The Small House at Allington - Anthony Trollope

Book five of the six Chronicles of Barsetshire is largely unconnected with the previous four, and I confess that I missed some of my favourite characters from the earlier stories. Nevertheless Trollope's universe now feels comfortingly familiar and I was soon wrapped up in this particular tale, a classic Victorian mix of sentimentality and social critique. The author's views on class are stubbornly conservative, but his insights into human nature are sharp and beautifully portrayed.

Contains the phrase "pertinacious austerity" and several instances of the word "hobbledehoyhood".