The Way We Live Now

The Way We Live Now is a satirical novel by Anthony Trollope, published in London in 1875 after first appearing in serialised form. It is one of the last significant Victorian novels to have been published in monthly parts. It was Trollope's longest novel, and is particularly rich in sub-plot. It was inspired by the financial scandals of the early 1870s; Trollope had just returned to England from abroad, and was appalled by the greed and dishonesty those scandals exposed. This novel was his rebuke. It dramatises how that greed and dishonesty pervaded the commercial, political, moral, and intellectual life of that era. Augustus Melmotte is a financier with a mysterious past. He is rumoured to have Jewish origins, and is rumored to be connected to some failed businesses in Vienna. When he moves his business and his family to London, the city's upper crust begins buzzing with rumours about him - and a host of characters ultimately find their lives changed because of him.