{"product_id":"way-we-live-now-2","title":"Way We Live Now","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Way We Live Now\u003c\/i\u003e is Anthony Trollope''s radical exploration of the dangers associated with speculative capitalism, edited with an introduction and notes by Frank Kermode in Penguin Classics.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAugustus Melmotte is a fraudulent foreign financier who preys on dissolute nobility - using charm to tempt the weak into making foolish investments in his dubious schemes. Persuaded to put money into a notional plot to run a railroad from San Francisco to Santa Cruz, the capricious gambler Felix Carbury soon becomes one of his victims. But as Melmotte climbs higher in society, his web of deceit - which also draws in characters as diverse as his own daughter Marie and Felix''s mother, the pulp novelist Lady Carbury - begins to unravel. A radical exploration of the dangers associated with speculative capitalism, this is a fascinating satire about a society on the verge of moral bankruptcy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrank Kermode''s introduction explores the real-life inspiration for Trollope''s masterly satire. This edition also includes detailed notes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnthony Trollope (1815-82) had an unhappy childhood characterised by a stark contrast between his family''s high social standing and their comparative poverty. He wrote his earliest novels while working as a Post Office inspector, but did not meet with success until the publication of the first of his ''Barsetshire novels'', \u003ci\u003eThe Warden\u003c\/i\u003e (1855). As well as writing over forty novels, including such popular works as \u003ci\u003eCan You Forgive Her? \u003c\/i\u003e(1865)\u003ci\u003e, Phineas Finn \u003c\/i\u003e(1869)\u003ci\u003e, He Knew He Was Right \u003c\/i\u003e(1869) and \u003ci\u003eThe Way We Live Now\u003c\/i\u003e (1875) Trollope is credited with introducing the postbox to England.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf you enjoyed \u003ci\u003eThe Way We Live Now,\u003c\/i\u003e you might like William Makepeace Thackeray''s \u003ci\u003eVanity Fair\u003c\/i\u003e, also available in Penguin Classics.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Trollope''s masterpiece ... its examination of how hopes of easy money can corrupt remains relevant today'' \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57320272527742,"sku":"NW9780140433920","price":11.67,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9780140433920.jpg?v=1778235615","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/products\/way-we-live-now-2","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}