The Claverings

In Anthony Trollope's The Claverings, beautiful Julia Brabazon jilted her lover Harry Clavering to marry a wealthy earl, prompting Harry to leave London to pursue a career as a civil engineer. As he falls for his employer's daughter and gets engaged, Julia unexpectedly returns as a wealthy widow, reigniting Harry's old feelings. The novel explores the complexities of love and ambition through a range of flawed characters, including strong women navigating societal expectations and a hesitant anti-hero caught between past and present.