Orley Farm

novel by Trollope

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Article History

Orley Farm, novel by Anthony Trollope, published serially in 1861–62 and in book form in 1862. The story, which revolves around the disputed inheritance of a farm attached to an estate, shows Trollope at his best. In spite of the dramatic and sometimes complicated plot, the novel creates a tranquil portrait of domestic life in mid-Victorian England. Lady Mason, accused of fraud by her husband’s child from his first marriage, is a completely realized creation who vacillates between avarice and remorse. Her confession scene is one of the highlights of 19th-century English literature.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.