Synopsis
This is a 12-part dramatisation of The Palliser novels by Anthony Trollope. The sequence of novels was written when Trollope was at the height of his powers.
The characters are immediately recognisable and their stories are as gripping and as relevant as they were when they were first written, between 1864 and 1880. The central family is the Palliser dynasty, led by Plantaganet Palliser, heir to the Duke of Omnium. He marries the feisty Glencora, who has been in love with the reckless Burgo Fitzgerald. The theme of dutiful marriage versus the temptations of passionate love runs through the novels. Glencora grows to love Plantaganet, in her own way, but never fully recovers from her first love.
The Pallisers follows the fortunes of Phineas Finn, a young Irish barrister who wins a seat in Parliament, which introduces him to a London life full of temptations for a man of his attractions. Several society ladies swoon at his feet but he seems destined to be pipped at the post as a potential husband.
