The Small House At Allington

By: Anthony Trollope

Narrated by: Timothy West

Length: 23 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Exclusively from Audible

The spirited Lily Dale, who longs to be loved, is devastated when her fiancé, the self-interested Adolphus Crosbie, jilts her for the aristocratic Lady Alexandrina. Although heartbroken, Lily still loves Crosbie and believes she must remain single despite him being unworthy of her affections. Even when the more deserving John Eame presents himself, she is still unable to see past her feelings for Crosbie.

Meanwhile, Lily's sister Bell is also under pressure to marry for money, not for love. With an array of wonderful subplots, this audiobook is full of subtle humour as well as heartbreak.

The Small House at Allington is the fifth audiobook in the series known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire and as usual, Trollope shows his skill at analysing the thoughts and emotions of his characters, a craft that makes them appear truly life-like. Each character feels human, even Crosbie who also suffers himself for the mistakes he makes. Trollope possesses the ability to take everyday events and turn them into a gripping tale.

The novel was written at the height of Trollope's popularity and contains one of his most admired heroines, Lily Dale. Former British Prime Minister, John Major, declared it his favourite book, propelling it back into the limelight in the 1990s.

Narrator Biography

Timothy West is prolific in film, television, theatre, and audiobooks. He has narrated a number of Anthony Trollope's classic audiobooks, including the six Chronicles of Barsetshire and The Pallisers series. He has also narrated volumes of Simon Schama's A History of Britain and John Mortimer's Rumpole on Trial.

Timothy West's theatrical credits include King Lear, The Vote, Uncle Vanya, A Number, Quarter, and Coriolanus and his films include Ever After, Joan Of Arc, Endgame, Iris, and The Day of the Jackal. On television, Timothy has appeared in Broken Biscuits (BBC), Great Canal Journeys (across 3 Series), and the regular role of Stan Carter on EastEnders (BBC).

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Timothy West is perfect for Trollope!

I thought Simon Vance was a good narrator for Trollope, but Timothy West is better. I could, and did, listen to this one for hours at a time, and then went out and downloaded the rest of the Barset novels with Timothy West as narrator.

Trollope is a fascinating writer. I understand that Stephen King doesn't think much of him. He digresses a lot, and he addresses the reader directly in ways that drove my undergraduate Victorian Novel instructor (a fan of Henry James) up the wall. But his characters are all delightfully alive, his women characters especially full of vinegar, and he is very much grounded in the real world of rural communities, organizational politics, and money. There are many times (especially with Timothy West's narration) that he is laugh-out-loud funny. I only wish there were an equally accomplished audiobook production of the Palliser series, which is a sort of sequel to the Barset novels.

Richly embroidered romantic comedy

Trollope has written another richly embroidered novel, a brilliant romantic drama and voluble comedy. The characters are robustly crafted. Anthony West gives another satisfying performance bringing the characters to life. He makes us particularly empathetic to their situations. He makes everything interesting as he is able to identify a person’s identity with his or her voice. This was a very pleasant Trollope novel to read. I wanted more, but on to the sequel.

I’m a sucker for happy endings…

I love Anthony Trollopes writing style; I think I would have liked just about anything he wrote. The story feels very true to real life. But I admit that was partially why this book was hard to read as it’s such a tragic tale. Be that as it may, Lilian dale is an amazing character and I was happy to read her story, heartbreaks and all. I’d have loved to see more of Belle’s story just to feel like my emotions afterward were leveled off a bit more.

Great performance of a terrific book!

I loved this book. The characters were interesting, and the plots and sub-plots were engrossing. One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is the portrayal of daily life in another era, both in the higher social circles as well as the lower ones.

I've read and enjoyed a few of Anthony Trollope's books, including several of the previous books in the Barsetshire series, but after listening to Timothy West's performance, I'm going to be a listener from now on. He brings a new depth and level of enjoyment to the story. I'm planning to start at the beginning of the two series (Barsetshire and Palliser) and anticipate many happy hours of listening ahead of me.

Lovely fluff, could do with a female narrator

The narrator, Timothy West, did a good job; he has a very distinguished voice and did not detract from this little period romance. However, I think a female voice would probably have fit the tale better. An editorial choice. This was an enjoyable listen, a bit less involved than other works by this author.

Another dozen hours of delight from AT and TW

Oh, Timothy and Anthony— how could I have quarantined without you? Lovely characters, humane and generous treatment of even the blackguards of the cast, and the usual companionable narrative voice. I am sorry to break with the Hon. John Major, though, in stating this isn’t my very favorite Trollope of them all. It lacked a definitively satisfying conclusion, in the manner of most of Trollope’s novels. No more on that topic will I say here, but let it suffice to say that I will proceed directly to The Last Chronicle of Barsetshire.

Wonderful

I love the author. I love the book. I love this narration. The ending departs from what you might expect from a Trollope resolution, yet it feels right and makes you love the characters even more.

Moving Story, Evocatively Read by Timothy West

Small House at Allington offers a beautifully intertwined story with many characters, some humorous, some experiencing tragic situations. Lily Dale’s difficult circumstance is central to the book, but there are many subplots reflecting the themes of faithfulness, and promises kept and unkept. The separate strands of the story are skillfully woven together, creating a complex and moving novel. Timothy West is a great narrator — having listened to the first five Barsetshire books, I have thoroughly enjoyed his narration. Bravo Trollope!

First Rate Narration

Masterful Trollope tale very well told! Voice characterization overall was spot on, and I found that of the minor character Hopkins to be particularly so, and thereby the more moving.

Timothy west was fantastic as always!

Timothy west is amazing in his expression and his ability to embody all of the characters.