Written at the height of his fame, Trollope's tale centers on his most popular literary heroine, Lily Dale, and her inextinguishable love for calculating self-seeker Adolphus Crosbie. More than a simple tale of love and loss, The Small House at Allington is a subtle and gentle ironic expression of the power of devotion and the pitfalls of ambition brilliantly realized by a splendid cast.