Fifty-year-old William Whittlestaff becomes guardian to Mary Lawrie, the orphaned and penniless daughter of an old friend, and gradually finds himself falling in love with her. But Mary has already given her heart to the young John Gordon, who has gone to seek his fortune in the Kimberley diamond fields of South Africa. GordonтАЩs sudden return after a three yearsтАЩ absence, on the very day of WhittlestaffтАЩs proposal, precipitates the crisis at the center of the story.
An Old ManтАЩs Love is TrollopeтАЩs last completed novel, finished just seven months before his death.
Anthony Trollope (1815тАУ1882) grew up in London. He inherited his motherтАЩs ambition to write and was famously disciplined in the development of his craft. His first novel was published in 1847 while he was working in Ireland as a surveyor for the General Post Office. He wrote a series of books set in the English countryside as well as those set in the political life, works that show great psychological penetration. One of his greatest strengths was his ability to re-create in his fiction his own vision of the social structures of Victorian England. The author of forty-seven novels, he was one of the most prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era.
Frederick Davidson (1932тАУ2005), also known as David Case, was one of the most prolific readers in the audiobook industry, recording more than eight hundred audiobooks in his lifetime, including over two hundred for Blackstone Audio. Born in London, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and performed for many years in radio plays for the British Broadcasting Company before coming to America in 1976. He received AudioFileтАЩs Golden Voice Award and numerous Earphones Awards and was nominated for a Grammy for his readings.