Is He Popenjoy?

Is He Popenjoy? was inspired by one of the most gripping scandals of the 1870s, concerning a pretender to the Tichborne baronetcy. Trollope makes entertaining use of this case, although the real heroine of his novel is Mary Germain, vivacious, naïve and rebellious in her marriage to Lord George Germain, a true and truly autocratic English gentleman. Through Mary's indiscreet flirtation with a young Guards officer and her encounter with some (savagely parodied) activists in the Women's Right...