Orley Farm by TROLLOPE, Anthony

Orley Farm is Trollope at his best (as good as the Barsetshire series), which means some of the best characterizations in the English language. Trollopes people are real; the beleaguered Lady Mason, charged with forging a will; the aged lover Sir Peregrine Orme; Madeleine Stavely, deeply but practically in love; the shallow, fickle Sophia Furnival and others are 3-dimensional figures that live and breathe. His satire of the so-called justice system is the best kind of satire: he just describes the court proceedings as they really are. The result is as up-to-date as todays newspaper. (Introduction by Leonard Wilson)