Cousin Henry Annotated

Book excerpt: Cousin Henry is a novel by Anthony Trollope first published in 1879. The story deals with the trouble arising from the indecision of a squire in choosing an heir to his estate. Of Trollope's shorter novels, it has been called one of his most experimental. In defer Jones is the aged squire, between seventy and eighty years of age, of a large manor, Llanfair, in Carmarthen, Wales. His niece, Isabel Broderick, has lived with him for years after the remarriage of her father, and endeared herself to everyone. However, according to his strong traditional beliefs, the estate must be passed down to a male heir.