The Folio Society edition of The Duke’s Children
In March 2015, the Folio Society will publish the first complete edition of Trollope’s The Duke’s Children.
The Duke’s Children was written as a four-volume novel, but was cut to three volumes. As the Folio Society tells us, “65,000 words ended up on the cutting-room floor.” The restored manuscript is published in this limited edition, and a separate volume of scholarly essays and notes is included with the novel
I am excited about the new edition, because I am rereading Trollope’s Pallisers novels: Can You Forgive Her?, Phineas Finn, The Eustace Diamonds, Phineas Redux, The Prime Minister, and The Duke’s Children. If I wait till March to read The Duke’s Children, I can read the Folio Society edtion.
I dearly love the Pallisers books, which I discovered in the 1970s, when the BBC series aired in the U.S. In those days, mass market paperbacks were often published to complement the TV series. My set had photos of the actors on the covers.
A scene from the BBC Pallisers series.
Then, in the ’80s, I found a classier set of Oxford editions at a used bookstore. Alas, I was not very fussy about condition, and I must say these were too well-used.
A set of the Pallisers books.
Now I have the inexpensive Oxford World Classics editions.
The Oxford World Classics Palliser books
Much as I like the Folio Society books (I recently saw a gorgeous edition of Rose Macaulay’s The Towers of Trezibond at a used bookstore), I am not a collector. They are beautiful, but expensive.
But perhaps I’ll treat myself to the new The Duke’s Children. I’m not traveling to London this spring, so this can be the substitute.
mirabile dictu 
I hope one does not have to subscribe to the Folio Society to buy it. I hope to get it too.
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Ellen, it never occurred to me that one would have to be a member! Let’s hope many, many copies are printed of the limited edition and that they’re available to the public.
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How gorgeous! I have yet to explore Trollope but a Folio edition looks like the way to do it!
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They do have a few of his books, The Warden and Barchester Towers.
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No, no. Go to London. Buy the Trollope there as a trip souvenir.
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Nancy, I’d love to go to London, but this year we’re going on a “nature” vacation. This probably means bicycling. I hope it doesn’t mean climbing mountains.:) Nor am I kayaking.
But, yes, I could wait till next time I go to London. This book is certainly too big to take into “nature.”
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I finally finished the Palliser series this year. After reading the first four books many years ago I finally gave up saving The PM & The Duke’s Children “for best” as my Mum used to say, & read them as I was watching the BBC series for the first time. I’ve read quite a lot of Trollope but thank goodness he was prolific & there’s lots more to go. I think John Caldigate, with its Australian connection, will be next.
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I loved John Caldigate! I wish I could watch The Pallisers: my library weeded it out, if you can believe it. I probably will read The Duke’s Children in my Oxford edition. I wonder what the Folio Society will charge for the new edition. It’s not the kind of thing you can preorder at Amazon.:)
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