The Palliser Novels

This is the sequence of six political novels, first issued from 1864 to 1880, that follows Plantagenet Palliser and Lady Glencora from their arranged marriage through his rise toward the premiership and the later lives of their children. Companion plots concern Phineas Finn, an Irish MP, and Lizzie Eustace's fight over a diamond necklace. Settings are Parliament, country houses, and London society; recurring subjects are office, money, and marriages that cross rank. The books share a cast but can be read as separate stories. The set is a linked series of parliamentary novels, not a single continuous plot and not a biography of a real statesman.

4-6. Reprints in a grey or blue three-volume slipcase decorated and titled in black and gold.