Christmas at Thompson Hall & Two Heroines of Plumpington

Two delightful Christmas tales by Anthony Trollope, who, along with Dickens, was one of the literary giants of Victorian England. "Published posthumously in Good Cheer, the Christmas edition of Good Words in 1882, The Two Heroines of Plumplington is both unique and representative of his work. It is unique because it is the only one of his short stories set in Barsetshire; it is representative because it expounds on his favorite theme, the politics of love and society. The story comes after a lifetime spent observing and recording with keenly accurate details the habits of men and women in the ways of the world. He was, as Sadleir has said, socially speaking the wisest of English novelists, and it is that wisdom which makes The Two Heroines of Plumplington the culmination of the comic war waged in the name of social politics. The Two Heroines of Plumplington also gives the lie to the idea that increasing bitterness with life led to the darkening of Anthony Trollope's writing. This is as