author. Trollope's use of the language is brilliant. I will listen to more!

A Warm Story for a cold winter in Georgia

This story went with me on my phone, day and night, just such a comfort. The language, the characters, all came through the narrator's British accent, so pleasantly. I cared about everyone, in all their complexities, which Trollope revealed thru their behaviors and interactions . After all the dramas, the concluding conflict concerned an old gardener driven to tears over a barrowful of manure, and one dear jilted beauty pleading his case for him and setting all to rights in Allington.

Timothy West is perfect for Trollope!

I thought Simon Vance was a good narrator for Trollope, but Timothy West is better. I could, and did, listen to this one for hours at a time, and then went out and downloaded the rest of the Barset novels with Timothy West as narrator.

Trollope is a fascinating writer. I understand that Stephen King doesn't think much of him. He digresses a lot, and he addresses the reader directly in ways that drove my undergraduate Victorian Novel instructor (a fan of Henry James) up the wall. But his characters are all delightfully alive, his women characters especially full of vinegar, and he is very much grounded in the real world of rural communities, organizational politics, and money. There are many times (especially with Timothy West's narration) that he is laugh-out-loud funny. I only wish there were an equally accomplished audiobook production of the Palliser series, which is a sort of sequel to the Barset novels.

Richly embroidered romantic comedy

Trollope has written another richly embroidered novel, a brilliant romantic drama and voluble comedy. The characters are robustly crafted. Anthony West gives another satisfying performance bringing the characters to life. He makes us particularly empathetic to their situations. He makes everything interesting as he is able to identify a person’s identity with his or her voice. This was a very pleasant Trollope novel to read. I wanted more, but on to the sequel.

I’m a sucker for happy endings…

I love Anthony Trollopes writing style; I think I would have liked just about anything he wrote. The story feels very true to real life. But I admit that was partially why this book was hard to read as it’s such a tragic tale. Be that as it may, Lilian dale is an amazing character and I was happy to read her story, heartbreaks and all. I’d have loved to see more of Belle’s story just to feel like my emotions afterward were leveled off a bit more.