The Small House at Allington

The Small House at Allington is the fifth novel in Anthony Trollope's series known as the "Chronicles of Barsetshire," first published in 1864. 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 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 and Lilian.