Alice Dugdale by Anthony Trollope
Alice Dugdale, the daughter of the country doctor at Beetham, is the mainstay of her father's crowded household, cheerfully raising the seven young children born to his second wife while never betraying her own private sorrows. Major John Rossiter, the heroic son of the Beetham parson, returns from India with a good income and renews his old childhood friendship with Alice, kissing her once on his return and soon paying her marked attention, so that all of Beetham—except Mrs. Rossiter, who wants a grander match for her son—assumes they will marry. Mrs. Rossiter argues that a man rising in the world needs a wife of higher standing, and urges John toward the wealthy, well-connected Wanless family at Brook Park, whose beautiful but shallow daughter Georgiana is being actively promoted by her scheming mother, Lady Wanless, as a bride for him. Torn between genuine love for Alice and vanity about Georgiana's beauty and the prestige of a Wanless connection, John visits Brook Park, rides and flirts with Georgiana under Lady Wanless's engineering, and allows himself to be talked of throughout the county as engaged to her, even while his heart remains fixed on Alice. Alice, hearing the gossip, suffers deeply but conceals her grief behind determined cheerfulness, refusing to let her stepmother or father pity her and insisting she has no claim on John. Old Mr. Rossiter, who favors Alice, assures her that his son's heart is really hers, giving her fragile hope. John, uneasy with his own conduct, writes to Lady Wanless denying any engagement, but is drawn back to Brook Park for a lavish archery party clearly staged by Lady Wanless to secure the match; there Sir Walter Wanless and Lady Wanless behave as though the engagement is settled, though John privately resolves never to propose to Georgiana. After the party he visits Alice but cannot bring himself to declare himself, and departs without clarifying matters, leaving Alice convinced he is committed to Georgiana. Lady Wanless, refusing to accept defeat, sends Sir Walter to confront John at his London office, and later goes herself, but John firmly denies any attachment to Georgiana, ending the Wanless family's hopes; Georgiana herself professes indifference. Word spreads through Beetham, via the gossiping Lady Deepbell and others, that the Rossiter-Wanless "alliance" has collapsed, and speculation grows that John may return to Alice. Alice, warned by her father, resolves to guard her pride and not be treated as available whenever it suits John, vowing that "the bird" who flew away should not simply be welcomed back at will. Some two months later John returns to Beetham, finds Alice tending the children as always, and insists on speaking with her alone. Despite her resolve to remain firm, when he confesses his enduring love and asks whether she can forgive and love him, her composure breaks and it becomes clear her resolution has given way. The narrator adds that before Alice's eventual wedding, both Sophia and Georgiana Wanless married as well—Sophia to Mr. Cobble and Georgiana to Mr. Burmeston the brewer—in keeping with Lady Wanless's rule that her daughters marry strictly in order of age.
By Anthony Trollope · First published 1879 · Genre: Fiction, Romance, Drama · 29,073 words
First lines
It used to be said in the village of Beetham that nothing ever went wrong with Alice Dugdale -- the meaning of which, perhaps, lay in the fact that she was determined that things should be made to go right. Things as they came were received by her with a gracious welcome, and "things," whatever they were, seemed to be so well pleased with the treatment afforded to them, that they too for most part made themselves gracious in return.
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Alice Dugdale is listed on Textopian as a novella by Anthony Trollope, dated 1879 CE.
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- Work type: Novella
- Author: Anthony Trollope
- Date: 1879 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Fiction, Romance, Drama
- Length: 29,073 words
- Structure: 1 section, 440 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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- Work identity for Alice Dugdale by Anthony Trollope
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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Genres
- Fiction — The book 'Alice Dugdale' is a fictional story created by the author Anthony Trollope.
- Romance — The storyline includes romantic elements as it involves a love story between the title character Alice Dugdale and John Jerningham.
- Drama — The story follows Alice Dugdale, as she navigates through her romantic, personal, and social life, creating dramatic elements within the story.
Tags
Victorian · literature · social commentary · romance · class · gender · family · society · relationships · morality · character study · drama