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The Belton Estate
First published in 1865, The Belton Estate is concerned with the plight of unmarried, impecunious women in the 19th century. A novel rich in psychological insights, this is a love story, but one of unusual proportions in a Trollope novel.
462 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1866
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789 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Trollope
2,291 books1,760 followersAnthony Trollope became one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of Trollope's best-loved works, known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire; he also wrote penetrating novels on political, social, and gender issues and conflicts of his day.
Trollope has always been a popular novelist. Noted fans have included Sir Alec Guinness (who never travelled without a Trollope novel), former British Prime Ministers Harold Macmillan and Sir John Major, economist John Kenneth Galbraith, American novelists Sue Grafton and Dominick Dunne and soap opera writer Harding Lemay. Trollope's literary reputation dipped somewhat during the last years of his life, but he regained the esteem of critics by the mid-twentieth century.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_...
Trollope has always been a popular novelist. Noted fans have included Sir Alec Guinness (who never travelled without a Trollope novel), former British Prime Ministers Harold Macmillan and Sir John Major, economist John Kenneth Galbraith, American novelists Sue Grafton and Dominick Dunne and soap opera writer Harding Lemay. Trollope's literary reputation dipped somewhat during the last years of his life, but he regained the esteem of critics by the mid-twentieth century.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
November 24, 2019
A really fantastic read and a great Trollope - well paced and smart, with a fantastic heroine and a great love story. I'd highly recommend!
March 5, 2023
The thing about Trollope novels is that when you finish one, it is very hard not to start another immediately. They always end perfectly, the characters are difficult to part with, and the writing feels like a conversation with a friend that simply must go on. The Belton Estate is no different. Consider the following three sequential chapter titles and see if they don’t make you smile:
“Chapter IV: Safe against Love-making”
“Chapter V: Not safe against Love-making”
“Chapter VI: Safe against Love-making once again”
The Belton Estate focuses on a love triangle, and along the way Anthony Trollope reminds readers of two age-old principles: 1) requiring people to meet demands—yours or your mother’s—to be loved is a fool’s approach to relationships, and 2) people want what they cannot have, and undervalue things they obtain easily.
“What is there that any man desires—any man or woman—that does not lose half its value when it is found to be easy of access and easy of possession?”
The story focuses on Clara Amedroz, who has already lost her mother and brother, and who is soon to suffer poverty and homelessness when her father dies. Clara is smart, independent, strong-willed, and determined to accept her fate nobly. Aside from the love triangle, she provides a case study in the cruelty of Victorian society towards women:
“How can I help it that I am not a man and able to work for my bread?”
“She was arguing on behalf of women in general rather than on her own behalf”
The love triangle involves two men to whom Clara is attached in different ways: a captain and a farmer. One is polished, educated, well-mannered, and rational to a fault. The other is rugged, kind, blunt (“vehemently outspoken”), and precipitate. But he cannot “read poetry to her,” nor “tell her of what the world of literature was doing now or of what it had done in times past.” Clara loves them both, but wants to be saved by neither. What she does want, however, is not to be tyrannized over by lovers, by stepmothers, or by the broader world’s opinion of what is right and proper.
“The two men whom she liked best in the world would assume each the wrong place; and between them both she felt that she would be left friendless.”
“After all, what did the feeling of the world signify to them, who were going to be all the world to each other?”
Quotes to remember:
“Any good done in the world always pays.”
“I’m not prepared to alter the ways of the world, but I feel myself entitled to grumble at them sometimes.”
“Those who act generally with the most consummate wisdom in the affairs of the world, often mediate very silly doings before their wiser resolutions form themselves.”
“Now there is nothing, I take it, so irritating to an engaged young lady as counsel from her intended husband’s mama.”
“Where is the man who has heart and soul big enough to love a woman with increased force of passion because she has at once recognised in him all that she has herself desired?”
“Of course it is all nonsense talking of dying for a woman. What a man has to do is to live for her.”
“Chapter IV: Safe against Love-making”
“Chapter V: Not safe against Love-making”
“Chapter VI: Safe against Love-making once again”
The Belton Estate focuses on a love triangle, and along the way Anthony Trollope reminds readers of two age-old principles: 1) requiring people to meet demands—yours or your mother’s—to be loved is a fool’s approach to relationships, and 2) people want what they cannot have, and undervalue things they obtain easily.
“What is there that any man desires—any man or woman—that does not lose half its value when it is found to be easy of access and easy of possession?”
The story focuses on Clara Amedroz, who has already lost her mother and brother, and who is soon to suffer poverty and homelessness when her father dies. Clara is smart, independent, strong-willed, and determined to accept her fate nobly. Aside from the love triangle, she provides a case study in the cruelty of Victorian society towards women:
“How can I help it that I am not a man and able to work for my bread?”
“She was arguing on behalf of women in general rather than on her own behalf”
The love triangle involves two men to whom Clara is attached in different ways: a captain and a farmer. One is polished, educated, well-mannered, and rational to a fault. The other is rugged, kind, blunt (“vehemently outspoken”), and precipitate. But he cannot “read poetry to her,” nor “tell her of what the world of literature was doing now or of what it had done in times past.” Clara loves them both, but wants to be saved by neither. What she does want, however, is not to be tyrannized over by lovers, by stepmothers, or by the broader world’s opinion of what is right and proper.
“The two men whom she liked best in the world would assume each the wrong place; and between them both she felt that she would be left friendless.”
“After all, what did the feeling of the world signify to them, who were going to be all the world to each other?”
Quotes to remember:
“Any good done in the world always pays.”
“I’m not prepared to alter the ways of the world, but I feel myself entitled to grumble at them sometimes.”
“Those who act generally with the most consummate wisdom in the affairs of the world, often mediate very silly doings before their wiser resolutions form themselves.”
“Now there is nothing, I take it, so irritating to an engaged young lady as counsel from her intended husband’s mama.”
“Where is the man who has heart and soul big enough to love a woman with increased force of passion because she has at once recognised in him all that she has herself desired?”
“Of course it is all nonsense talking of dying for a woman. What a man has to do is to live for her.”
October 26, 2024
The Belton Estate is a fine example of Trollope’s authorial excellence. My first exposure to Trollope was some time in my twenties (late ‘70s/early ‘80s) when I read The Warden. Of course I wouldn’t have started it without the hope that I could like it, but I took it up more out of duty than with real optimism—it helped that it was short. Back then at least, Trollope carried a reputation for being a quintessentially boring Victorian novelist. So I was quite surprised with how enjoyable it was. To date, I’ve read all the Barchester and Palliser novels and a good many others. While his standing seems to have improved in recent years, it is not as high as it deserves. I take him over Dickens—a great stylist, but I often lose patience with his sentimental and/or cartoonish caricatures and his all too black-and-white morality. (If only the good and the bad could always be so easily distinguished!) Trollope’s characters usually have more complexity. While Trollope too can at times be a caricaturist, most often his characters possess a varying mix of readily identifiable human strengths and weaknesses. He ensures that our sympathies are with the protagonists, but they generally have recognizably human flaws. Antagonists can be cold, greedy, and self-interested, but often they just have different but legitimate, or at least understandable, priorities. Even those who are truly evil still have human characteristics. (To be sure, the real world does possess some individuals—I’m thinking, for instance, of one recent former president—who are without discernable positive traits; probably better captured by a Dickens than a Trollope.)
November 1, 2014
Alas, only 18 more Trollope novels to go! Oh well, I guess I can start all over again with the Barset series. Would that be so bad?
The Belton Estate is full of the pleasures that I have come to expect from a Trollope novel. Leisurely but engaging storytelling, vivid characters, both lovable and detestable. Has there ever been a more detestable prospective mother-in-law than the monstrous Lady Aylmer? No, there has not.
What struck me again while reading this is how so many of Trollope's virginal young ladies seem so contrary to the point of thwarting their own future happiness. The best example of this is Lily Dale in the Barset novels, but Clara Amedroz is a less excruciating example of the same.
It occurs to me that a good feminist reading of these works would be to view these women and exerting the only power they have: the power over their own future. Sometimes exerting that power, even if it means not making the perfect marriage that everyone expects of them, shows a strength that isn't readily apparent. Of course, the awfulness of women's situations in the Victorian era is that this is the only true exercising of power is to not do what everyone expects. Is this exercising of free will a powerful act even though the result seems foolish in the eyes of the world at large? I think it is, but I also think it is extremely tragic - sort of like the only way you can life you life the way you want to is by committing suicide - yes that is the ultimate in controlling your own destiny, but is the cost worth it. I'll turn that question over to my friend Camus.
For now, I will just say, 'Worry not, things turn out well for everyone in The Belton Estate, even for that dragon Lady Aylmer' The mastery of Trollope, though, is that there is a distant minor chord of unhappiness sounding amid all the fun.
The Belton Estate is full of the pleasures that I have come to expect from a Trollope novel. Leisurely but engaging storytelling, vivid characters, both lovable and detestable. Has there ever been a more detestable prospective mother-in-law than the monstrous Lady Aylmer? No, there has not.
What struck me again while reading this is how so many of Trollope's virginal young ladies seem so contrary to the point of thwarting their own future happiness. The best example of this is Lily Dale in the Barset novels, but Clara Amedroz is a less excruciating example of the same.
It occurs to me that a good feminist reading of these works would be to view these women and exerting the only power they have: the power over their own future. Sometimes exerting that power, even if it means not making the perfect marriage that everyone expects of them, shows a strength that isn't readily apparent. Of course, the awfulness of women's situations in the Victorian era is that this is the only true exercising of power is to not do what everyone expects. Is this exercising of free will a powerful act even though the result seems foolish in the eyes of the world at large? I think it is, but I also think it is extremely tragic - sort of like the only way you can life you life the way you want to is by committing suicide - yes that is the ultimate in controlling your own destiny, but is the cost worth it. I'll turn that question over to my friend Camus.
For now, I will just say, 'Worry not, things turn out well for everyone in The Belton Estate, even for that dragon Lady Aylmer' The mastery of Trollope, though, is that there is a distant minor chord of unhappiness sounding amid all the fun.
July 13, 2023
4.5 ⭐️. All the stars go to Will Belton for his passion and down to earth goodness!!! Others were ridiculously fickle, stubborn, and even a bit vicious by the end (no spoilers!). I did appreciate Will's kind sister, Mary, and while not caring for Trollope's trope of Mrs. Askerton, I am thankful she was a good friend to Clara.
August 2, 2023
I went into The Belton Estate knowing absolutely nothing about it. It's a standalone novel that follows Clara who after the death of her father is left homeless and poor. Clara has two suitors: a distant cousin who is going to inherit the Belton estate and falls in love with Clara, and Captain Aylmer who proposes out of financial duty. Clara loves Aylmer but can't keep herself out of doubt if she has made the wrong choice. Trollope writes his female characters absolutely infuriating and Clara is without a doubt a character hard to follow. You wish for her best but you also hope that she somehow learns to care for her own feelings more. The Belton Estate a simple marriage plot story but I was again engrossed with Trollope's characters and plot. Even though it's quite quieter than Trollope's novels usually are and quite predictable, it ended up becoming one of my new favourites from Trollope.
March 1, 2013
I belong to the Anthony Trollope Society on Facebook. The Belton Estate was picked as one of the favorites by many, so I thought I would read it.
Like every Trollope novel I have ever read, the characters are so well portrayed by the author that you feel you inhabit each one as you read.
There were many plotlines here: the typical love triangle, the intriguing rebellion of Clara who refuses to eschew the friendship of a woman with a scandalous past, the embarrassment of Clara when she realizes she has fallen in love with the wrong suitor and yet, her mortification at setting it all right. As always, certain of the characters wrestle with ethical questions, while others are not so troubled.
Like every Trollope novel I have ever read, the characters are so well portrayed by the author that you feel you inhabit each one as you read.
There were many plotlines here: the typical love triangle, the intriguing rebellion of Clara who refuses to eschew the friendship of a woman with a scandalous past, the embarrassment of Clara when she realizes she has fallen in love with the wrong suitor and yet, her mortification at setting it all right. As always, certain of the characters wrestle with ethical questions, while others are not so troubled.
August 1, 2023
This felt like Trollope’s (happier) version of Far from the Madding Crowd.
October 30, 2024
I don't know what it is about Trollope, but I never get attached to his characters and find his books to be pretty forgettable. It's odd, because I feel like I should LOVE him! His writing is witty and I love how he breaks the 4th wall. Maybe I'll eventually find a Trollope I fall in love with.
All that to say, this isn't a bad book by any means. But I didn't find any of the characters particularly lovable or interesting. There was moments that felt almost like an Austen novel, but not as comedic and didn't instill a sense of outrage as her works do. Lots of people I know love this book, so don't let my lackluster feelings prevent you from giving it a try!
All that to say, this isn't a bad book by any means. But I didn't find any of the characters particularly lovable or interesting. There was moments that felt almost like an Austen novel, but not as comedic and didn't instill a sense of outrage as her works do. Lots of people I know love this book, so don't let my lackluster feelings prevent you from giving it a try!
February 9, 2020
I couldn’t stop reading this excellent novel. Trollope tells the story of destitute Clara Amedroz in such a way that although you suspect all will turn out well, you aren’t really sure until the very last chapters. Clara is a fascinating character and the way she responds to her position in life is complex and very human. As always, too, Trollope’s secondary characters are well drawn and real. I particularly liked his sympathetic treatment of Mrs. Askerton. Highly recommended if you’ve read the Palliser and Bartsetshire novels and are looking to move on to one of his stand-alone novels.
June 7, 2017
I was surprised to see this grouped with Trollope's Comic Novels. Trollope's style is often laced with light sarcasm so that it is hard to say that any of them are absent of humor. He does poke some fun at the potential mother-in-law who is grossly overbearing and will not be seen in public without her "false" - her wig. But nothing else sticks out and he deals with two other subjects that are not humorous.
Clara Amedroz is to be left destitute because her brother Charles was a wastrel whose father covered his debts. Doing so, the father used whatever funds might have provided for Clara should she not marry. Then Charles committed suicide, making the heir to the estate a distant cousin, who none of the Amedroz family had even met. Clara is completely adrift in her prospect of how she might support herself. She literally had not a shilling to her name.
When I read Trollope and Women, this novel was discussed in the context of adultery. Clara's father has let a cottage on the property to a Colonel and Mrs. Askerton. Rumors are alluded to, but never defined. Finally it is learned that Mrs. Askerton has a past, and one which it is not thought proper that "ladies" would have anything to do with her - certainly not any unmarried woman. But, of course, Mrs. Askerton is Clara's friend.
Even with these two subjects, this is more of a romance than most of Trollope's novels, all of which contain aspects of romance. I enjoyed it thoroughly once I got into it. However, I think the characterizations are not as complete as I've come to expect and for this I am down-grading it. It just doesn't quite make 4-stars, but certainly sits toward the top of the 3-star category.
Clara Amedroz is to be left destitute because her brother Charles was a wastrel whose father covered his debts. Doing so, the father used whatever funds might have provided for Clara should she not marry. Then Charles committed suicide, making the heir to the estate a distant cousin, who none of the Amedroz family had even met. Clara is completely adrift in her prospect of how she might support herself. She literally had not a shilling to her name.
When I read Trollope and Women, this novel was discussed in the context of adultery. Clara's father has let a cottage on the property to a Colonel and Mrs. Askerton. Rumors are alluded to, but never defined. Finally it is learned that Mrs. Askerton has a past, and one which it is not thought proper that "ladies" would have anything to do with her - certainly not any unmarried woman. But, of course, Mrs. Askerton is Clara's friend.
Even with these two subjects, this is more of a romance than most of Trollope's novels, all of which contain aspects of romance. I enjoyed it thoroughly once I got into it. However, I think the characterizations are not as complete as I've come to expect and for this I am down-grading it. It just doesn't quite make 4-stars, but certainly sits toward the top of the 3-star category.
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August 12, 2023This was such a wonderful surprise! I love Trollope, but I knew nothing about this book, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I loved the setting, the dynamic characters, and the engaging plot. Trollope has his soapboxes, and I think he did a wonderful job of exploring love, pride, obligation, choosing your own path, marriage, having the power to choose your own future, and the plight of women who have little to no money. Clara is a very frustrating protagonist, but she also has her redeeming and relatable qualities. The two love interests are foils of each other and are so interesting to follow.
This is a book that took me a few chapters to get into, but once I did, I did not want to put it down! This is one of my favorite novels I've read this year, and one of my favorite Trollope novels!
This is a book that took me a few chapters to get into, but once I did, I did not want to put it down! This is one of my favorite novels I've read this year, and one of my favorite Trollope novels!
April 22, 2021
Mon premier Trollope mais certainement pas le dernier !
Si je suis peu friande des triangles amoureux, ceux des romances victoriennes me dérangent guère car je sais d’avance que je vais avoir satisfaction. Or celui-ci m’a donné du fil à retordre, et jusqu’au bout !
J’ai adoré les différentes intrigues, notamment celle entre Clara et sa voisine au passé scandaleux, et le roman étant assez court, on avance vite sans s’ennuyer.
La Romance ne m’a pas retournée, mais j’ai adoré le thème de l’indépendance de la femme qui se marie plus tard que l’on aborde dans ce récit, les jeux de séduction, et les liens de parenté.
J’ai replongé au cœur de l’Angleterre victorienne avec Trollope, et je ne suis pas prête de m’arrêter.
Si je suis peu friande des triangles amoureux, ceux des romances victoriennes me dérangent guère car je sais d’avance que je vais avoir satisfaction. Or celui-ci m’a donné du fil à retordre, et jusqu’au bout !
J’ai adoré les différentes intrigues, notamment celle entre Clara et sa voisine au passé scandaleux, et le roman étant assez court, on avance vite sans s’ennuyer.
La Romance ne m’a pas retournée, mais j’ai adoré le thème de l’indépendance de la femme qui se marie plus tard que l’on aborde dans ce récit, les jeux de séduction, et les liens de parenté.
J’ai replongé au cœur de l’Angleterre victorienne avec Trollope, et je ne suis pas prête de m’arrêter.
July 31, 2023
Highly enjoyed this once I got used to Trollope's writing style and 3rd person omniscient. I'm glad i gave him another chance.
Clara's brother has taken his life and there isn't another male heir in the Amedroz family. Will Belton, cousin on down the line, takes up the estate and meets Clara. Clara spends time with her aunt on the father's side of the family and the aunt has plans for Clara which conflict with the plans Clara's father who is very ill sets up with Will.
Clara's brother has taken his life and there isn't another male heir in the Amedroz family. Will Belton, cousin on down the line, takes up the estate and meets Clara. Clara spends time with her aunt on the father's side of the family and the aunt has plans for Clara which conflict with the plans Clara's father who is very ill sets up with Will.
February 17, 2024
2.5 stars rounded up for my least favorite Anthony Trollope so far. I had high hopes, but this Trollope novel just made me grumpy. Don't get me started on Clara. The conflicts didn't justify the length, and it felt like the same conversations and scenes were happening over and over. Two honest conversations could have chopped 300 pages from this. Ugh.
July 21, 2020
Great novel, brilliant and engaging! I really loved it!
June 4, 2015
It probably didn't help that I read this book after finishing Orley Farm.
One of the biggest problems with this book is that Trollope's female characters are usually deep and layered like Lady Mason in Orley Farm. However, Clara, the heroine of Belton Estate, is bland, shallow, and maddening. It's obvious which suitor Clara should chose, but she stupidly pursues the cold, aloof guy until I no longer cared what happened to her--or anyone else.
Another problem is that Trollope's novels have interesting subplots that are carefully woven together with the main plot. Not so in this one. There's one tiny subplot that is neither compelling nor fleshed out.
Of course, reading a Trollope novel is never a complete waste of time. There's some interesting observations about gender and class in Victorian England in addition to well-written descriptions.
If you like romance novels, this might be a fun read. However, for many Trollope fans, this will probably not be among the most memorable. Good thing it was relatively brief.
One of the biggest problems with this book is that Trollope's female characters are usually deep and layered like Lady Mason in Orley Farm. However, Clara, the heroine of Belton Estate, is bland, shallow, and maddening. It's obvious which suitor Clara should chose, but she stupidly pursues the cold, aloof guy until I no longer cared what happened to her--or anyone else.
Another problem is that Trollope's novels have interesting subplots that are carefully woven together with the main plot. Not so in this one. There's one tiny subplot that is neither compelling nor fleshed out.
Of course, reading a Trollope novel is never a complete waste of time. There's some interesting observations about gender and class in Victorian England in addition to well-written descriptions.
If you like romance novels, this might be a fun read. However, for many Trollope fans, this will probably not be among the most memorable. Good thing it was relatively brief.
September 27, 2023
Clara's brother ruins the family financially and then commits suicide. On her father's death she will be left penniless and Will Belton, a distant cousin, will inherit. Will comes to visit and wins her and her father over with his cheerful honesty and goodness. He falls in love with Clara and proposes, but she refuses as she loves Captain Aylmer. She goes on to become engaged to Captain Aylmer, but soon comes to draw unfavourable comparisons between Aylmer's cool calculation and lack of passion and Will's forthright passion and straightforwardness.
Trollope cleverly juxtaposes the two men throughout, showing their attitudes to money, love and how a formerly "immoral" woman should be treated. Lady Aylmer is a fantastic baddie and the book is fairly tightly plotted. I found it a bit sad that even Trollope felt that Mrs Askerton should have been "coarsened" by the tragedy of her past life and I got a bit tried of Clara's persistence in cutting off her nose to spite her face, but on the whole it was excellent.
Trollope cleverly juxtaposes the two men throughout, showing their attitudes to money, love and how a formerly "immoral" woman should be treated. Lady Aylmer is a fantastic baddie and the book is fairly tightly plotted. I found it a bit sad that even Trollope felt that Mrs Askerton should have been "coarsened" by the tragedy of her past life and I got a bit tried of Clara's persistence in cutting off her nose to spite her face, but on the whole it was excellent.
November 8, 2017
This book is classic Anthony Trollope Clara Amedroz, beautiful young girl is forced to make an "excellent marriage" after her father and her brother fritter away their estate and the money she should have inherited. Luckily, she has two suitors: Will Belton, the new heir to the estate and Captain Frdederick Aylmer, MP.
Unlike Dickens' female characters, Trollope's heroines are intelligent and full of pluck, and Clara is no exception. She refuses to beg for a place in a wealthy family as a pitiful, poor girl and would rather live on her own wits than debase herself to rich in-laws.
How she manages to make her choice makes for a delightful Victorian novel
Unlike Dickens' female characters, Trollope's heroines are intelligent and full of pluck, and Clara is no exception. She refuses to beg for a place in a wealthy family as a pitiful, poor girl and would rather live on her own wits than debase herself to rich in-laws.
How she manages to make her choice makes for a delightful Victorian novel
March 12, 2024
Ever since I discovered Trollope, I feel like I have a personal telenovela at my disposal every month that I am sure to enjoy, and I wasn't wrong this time either. As much as Clara is not at the top of my list of favorite female protagonists, Will is and therefore makes up for it. For being the first book written by this author, there was already a glimpse of a bright future.
Da quando ho scoperto Trollope, mi sembra di avere a disposizione ogni mese una telenovela personale che mi piacerá sicuramente e anche stavolta non mi sono sbagliata. Per quanto Clara non sia in cima alla mia classifica delle protagoniste femminili preferite, Will invece lo é e quindi compensa. Per essere il primo libro scritto da questo autore, si intravedeva già un futuro brillante.
Da quando ho scoperto Trollope, mi sembra di avere a disposizione ogni mese una telenovela personale che mi piacerá sicuramente e anche stavolta non mi sono sbagliata. Per quanto Clara non sia in cima alla mia classifica delle protagoniste femminili preferite, Will invece lo é e quindi compensa. Per essere il primo libro scritto da questo autore, si intravedeva già un futuro brillante.
October 7, 2025
Well, this is one of those much ado about nothing quandries of a young woman who does not know her own mind, or perhaps it is her own heart that she does not know, and it takes her the length of the novel to figure it out.
Trollope succeeds in addressing some of the social issues of the day: properties entailed away from women, women escaping ill treatment from their husbands to be shunned by polite society, and irrational social strata. The novel features a goodly number of Trollope's satirical observations, but perhaps not as many as one might hope.
Trollope succeeds in addressing some of the social issues of the day: properties entailed away from women, women escaping ill treatment from their husbands to be shunned by polite society, and irrational social strata. The novel features a goodly number of Trollope's satirical observations, but perhaps not as many as one might hope.
April 25, 2016
Ha! I got annoyed again reading another 2% of THE NIGHTINGALE and therefore switched over to Trollope, who is always a comfort read for me. THE BELTON ESTATE was no exception. With any Trollope book you're guaranteed interesting, rounded characters, a good romance, a not-too-harrowing conflict, and at least two laugh-out-loud moments. This particular novel features a strong heroine courted by two very different men. If men can inherit estates and money, what can women inherit? Will Clara be able to claim for herself what she desires, and how does she figure out who or what that is?
Trollope's "fallen" women are always fascinating, and he thankfully feels no need to kill himself defending Mrs. Askerton or trying to make her misunderstood-with-a-heart-of-gold, like so many other Victorian authors would (I'm thinking of Gaskell and even EAST LYNNE here). She's free to be the usual human mix of good and bad, with interesting results.
Very enjoyable read. I could hardly put it down.
Trollope's "fallen" women are always fascinating, and he thankfully feels no need to kill himself defending Mrs. Askerton or trying to make her misunderstood-with-a-heart-of-gold, like so many other Victorian authors would (I'm thinking of Gaskell and even EAST LYNNE here). She's free to be the usual human mix of good and bad, with interesting results.
Very enjoyable read. I could hardly put it down.
March 17, 2008
Clara Amedroz is one of my favorite heroines. I loved her strength through the typical Trollopian struggle of choosing between suitors. As always, in his novels, the physical descriptions of the surroundings are lush, and the characters are all filled out to a wonderful degree. This was one of my favorite Trollope novels (and that says a lot, as I consider myself quite a fan.)
March 25, 2007
Some Trollopians (Michael Sadleir, for example) rate The Belton Estate very highly. I don't.
December 30, 2014
"a stupid book, without a single thought or idea in it-a sort of mental pabulum"
March 23, 2024
The Belton Estate is now among my favorite Trollope works. Some readers have criticized its straightforward plot, but I don't need to have my thoughts pulled in nine different directions to enjoy a novel.
The Belton Estate, as we meet it, is in severe distress. Bernard Amedroz married the heiress of the Beltons. They had two children, Charles and Clara, and the mother died when the children were still young. Charles grew up, squandered the family money, and killed himself. All of this is past history as we enter the story. Clara and her father have little money, he is aging quickly, and the grounds are barely being kept up. We meet Colonel and Mrs. Askerton, who live in a cottage of the estate. Clara has heard from a number of sources that there is or was something fishy, if not downright improper, in their past. Clara, however, being an independent-thinking young woman, has already befriended Mrs. Askerton, and clings stubbornly to her even as something of a storm builds in the neighborhood about the reported improprieties in Mrs. Askerton's not so distant past. Clara, our heroine, is likable in just about every way except for her stubbornness, which threatens her happiness throughout the course of the novel. The reader is truly hard-pressed to guess if she will bend even slightly to allow some happiness to come her way. That is the central question we are following.
The story gradually focuses down to a love triangle between Clara and her two suitors. Captain Aylmer is a young man in Parliament who is the second-born son in his family. He is very well thought of, but is of a serious bent, and has great difficulty in showing his love for Clara. She loves him, but obstacles arise to their courtship, primarily in the form of his mother, who declares her issues with Clara before even meeting her.
Will Belton, Clara's cousin, is now the heir of Belton Estate. He is a farmer with his own property, and he actually has no particular interest in owning the Belton property, but he comes there to look it over and to begin to make decisions with Mr. Belton about the proper management of the land. While Clara is instantly drawn to Will's warm personality, kindness and easy way with people, she is shocked when after just a few days with them he proposes to her. She refuses him, but pleads with him to remain friends, and he is forced to accept the dreaded role of "like a brother" to Clara, who he loves deeply.
The remaining majority of the novel follow these three characters through the twists and turns of a typical Victorian love story. The only issue I struggled with had to do with Trollope's description of Clara's sense of Will's state of mind after she rejected his offer of marriage. Beyond this, I found The Belton Estate very well written and enjoyable.
I particularly liked a scene with Clara and Will on a train, when he tells her that he is going to give her the house - so moving:
"... now she slowly raised her eyes till they met his, and looking into the depths of them, and seeing there all his love and all his suffering, and the great nobility of his nature, her heart melted within her."
Chapter 24, in which the three members of the love triangle have to sit through a meal together at the hotel, is a gem.
And if any reader gets through Will Belton's Chapter 29 letter to Clara without tears in their eyes, they are stronger than I am.
The Belton Estate, as we meet it, is in severe distress. Bernard Amedroz married the heiress of the Beltons. They had two children, Charles and Clara, and the mother died when the children were still young. Charles grew up, squandered the family money, and killed himself. All of this is past history as we enter the story. Clara and her father have little money, he is aging quickly, and the grounds are barely being kept up. We meet Colonel and Mrs. Askerton, who live in a cottage of the estate. Clara has heard from a number of sources that there is or was something fishy, if not downright improper, in their past. Clara, however, being an independent-thinking young woman, has already befriended Mrs. Askerton, and clings stubbornly to her even as something of a storm builds in the neighborhood about the reported improprieties in Mrs. Askerton's not so distant past. Clara, our heroine, is likable in just about every way except for her stubbornness, which threatens her happiness throughout the course of the novel. The reader is truly hard-pressed to guess if she will bend even slightly to allow some happiness to come her way. That is the central question we are following.
The story gradually focuses down to a love triangle between Clara and her two suitors. Captain Aylmer is a young man in Parliament who is the second-born son in his family. He is very well thought of, but is of a serious bent, and has great difficulty in showing his love for Clara. She loves him, but obstacles arise to their courtship, primarily in the form of his mother, who declares her issues with Clara before even meeting her.
Will Belton, Clara's cousin, is now the heir of Belton Estate. He is a farmer with his own property, and he actually has no particular interest in owning the Belton property, but he comes there to look it over and to begin to make decisions with Mr. Belton about the proper management of the land. While Clara is instantly drawn to Will's warm personality, kindness and easy way with people, she is shocked when after just a few days with them he proposes to her. She refuses him, but pleads with him to remain friends, and he is forced to accept the dreaded role of "like a brother" to Clara, who he loves deeply.
The remaining majority of the novel follow these three characters through the twists and turns of a typical Victorian love story. The only issue I struggled with had to do with Trollope's description of Clara's sense of Will's state of mind after she rejected his offer of marriage. Beyond this, I found The Belton Estate very well written and enjoyable.
I particularly liked a scene with Clara and Will on a train, when he tells her that he is going to give her the house - so moving:
"... now she slowly raised her eyes till they met his, and looking into the depths of them, and seeing there all his love and all his suffering, and the great nobility of his nature, her heart melted within her."
Chapter 24, in which the three members of the love triangle have to sit through a meal together at the hotel, is a gem.
And if any reader gets through Will Belton's Chapter 29 letter to Clara without tears in their eyes, they are stronger than I am.
September 11, 2020
This is my eighth Trollope in a row, and that’s on top of another half dozen or more I’ve read on other occasions. That gives me a lot to compare here, and, obscure as this is, I think it’s one of the better ones.
Clara Almendroz doesn’t really want to get married. She has a sort of intellectual crush on Fred Aylmer, but she eventually sees – as we do immediately – that he’s a cold fish. She’s immediately taken by her cousin Will Belton, who has the added bonus of being the heir to the estate of her upbringing when her father does, but she insists she doesn’t like him ‘like that.’ She wants a brother even though he’s instantly smitten and wants a wife.
It’s all set up from the start for Clara to marry Will once we get over the inevitable and cliched marriage problem of Fred having proposed. With that comes some nice Trollope-style emotional parsing. She wants him, for a time, because he’s her ideal of a cultured man. He doesn’t want her until he realizes he can’t have her, and then he redoubles his effort.
But it’s clear early on – at least to us veteran Trollope readers – that Will is the real choice. It makes financial sense, familial sense, and temperamental sense.
In the end, though, Clara’s resistance seems about more than the usual conventions. She simply doesn’t want to get married. [SPOILER:] The denouement engagement scene here is cringe-worthy…by Trollope’s design, I think. Will brings his Golden Retriever enthusiasm, almost physically bullying her into returning to the spot where he’s pledged to visit only if she’ll say yes to his proposal. Her willingness to go there, though she expresses it reluctantly, stands for her acceptance. When he asks more formally, she more or less says “yeah, OK.” (That’s in contrast to her exuberant acceptance of Fred early in the novel.)
The bottom line is that she likes the man a lot. She just doesn’t want to be his wife. And, to Trollope’s credit, he explores the void of any third possibility.
I acknowledge Trollope’s fundamental conservatism, and I grew tired of the blunt anti-Semitism of The Eustace Diamonds, Phineas Redux, and The Prime Minister. Still, we see him here showing a sharper than usual sense of sympathy for the plight of women. He laments that they are dependent on their husbands’ careers, and he regularly views a bad marriage as devastating.
Clara’s situation is subtly an even greater condemnation of the system. There’s no reason to imagine that she is, as we might recognize, sexually attracted to other women, but the possibility is certainly there. She cringes ever time Will tries to kiss her, and she wants – really wants – to live her life without the bother and fuss of anything like conventional love (or sex).
Trollope can’t allow himself to be so radical as to see that through to the end, but he does interrogate the possibility. Clara is a remarkable and only sometimes appealing protagonist; the situation Trollope creates for her is movingly sympathetic.
Clara Almendroz doesn’t really want to get married. She has a sort of intellectual crush on Fred Aylmer, but she eventually sees – as we do immediately – that he’s a cold fish. She’s immediately taken by her cousin Will Belton, who has the added bonus of being the heir to the estate of her upbringing when her father does, but she insists she doesn’t like him ‘like that.’ She wants a brother even though he’s instantly smitten and wants a wife.
It’s all set up from the start for Clara to marry Will once we get over the inevitable and cliched marriage problem of Fred having proposed. With that comes some nice Trollope-style emotional parsing. She wants him, for a time, because he’s her ideal of a cultured man. He doesn’t want her until he realizes he can’t have her, and then he redoubles his effort.
But it’s clear early on – at least to us veteran Trollope readers – that Will is the real choice. It makes financial sense, familial sense, and temperamental sense.
In the end, though, Clara’s resistance seems about more than the usual conventions. She simply doesn’t want to get married. [SPOILER:] The denouement engagement scene here is cringe-worthy…by Trollope’s design, I think. Will brings his Golden Retriever enthusiasm, almost physically bullying her into returning to the spot where he’s pledged to visit only if she’ll say yes to his proposal. Her willingness to go there, though she expresses it reluctantly, stands for her acceptance. When he asks more formally, she more or less says “yeah, OK.” (That’s in contrast to her exuberant acceptance of Fred early in the novel.)
The bottom line is that she likes the man a lot. She just doesn’t want to be his wife. And, to Trollope’s credit, he explores the void of any third possibility.
I acknowledge Trollope’s fundamental conservatism, and I grew tired of the blunt anti-Semitism of The Eustace Diamonds, Phineas Redux, and The Prime Minister. Still, we see him here showing a sharper than usual sense of sympathy for the plight of women. He laments that they are dependent on their husbands’ careers, and he regularly views a bad marriage as devastating.
Clara’s situation is subtly an even greater condemnation of the system. There’s no reason to imagine that she is, as we might recognize, sexually attracted to other women, but the possibility is certainly there. She cringes ever time Will tries to kiss her, and she wants – really wants – to live her life without the bother and fuss of anything like conventional love (or sex).
Trollope can’t allow himself to be so radical as to see that through to the end, but he does interrogate the possibility. Clara is a remarkable and only sometimes appealing protagonist; the situation Trollope creates for her is movingly sympathetic.
April 19, 2024
This 1865 novel is a basic one of a love triangle with a young woman named Clara Amedroz as the focal point. Clara the only surviving child of the elderly squire of Belton Castle in Somersetshire. But her father's income and savings have been dissipated to pay for the extravagances of her brother, who subsequently committed suicide. Since her father has no living sons, his estate will pass upon his death to a distant cousin, Will Belton. As a single 25-year-old moneyless woman, Clara is facing an uncertain future.
However, Clara has two eligible suitors. Her cousin Will Belton proposes marriage to her within four days of making her acquaintance. But Clara believes herself in love with Captain Frederic Aylmer, who she has known from being a frequent visitor to and pseudo family member of the Captain’s aunt. The Captain also proposes to Clara. The plot events consist of the machinations of these two suitors and Clara vacillating in her assessment of these two beaus until the final resolution.
While simple in plot, this one was actually fun. I thought the characters were fairly interesting. Clara is a decent and highly ethical person but not all sweetness and light, as she also revealed a stubborn and condescending streak when sticking to her values. Belton is honest, kind and generous, but also socially unpolished, hot-tempered and condescending at times. Captain Aylmer is smooth, urbane, educated and a member of Parliament. But he also is a cold-fish and has a domineering mother that any daughter-in-law would regret getting involved with.
I enjoyed Trollope’s handling of the characters and his awareness of their faults and how best to use them in the story. Probably to spice up what he viewed as a fairly basic plot, Trollope often felt the urge to put in his subjective commentary, which I always appreciate. He also adds some more spice with the addition of a satisfying side plot involving Clara’s friendship with a woman in a scandalous marriage.
While perhaps nothing special, this was a still a very satisfying Trollope effort and, thus, a solid 4-star novel.
My ratings of the Trollope stand-alones I have read. I would arrange them almost exactly in the order of their Goodreads Ratings. I feel so average.
---MY -----—--GR -----
RATING------RATING------------ NOVEL
--5----------4.06 ---------- The Way We Live Now
--4----------4.04 ---------- The Vicar of Bullhampton
--4----------4.00 ---------- The Claverings
--4----------3.97 ---------- Ayala's Angel
--4----------3.94 ---------- Orley Farm
--4----------3.91 ---------- The Belton Estate
--4----------3.91 ---------- Miss Mackenzie
--3----------3.88 ---------- He Knew He Was Right
--3----------3.84 ---------- Dr. Wortle's School
--3----------3.81 ---------- Rachel Ray
--3----------3.69 ---------- Lady Anna
--4----------3.06 ---------- The Fixed Period
However, Clara has two eligible suitors. Her cousin Will Belton proposes marriage to her within four days of making her acquaintance. But Clara believes herself in love with Captain Frederic Aylmer, who she has known from being a frequent visitor to and pseudo family member of the Captain’s aunt. The Captain also proposes to Clara. The plot events consist of the machinations of these two suitors and Clara vacillating in her assessment of these two beaus until the final resolution.
While simple in plot, this one was actually fun. I thought the characters were fairly interesting. Clara is a decent and highly ethical person but not all sweetness and light, as she also revealed a stubborn and condescending streak when sticking to her values. Belton is honest, kind and generous, but also socially unpolished, hot-tempered and condescending at times. Captain Aylmer is smooth, urbane, educated and a member of Parliament. But he also is a cold-fish and has a domineering mother that any daughter-in-law would regret getting involved with.
I enjoyed Trollope’s handling of the characters and his awareness of their faults and how best to use them in the story. Probably to spice up what he viewed as a fairly basic plot, Trollope often felt the urge to put in his subjective commentary, which I always appreciate. He also adds some more spice with the addition of a satisfying side plot involving Clara’s friendship with a woman in a scandalous marriage.
While perhaps nothing special, this was a still a very satisfying Trollope effort and, thus, a solid 4-star novel.
My ratings of the Trollope stand-alones I have read. I would arrange them almost exactly in the order of their Goodreads Ratings. I feel so average.
---MY -----—--GR -----
RATING------RATING------------ NOVEL
--5----------4.06 ---------- The Way We Live Now
--4----------4.04 ---------- The Vicar of Bullhampton
--4----------4.00 ---------- The Claverings
--4----------3.97 ---------- Ayala's Angel
--4----------3.94 ---------- Orley Farm
--4----------3.91 ---------- The Belton Estate
--4----------3.91 ---------- Miss Mackenzie
--3----------3.88 ---------- He Knew He Was Right
--3----------3.84 ---------- Dr. Wortle's School
--3----------3.81 ---------- Rachel Ray
--3----------3.69 ---------- Lady Anna
--4----------3.06 ---------- The Fixed Period
October 28, 2025
Thoughts from the midpoint: I am really enjoying this story, in which Trollope muses (again) about marriages and their difficulties. I think I prefer the low-drama Trollope novels, in which the plot takes a back seat but the insights abound.
Updated 10/28/25: I enjoyed this novel immensely, mostly because of its memorable characters. The she-dragon Lady Aylmer made me laugh out loud, and I loved the contrast between her ineffectual people-pleasing son and his rival. Clara Amedroz is one of my favorite Trollope women: strong in the face of difficulty, more focused on what's right than on what's expedient or what's likely to meet with others' difficulty. Through the Askertons Trollope addresses a question that was also central to Dr. Wortle's School: when a Victorian woman found herself in a terrible marriage, what could she reasonably be expected to do?
This was #32 of Trollope's 47 novels, which means I'm more than two-thirds of the way through my quest to read them all.
Updated 10/28/25: I enjoyed this novel immensely, mostly because of its memorable characters. The she-dragon Lady Aylmer made me laugh out loud, and I loved the contrast between her ineffectual people-pleasing son and his rival. Clara Amedroz is one of my favorite Trollope women: strong in the face of difficulty, more focused on what's right than on what's expedient or what's likely to meet with others' difficulty. Through the Askertons Trollope addresses a question that was also central to Dr. Wortle's School: when a Victorian woman found herself in a terrible marriage, what could she reasonably be expected to do?
This was #32 of Trollope's 47 novels, which means I'm more than two-thirds of the way through my quest to read them all.
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