Framley Parsonage was serialized in the Cornhill Magazine from January 1860 to April 1861 — the magazine’s first serial, chosen by its editor, William Makepeace Thackeray. The serialization made Trollope famous. The Cornhill had the largest circulation of any literary magazine in England, and readers who had never heard of Trollope were drawn into the world of Barsetshire.
Mark Robarts, the young vicar of Framley, owes his living to Lady Lufton, who chose him because he was steady, respectable, and unlikely to cause trouble. But Robarts is ambitious — not for money or power but for social standing. He is flattered by the attentions of Nathaniel Sowerby, a charming, reckless MP who draws him into a world of country-house parties, political intrigue, and ultimately into signing a bill — guaranteeing Sowerby’s debts — that he cannot afford to honor. The bill comes due, Robarts cannot pay, and his orderly life collapses.
The novel’s romantic plot centers on Lucy Robarts, Mark’s sister, who falls in love with Lord Lufton — Lady Lufton’s son and the greatest matrimonial prize in the county. Lady Lufton opposes the match: Lucy has no money, no connections, and no particular beauty. But Lucy has something more formidable: moral courage. She refuses Lord Lufton until Lady Lufton herself approves the match, not out of submissiveness but out of a principled refusal to enter a family that does not want her. It is a gamble that could cost her everything, and Trollope makes the reader understand that Lucy knows this perfectly well.
Collecting Framley Parsonage
First edition (Smith, Elder & Co., London, 1861): Three volumes, cloth binding.
Market values:
- First edition, three volumes, fine: $3,000–$8,000
- Very good: $1,000–$3,000
- Cornhill Magazine parts (Jan 1860–Apr 1861): $500–$1,500 for complete run