The Way We Live Now

by Anthony Trollope · 1875

Set against the glittering yet treacherous world of 1870s London, Anthony Trollope’s *The Way We Live Now* skewers the era’s feverish rush for wealth and fame. When charismatic French financier Augustus Melmotte arrives with promises of boundless profit, his dazzling schemes draw in a parade of opportunists—ambitious editors, ruthless publishers, and social climbers desperate for a slice of his fortune. At the heart of the intrigue is the mercurial Lady Carbury, a self‑promoting author whose relentless pursuit of success mirrors the novel’s broader moral decay, and her son Felix, who is coaxed into a marriage of convenience with Melmotte’s daughter. Through razor‑sharp satire and vivid character portraits, Trollope exposes the speculative mania and ethical bankruptcy of a society teetering on the brink of collapse, offering a timeless portrait of ambition, deception, and the cost of living for the moment.