11 h 45 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In a Paris studio full of laughter, a musician’s strange power casts a shadow over first love.
In George du Maurier’s Trilby, three young painters share a studio in the Latin Quarter. Their circle opens to Trilby O’Ferrall, a kind, outspoken model and laundress who wants honest love. The shy painter Little Billee falls for her goodness, humor, and courage. But his family sees her work and way of life as threats to his future.
Then there is Svengali: a gifted musician who believes he can bend others to his will. When Trilby suffers sharp nerve pain, he offers help. His strange power brings a darker tension into this warm world of friendship and art. Alongside the lovers’ struggle with class and family, the novel asks what it means to hold power over another person.
What you’ll discover
- A studio full of life Enter a Paris of paint, pipe smoke, laughter, and loyal friendships among young artists.
- A woman worth knowing Meet Trilby, whose frank speech and generous heart win over the painters around her.
- Love under pressure Follow Little Billee as deep affection meets the weight of family expectations and class.
- The shadow of Svengali Encounter a musician whose gifts sit uneasily beside his hunger to control other people.
- A warm storytelling voice Enjoy a chatty narrator who makes room for jokes, digressions, and moments of sadness.
Who will love it
For readers who love stories of young artists, doomed romance and sinister villains, or anyone curious about where the word Svengali comes from.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Three painters share a Paris studio
- Trilby arrives and wins everyone over
- Svengali, the musician with a strange power
- A cure for pain and a hold on her mind
- Little Billee falls in love with Trilby
- Class and family pull the lovers apart
- Years pass and a woman disappears
- What the book is really about
- How du Maurier tells the story
Who’s who
- Trilby O'FerrallA tall, kind, outspoken artist's model and laundress in Paris, who loves music though she cannot sing in tune, and who wants to be loved honestly.
- SvengaliA gifted, dirty and arrogant musician who wants fame and who believes he can bend other people to his will.
- Little BilleeWilliam Bagot, a gentle and talented young English painter, who is shy, deeply feeling and falls in love with Trilby.
- TaffyTalbot Wynne, a big, loyal Welshman and former soldier who paints with effort and protects his friends.
- The LairdSandy McAllister, a cheerful Scottish painter who shares the studio and stands by his friends in good times and bad.
- Mrs BagotLittle Billee's widowed mother, a strict and conventional Englishwoman who wants to protect her son's name and future.
- GeckoA violinist and devoted friend of Svengali, who admires the master's gifts and follows him closely.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 11 h 45 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 13 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Trilby
by George Du Maurier· 1894
In a Paris studio, Trilby's friendship with young painters draws her into the reach of Svengali's controlling mind.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
Three painters share a Paris studio
The novel opens in the Latin Quarter of Paris in the 1850s. Three friends share a studio there, and each comes from a different corner of the British Isles. Taffy is Talbot Wynne, a huge, strong Welshman who once served in the army and now paints with great effort. The Laird is Sandy McAllister, a cheerful Scot who paints, drinks and is loyal to his friends. The third is Little Billee, William Bagot, a slight, delicate young Englishman whose talent is plainly the greatest of the three.
Du Maurier does not hurry. He lingers over the studio's daily life, the lessons at the art school, the cheap meals and the jokes between friends. Young men of many nations drift in and out, such as the ex-soldiers Zouzou and Dodor, and the narrator clearly loves every one of them. The tone is that of an older man looking back, half laughing at his youth and half aching for it.
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What is Trilby about?
Trilby follows three young painters in 1850s Paris and the kind, outspoken model Trilby O'Ferrall. Little Billee loves her, while the musician Svengali uses hypnosis to gain a terrible hold over her. It mixes romance, comedy and tragedy.
Where does the word Svengali come from?
It comes from the villain of this novel. Svengali is a musician who controls Trilby's mind. Because of the book's huge success, the word came to mean a person who manipulates and dominates another, often for selfish ends.
Is Trilby based on a true story?
No, the plot is invented, but the setting is real. George du Maurier published it in 1894 and drew on his own student years in the Paris art world of the 1850s for the studio scenes.
The author
George Du Maurier
1834–1896 · British cartoonist and novelist
George du Maurier (1834–1896) was a French-British cartoonist and novelist. He was born in Paris and later lived in London, where he worked for Punch magazine. He wrote Peter Ibbetson (1891) and Trilby (1894). His novel The Martian appeared after his death, in 1897. He died in London.
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