The Way We Live Now

A rich financier arrives in London, and everyone wants to know him. Augustus Melmotte has money, a grand house and a scheme for a railway to Mexico, and fashionable society is eager to attend his parties and invest in his company. Around him, Trollope gathers a large cast of aristocrats, writers, country gentlemen and young people looking for love and security, all of them forced to decide what they will do for money and what they will not.

The Way We Live Now is Anthony Trollope's satirical portrait of a society dazzled by wealth and willing to overlook almost anything in those who have it. It is also a warm, funny and surprisingly modern novel about courtship, debt, ambition and self-deception, with a plot that moves from drawing rooms to boardrooms and from London clubs to a contested parliamentary election.

This edition contains the complete text of the novel, a new introduction for first-time readers, a character guide, a summary of the story, a note on its main themes, a glossary of period words and phrases, and discussion questions for book clubs and students. It is designed for readers who want to enjoy Trollope's great satire with helpful context at hand.