A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation by Martyn Wade of Anthony Trollope's classic novel.
Orley Farm, described as a [B]rilliantly choreographed legal thriller (Mail on Sunday), centres on the pathos of the main character, Lady Mason. Youthful marriage choices, middle-aged marital crisis, love and loss revolve around the legal action and the complex portrayal of Lady Mason, who is both sympathetic and wily. The novel proposes a standard of morality higher than that embodied in the practice of an English court of law. With its concern for social issues and its extensive coverage of middle-class and landed life, Orley Farm is a novel that demands attention in the rich field of 19th century fiction. Trollope wrote in his autobiography that his friends considered this the best I have written.
With Tim Pigott-Smith as Anthony Trollope and Samantha Bond as Lady Mason, this production also stars Ronald Pickup, Dan Stevens, Amanda Root, Jonathan Christie, and Lydia Leonard. Directed by Tracey Neale.
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"The first Trollope I read, and the one that enticed me into reading everything by him that I could get my hands on. I'll have to go back and reread it for fine points, but it has a wonderful complex plot and believable characters who are tormented but not so much so that it's annoying. " — Cynthia (5 out of 5 stars)
"The first Trollope I read, and the one that enticed me into reading everything by him that I could get my hands on. I'll have to go back and reread it for fine points, but it has a wonderful complex plot and believable characters who are tormented but not so much so that it's annoying. "
" A great book without as many characters as many of Trollope's novels. The main characters wrestle with a moral question and come to a different conclusion than people today would. "
" A tenant is determined to prove that the estate is in the wrong hands. "
" A weak effort from Trollope. I don't recommend it; there's some lovely pathos in it, but I'm not sure it's worth dragging yourself through hundreds and hundreds of pages for. "
" The first Trollope I read, and the one that enticed me into reading everything by him that I could get my hands on. I'll have to go back and reread it for fine points, but it has a wonderful complex plot and believable characters who are tormented but not so much so that it's annoying. "
" Trollope was paid by the word to write this giant hunk of, er, "literature." Unless you are paid by the word to reead it, you should probably avoid it. Actually, if you like Dickens, you might like Orley Farm. "
" Beautiful book full of beautiful people and a few not so beautiful who were nevertheless delightfull in their shameless speeches and hilarious hypocrisy. Proper review coming soon as this is being typed via i-phone and, i really hate texting of all kinds. "
" A written review will follow soon.... "
" If I had any clout and/or prize money, I'd offer a prize to any modern fiction writer who could churn out a 500+ pager on a lengthy real estate litigation and make it a page-turner. I don't think we can do this anymore. Anthony, Charles: hats off, gentlemen. "
" Anthony Trollope has been one of my favorite historical novelists. This 19th century trial of a woman is up to par with his other books, although I have enjoyed the books that are part of a series, such as Barchester Chronicle, better. "
" Enthralling. This book is so well written and touches on a number of social themes which Trollope made his own in his vast work. "
Anthony Trollope (1815–1882) grew up in London. He inherited his mother’s ambition to write and was famously disciplined in the development of his craft. His first novel was published in 1847 while he was working in Ireland as a surveyor for the General Post Office. He wrote a series of books set in the English countryside as well as those set in the political life, works that show great psychological penetration. One of his greatest strengths was his ability to re-create in his fiction his own vision of the social structures of Victorian England. The author of forty-seven novels, he was one of the most prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era.
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