Kept in the Dark

by Anthony Trollope

Book Overview

Written in 1882, Kept in the Dark is a compelling story of jealousy, obstinacy and marital estrangement. Strong-minded Cecelia Holt cannot bring herself to tell George Western of her previous engagement to Sir Francis Geraldine. When her husband learns the truth, their marriage seems to be headed for disaster. The story has a painful contemporary moral which would today raise troubling questions regarding the submission of wives to their husbands...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0192827405
• ISBN13: 9780192827401
• Release Date: April 1992
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.6" x 7.3"

Customer Reviews

A fun, easy-to-read Trollope

Not as much politics as in most Trollope books, so an easy, fast read, and immensely entertaining and satisfying.

Kept in the Dark (Kindle edition)

Kept in the Dark by Anthony Trollope. Published by MobileReference (mobi). Trollope uses this novel to show that honesty and integrity are not just virtues - they are essentials. Trollope's characters come to the end of this short novel stronger, more true, and still married. And those who are untrue are exposed along the way.

Secrets and the strength of love

One of Trollope's later and shorter novels, this tells the story of a woman who keeps secret from her husband a previous engagement to another man; when he finally finds out about it he leaves her. What happens is this: Cecilia Holt decides to break off her engagement to the neglectful Sir Francis Geraldine. Later she meets and falls in love with George Western, who has also been jilted; he tells her about his past, but she doesn't reveal hers to him, and then they marry. But Sir Francis writes to Western and spills the beans; appalled by Cecilia's silence and soon suspicious of her motives, leaves her. By the end all is made right by Western's sister Lady Grant. The central episode that drives the novel seems like a mountain made out of a molehill today, but Cecilia Holt is an excellently drawn character - strong and determined (maybe too much so). She refuses Western's money after he leaves her and expects him to apologize to her when he returns. Trollope's realism is in full control when at the end Cecilia has romantic notions regarding Western's return, but Trollope will have none of it; Western's stoicism is something Cecilia is just going to have to accept. Some of the secondary scenes, especially those involving Sir Francis and Miss Altifiorla, are quite humorous. This novel doesn't rank with Trollope's very best work, but it's still entertaining and interesting in its own way.

an affirmation of marriage

An editorial review mentioned that this is a story about the near-destruction of a marriage. I see it, rather, as the affirmation of true marriage. Both the hero and heroine--having been misled about the character of previous betrothal connections must overcome feelings of distrust and personal pride to come to a true understanding . . . Trollope uses this novel to show that honesty and integrity are not just virtues; they are essentials. In a time when so many best-sellers end in divorce, Trollope's characters come to the end of this short novel stronger and more true--and still married. And those who are untrue are exposed along the way.