First published in serial form, ‘Can You Forgive Her?’ is the first of Anthony Trollope’s six novels in the Palliser series, also known as the Parliamentary novels. At the centre of the story is young Alice Vavasor, who finds herself torn between two men – the dependable John Grey and her reckless cousin George. Alice’s turmoil is contrasted with parallel stories following the romantic fortunes of her aunt Arabella Greenow, and her incredibly wealthy cousin Lady Glencora Palliser, as each woman navigates social conventions of the time in order to find happiness. Issues of politics, privacy and marriage collide as the women each try to answer the question Alice asks herself early on - ‘What should a woman do with her life?’
Anthony Trollope (1815 – 1882) was a Victorian writer and author of 47 novels. He also wrote an autobiography, short stories and plays, travel articles, reviews and lectures. A prolific writer, he made no secret of the fact that money was his motivation for writing – an admission which raised eyebrows among his literary contemporaries at the time. The amount of works Trollope authored are testament to his belief in hard work. His first successful novel was The Warden followed by its sequel, Barchester Towers. The Chronicles of Barsetshire are perhaps his most well-known series of novels, though many of his works have been adapted for TV and radio, starring many familiar faces such as Alan Rickman, David Tennant, Bill Nighy and Tom Hollander. Alongside his literary career, Trollope also worked for some time for the Post Office and is credited with the introduction of the iconic post box to Britain. A memorial to Anthony Trollope was unveiled in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey in 1993.
