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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when you give your whole heart to someone who prizes rank almost as much as love?
In the village of Allington, Lily Dale falls for Adolphus Crosbie, a charming London clerk at ease in fashionable society. Their engagement brings joy to the Small House. But Crosbie admires titles and connections, and an invitation to Courcy Castle draws him toward the world he longs to enter.
Around Lily, other lives turn on money, marriage, and family wishes. Her sister Bell must weigh her own judgment against the plans of Christopher Dale, their proud uncle. Meanwhile, Johnny Eames, an awkward young clerk who has loved Lily since boyhood, struggles with limited means and love that offers little hope.
What you’ll discover
- A heart without reserve Meet Lily Dale, whose warmth and outspoken nature give love a deeply personal stake.
- Affection against ambition Watch Crosbie weigh the claims of love against the glitter of rank and connections.
- Marriage on her terms Follow Bell as family expectations press against her right to choose her own future.
- Comedy close to pain Enter boarding houses and drawing rooms where gentle humor sits beside real emotional hurt.
- A narrator who cares Enjoy Trollope's friendly voice as he explores motives without sneering at human weakness.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy warm, gently funny family stories and sharp portraits of squires, clerks and countesses will love this novel. It also suits lovers of English village life.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Two households live on unequal terms
- Lily trusts a charming visitor
- John cannot speak his love
- Money tests Crosbie's promises
- Crosbie chooses rank over loyalty
- Lily refuses to answer with hatred
- John begins to act boldly
- Pride both protects and divides
- Character shapes the course of love
Who’s who
- Lily DaleThe younger Dale sister, lively and loving, who gives her whole heart to Adolphus Crosbie and means to be a faithful wife.
- Bell DaleLily's quiet elder sister and the family beauty, firm in refusing a marriage her uncle has planned for her.
- Mrs DaleA poor widow who hides her own sacrifices so her daughters can enjoy the standing of the Dale name.
- Christopher DaleThe stubborn old squire of Allington, who loves his nieces dearly but cannot show it, and wants his family kept together.
- Adolphus CrosbieA polished London clerk and society favorite who wants a place among the great and has little courage to be true.
- John EamesA shy, awkward young clerk who has loved Lily since boyhood and slowly grows into a man worth knowing.
- Bernard DaleThe squire's nephew and heir, an army engineer who wants to marry Bell as his uncle hopes.
- Dr CroftsA quiet, honest Guestwick doctor, devoted to the Dale family and to Bell, but too shy to say so.
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The Small House at Allington
by Anthony Trollope · 1864
A squire's niece gives her whole heart to a London swell, and a shy clerk watches from the edge of the lawn.
Challenging10–20 hours to read20 languages
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In short
Why would a charming man walk away from a girl who loves him with all her heart? That question runs through The Small House at Allington, a novel by Anthony Trollope, part of his Barsetshire series and published in the 1860s.
The Small House at Allington at a glance
- Reading time
- About 16 h 15 min12 h 55 min fast, 19 h 20 min slow
- Length
- 231,900 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1864by Anthony Trollope
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Two houses and one proud, divided family
The novel begins with a place, because place decides almost everything that follows. Christopher Dale, the present squire, is close to seventy, narrow in mind but honest and upright. He loved one woman who refused him, and he never loved another.
The Great House is a graceful Tudor building close to the church. A short walk away stands the Small House. The squire lends it rent free to his widowed sister-in-law, whose marriage he never approved. Mrs Dale lives on three hundred pounds a year and hides her own sacrifices so her daughters can enjoy the standing their name gives them.
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Details
- First published
- 1864
- Language
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- Level
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Cite this edition
Trollope, Anthony. The Small House at Allington. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-small-house-at-allington.
Trollope, A. (2026). The small house at Allington. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-small-house-at-allington (Original work published 1864)
Trollope, Anthony. The Small House at Allington. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-small-house-at-allington.
@book{trollope2026small,
author = {Trollope, Anthony},
title = {The Small House at Allington},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-small-house-at-allington},
note = {First published 1864}
}
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What is The Small House at Allington about?
It follows the Dale family in an English village. Lily Dale falls in love with a polished London clerk, Adolphus Crosbie, while a shy young man named John Eames loves her from afar. The book looks at love, money, pride and family duty.
Who is Adolphus Crosbie and why is he called Apollo?
Crosbie is a senior clerk in a government office and a favorite in London clubs. Lily nicknames him Apollo, the Greek god of beauty and music, because he looks so handsome and polished beside the country young men she knows.
What is a hobbledehoy in this novel?
The narrator uses the word for a young man who is no longer a boy and not yet a man, awkward and shy with women. John Eames is the book's example, and the narrator treats the type with affection.
The author
Anthony Trollope
1815–1882 · English Victorian novelist
Anthony Trollope (1815–1882) was an English novelist. He was born in London, lived in Ireland for many years, and later returned to England. He worked for the Post Office while writing novels. His books include The Warden (1855), Barchester Towers (1857), and Doctor Thorne (1858). He died in London.
“Of course there was a Great House at Allington. How else could there have been a Small House?”
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