Anthony Trollope 
The Small House at Allington 

The Small House at Allington by Anthony Trollope  is a novel by English novelist Anthony Trollope. It first appeared as a serial in the 1862 July to December edition of the 
Cornhill Magazine, and ended its run in the July to December edition of the following year. It was later published 1864 as a two volume novel.



It is the fifth book in the 
Chronicles of Barsetshire series, preceded by 
Framley Parsonage and followed by 
The Last Chronicle of Barset. It enjoyed a revival in popularity in the early 1990s when the British prime minister,  John Major, declared it as his favourite book.




The Small House at Allington concerns the Dale family, who live in the ‘Small House’, a dower house intended for the widowed mother (
Dowager) of the owner of the estate. The landowner, in this instance, is the bachelor Squire of Allington, Christopher Dale. Dale’s mother having died, he has allocated the Small House, rent free, to his widowed sister-in-law and her daughters Isabella (‘Bell’) and Lilian (‘Lily’).



When the novel begins Bernard, the squire’s nephew and heir, brings his friend Adolphus Crosbie to Allington and introduces him to the family.