The Way We Live Now -- Anthony Trollope

<strong>'Love is like any other luxury. You have no right to it unless you can afford it.'</strong> <p/>It is impossible to be sure who Melmotte is, let alone what exactly he has done. He is, seemingly, a gentleman, and a great financier, who penetrates to the heart of the state, reaching even inside the Houses of Parliament. He draws the English establishment into his circle, including Lady Carbury, a 43 year-old coquette and her son Felix, who is persuaded to invest in a notional railway business. Huge sums of money are at stake, as well as romantic happiness. <p/><em>The Way We Live Now</em> is usually thought Trollope's major work of satire but is better described as his most substantial exploration of a form of crime fiction, where the crimes are both literal and moral. It is a text preoccupied by detection and the unmasking of swindlers. As such it is a narrative of exceptional tension: a novel of rumor, gossip, and misjudgment, where every second counts. For many of Trollope's characters, calamity and exposure are just around the corner. <p/><strong>ABOUT THE SERIES: </strong> For over 100 years <em>Oxford World's Classics</em> has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further st