The Eustace Diamonds

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The Eustace Diamonds is a novel by Anthony Trollope, first published in 1871 as a serial in the Fortnightly Review. It is the third of the "Palliser" series of novels.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In this novel, the characters of Plantagenet Palliser and his wife, Lady Glencora, are in the background. The plot centers on Lizzie Greystock, a fortune-hunter who ensnares the sickly, dissipated Sir Florian Eustace and is soon left a very wealthy widow and mother. While clever and beautiful, Lizzie has several character flaws; the greatest of these is an almost pathological delight in lying, even when it cannot benefit her. Before he dies, the disillusioned Sir Florian discovers all this, but does not think to change the generous terms of his will.

The diamonds of the book's title are a necklace, a Eustace family heirloom that Sir Florian gave to Lizzie to wear. Lizzie attempts to hold onto them, much to the irritation of the longtime family lawyer, Mr Camperdown. The Eustaces find themselves in an awkward position. On the one hand, the diamonds are a valuable heirloom to which Lizzie may not have a legal claim, but on the other, they do not want to antagonize the mother of the heir to the family estate (Lizzie having only a life interest).

Meanwhile, after a respectable period of mourning, Lizzie searches for another husband, a dashing "Corsair" more in keeping with her extravagantly romantic fantasies. She becomes engaged to a dull, hardworking politician, Lord Fawn, but they have a falling out when her character becomes better known, especially her determination to keep the diamonds. She then considers her cousin, Frank Greystock, even though he is already engaged to Lucy Morris, a poor, but much beloved governess of the Fawn daughters. Greystock is a successful lawyer and Member of Parliament, but his income is inadequate to his position and spendthrift lifestyle. Lizzie believes he can shield her from the legal proceedings being initiated by Mr Camperdown. Another more Corsair-like possibility is one of her guests at her Scottish castle, the older Lord George de Bruce Carruthers, a man who supports himself in a somewhat mysterious manner.

Things take a dramatic turn on a trip to London. Lizzie, out of fear of Mr Camperdown, keeps her diamonds with her in a conspicuous strongbox. One night, at an inn, the strongbox is stolen and everybody assumes the jewelry is lost. As it turns out, Lizzie had taken the gems out and put them under her pillow, but acting on her first instincts, she perjures herself when she has to report the theft to the magistrate, thinking that she can sell the diamonds and let the robbers take the blame. Suspicion falls on both Lizzie and Lord Carruthers, acting either together or separately. In any case, the thieves, aided by Lizzie's disloyal maid, try again and succeed in their second attempt.

The police begin to unravel the mystery, putting Lizzie in a very uncomfortable position. In the end, the diamonds are lost, the police discover the truth and Lizzie is forced to confess her lies, though she escapes legal retribution since her testimony is needed to convict the criminals. Both Frank Greystock and Lord Carruthers are disgusted by the trouble her lies have caused them and desert her. Frank Greystock returns to Fawn Court to marry Lucy Morris. Mr Emilius, a foreign clergyman, woos Lizzie while she is in this vulnerable state and succeeds in marrying her (though it is later revealed in Phineas Redux that he was already married).