The Eustace Diamonds

The Eustace Diamonds is a novel by Anthony Trollope, first published in 1871 as a serial in the Fortnightly Review. It is the third of the "Palliser" series of novels, though the characters of Plantagenet Palliser and his wife Lady Glencora are in the background. Background Anthony Trollope wrote The Eustace Diamonds between 4 December 1869 and 25 August 1870. He would later state that in writing the novel he was inspired by the sensation novel genre, particularly the work of Wilkie Collins. The specific point of comparison comes with Collins' The Moonstone (1868), which has been recently published. Both books are tightly plotted, featuring a criminal investigation of the theft of a precious stone. The novel was serialised in twenty installments of the Fortnightly Review, beginning on 1 July 1871 and extending until 1 February 1872. A three-volume edition was published in book form on December 1872. At the time of the novel's publication, Trollope was touring Australia. Plot summary Lizzie Greystock, a fortune-hunter ensnares the sickly, dissipated Sir Florian Eustace and is soon left a very wealthy widow and mother. While clever and beautiful, Lizzie has several character flaws; the greatest of these is an almost pathological delight in lying, even when it cannot benefit her. (Trollope comments that Lizzie sees lies as "more beautiful than the truth.") Before he dies, the disillusioned Sir Florian discovers all this, but does not think to change the generous terms of his will.