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When the elderly magnate Sir Joseph Mason died, he left behind a very young widow and their little boy. This was his second marriage, the children by his first wife being fully grown with families of their own. He left his main Yorkshire estate to his eldest son, also Joseph Mason, but a codicil to his will left his town estate, Orley Farm, to the infant son of his second marriage. The eldest son believed his father intended to leave him the full estate, however, and the matter was taken up in court. The codicil was proved, despite irregularities, and Orley Farm became the home of Lady Mason and her boy, Lucius. This is the state of affairs as Orley Farm begins, with Lucius now coming of age and taking possession of his inheritance. Owing to his own ambitious and stern personality—something of a Mason family trait—he claims back some acres that a local solicitor had been managing. The aggrieved solicitor cannot let matters rest, goes back over old papers, and discovers evidence which he believes demonstrates that the eldest son, Joseph Mason, had been in the right all along. This sets in motion the main plot of the novel, declared already in its opening paragraph. But the plot thickens nicely and, as the legal case develops, a number of subplots emerge. The neighboring gentry, the lawyers, the judges, the witnesses—these each have their own tales to tell, and across generations: both the older ones who remember the original case, and the younger ones (contemporaries of Lucius Mason himself) embarking on adult life, with hopes and ideals of their own. As ever, Trollope will not (and, it appears, cannot) keep secrets from his readers. The inherent drama of “Did she? or didn’t she?” is of little concern to Trollope’s crafting of the plot. In his autobiography he expresses some regret that he didn’t withhold a little more from the reader to heighten the drama, although he was pleased overall with the story itself. Despite this, his chief gifts as a novelist reach maturity with Orley Farm—his insight into human nature in particular—and these gifts have ample scope for expression in a novel deeply engaged in the great themes of sin and forgiveness, greed and avarice, truth and justice. It’s no wonder that C. P. Snow includes Orley Farm as one of his recommended entry points into Trollope’s vast body of work. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.
THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE GREAT ORLEY FARM CASE. It is not true that a rose by any other name will smell as sweet. Were it true, I should call this story "The Great Orley Farm Case." But who would ask for the ninth number of a serial work burthened with so very uncouth an appellation? Thence, and therefore,—Orley Farm. I say so much at commencing in order that I may have an opportunity of explaining that this book of mine will not be devoted in any special way to rural delights. The name might lead to the idea that new precepts were to be given, in the pleasant guise of a novel, as to cream-cheeses, pigs with small bones, wheat sown in drills, or artificial manure. No such aspirations are mine. I make no attempts in that line, and declare at once that agriculturists will gain nothing from my present performance. Orley Farm, my readers, will be our scene during a portion of our present sojourn together, but the name has been chosen as having been intimately connected with certain legal questions which made a considerable stir in our courts of law. It was twenty years before the date at which this story will be supposed to commence that the name of Orley Farm first became known to the wearers of the long robe. At that time had died an old gentleman, Sir Joseph Mason, who left behind him a landed estate in Yorkshire of considerable extent and value. This he bequeathed, in a proper way, to his eldest son, the Joseph Mason, Esq., of our date. Sir Joseph had been a London merchant; had made his own money, having commenced the world, no doubt, with half a crown; had become, in turn, alderman, mayor, and knight; and in the fulness of time was gathered to his fathers. He had purchased this estate in Yorkshire late in life—we may as well become acquainted with the name, Groby Park—and his eldest son had lived there with such enjoyment of the privileges of an English country gentleman as he had been able to master for himself. Sir Joseph had also had three daughters, full sisters of Joseph of Groby, whom he endowed sufficiently and gave over to three respective loving husbands. And then shortly before his death, three years or so, Sir Joseph had married a second wife, a lady forty-five years his junior, and by her he also left one son, an infant only two years old when he died.
Anthony Trollope (1815 – 1882) was an English novelist of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, which revolves around the imaginary county of Barsetshire. “Orley Farm” is a novel which was first published by the London publisher Chapman and Hall from March 1861 to October 1862. This story deals with the imperfect workings of the legal system in the trial and acquittal of Lady Mason.
When Joseph Mason of Groby Park, Yorkshire, died, he left his estate to his family. A codicil to his will, however, left Orley Farm, near London, to his much younger second wife and infant son. The will and the codicil were in her handwriting, and there were three witnesses, one of whom was no longer alive. A bitterly fought court case confirmed the codicil. Twenty years pass. Lady Mason lives at Orley Farm with her adult son, Lucius. Samuel Dockwrath, a tenant, is asked to leave by Lucius, who wants to try new intensive farming methods. Aggrieved, and knowing of the original case, Dockwrath investigates and finds a second deed signed by the same witnesses on the same date, though they can remember signing only one. He travels to Groby Park in Yorkshire, where Joseph Mason the younger lives with his comically parsimonious wife, and persuades Mason to have Lady Mason prosecuted for perjury. The prosecution fails, but Lady Mason later confesses privately that she committed the forgery, and is prompted by conscience to give up the estate.
Excerpt from Orley Farm, Vol. 16 Yes, Moulder, that will be my endeavour; and then I may lay my hand upon my bosom and think that I have done my dut)7 by my country.' And as Ronneby spoke he suited the action to the word. Quite right, John, ' said Mrs. Smiley. Them's the sentiments of a man, and I, as a woman having a right to speak where you are concerned, quite approve of them.' About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
This work offers the final volume of Trollope's 1862 realist novel, with illustrations by Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais.