Rachel Ray (Complete Novels of Anthony Trollope). This item is unavailable.Rachel Ray (Complete Novels of Anthony Trollope)

THE SIMPLE PART of the plot concerns the widowed Mrs Ray and her two daughters: the young, innocent Rachel, and her repressed widowed elder sister. Living in genteel poverty, Rachel is taken up by the daughters of the local Brewster Mr Tappit, who invite her to a ball given by their socially ambitious mother; but it is Rachel who excites all the attention, and whose own feelings slowly awaken. Meanwhile, her elder sister escapes with difficulty the attentions of the slimy Evangelical Curate, Mr Prong, whose heart is more interested in her modest fortune than her soul. This simple story neatly exposes the finely-graded sociological strata of an average sleepy provincial town. It also gives us a vivid study of awakening sexuality in a young Victorian lady.

Anthony Trollope (24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, which revolves around the imaginary county of Barsetshire. He also wrote novels on political, social, and gender issues, and other topical matters. Trollope's literary reputation dipped somewhat during the last years of his life, but he had regained the esteem of critics by the mid-20th century.