THE EUSTACE DIAMONDS

1872. A Novel. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1872. 4 pp preliminary undated ads. Original dark green cloth.

First Edition (Harper's one-volume edition was published in October 1872; the London three-decker, dated 1873, came out two months later, in December 1872). This is Trollope's tale about the adventuress Lizzie Greystock -- "the very beautiful, superficially clever and completely selfish daughter of an admiral who was no credit whatever to the British Navy" [Gerould]. She trapped wealthy Sir Florian Eustace into marrying her just before he died, and so came into possession of a diamond necklace -- which she claimed he had given her but his relatives claimed as an heirloom. But then the necklace was stolen not once but twice, or was it actually?... As a "Palliser" novel, it includes many of the same characters who had been in CAN YOU FORGIVE HER? and in PHINEAS FINN. On this copy the green is fairly dark, and the grain of the cloth consists of tiny squares; other copies are a lighter green, with diagonal grain (no priority known). This is a clean, bright copy, near-fine with only very light shelf-wear at the extremities. THE EUSTACE DIAMONDS is one of the most sought-after (and expensive) American editions of Trollope, due to its definite precedence over the British edition. See Sadleir (TROLLOPE) 39.