The Duke's Children

Silverbridge has been engaged in a flirtation with Lady Mabel Grex, who is a cousin of Tregear's. She is an earls daughter but does not have much of a dowry. She loves Frank Tregear, but she tries to lure Silverbridge into a proposal, because he is rich and she wants to get married. However while he likes her, he is now in love with Isabel. Plantagenet gets to know her, and Isabel says that she is in love with Silverbridge, but she does not want to marry him if his father won't accept the marriage. However, Plantagenet's feelings are softening as he gets over his grief. He comes to accept the 2 love matches that his children want to make. He likes Isabel. Silverbridge returns to the Liberal party and marries his American bride. Mary marries Tregear. But Plantagenet knows he will never get over Glencora's death.

Palliser novels - Duke's children

When Plantagenet finds out that Glencora had been encouraging Mary's romance, he gets angry and keeps his daughter at home and away from her suitor. He feels hurt as it reminds him of how his wife had been in love with another man when they married. He cannot accept that Frank is a decent respectable man, and not a rake like Burgo. He also has quarrels with his 2 sons. Lord Silverbridge, his heir has begun to take an interest in Tory politics, and to consider deserting the Liberal party and becoming a Conservative. Plantagenet is horrified by this, as the Pallisers have been Liberals for generations. He genuinely believes in Liberal ideals, of wanting to help the poorer classes. The 2 boys are young and selfish, enjoying gambling and racing and he worries that they are not taking life seriously, as he always did. He is even more annoyed when Lord Silverbridge meets an American girl who is visiting London and falls in love with her. Isabel Boncassen's father is wealthy but her mother is not a sophistcated woman. Plantagenet feels that she would not fit in as the wife of a future Duke. M/F

Later Palliser novels

The last 2 novels in the Palliser series are the Prime Minister and the Duke's Children. The Prime Minister covers the years when Glencora's children are becoming adults, and Plantagenet becomes Prime minister. He is not suited to the job, has little ambition and dislikes the socialising and grandeur that goes with it. Glencora enjoys it. She opens up their castle home which is rarely used, holds huge house parties and interferes with politics. The chief character of the novel is Ferdinand Lopez, an ambitious young financier, who wants to get into politics. Glencora, out of boredom, takes a fancy to him and intrigues for him to win an election. This causes a scandal and Plantagenet is angry with his wife but forgives her. Lopez gets into trouble with his investments and kills himself.. and Plantagenet resigns. He and Glencora decide to go away to Europe, on a long holiday. They take the children with them. However soon after they come home, Glencora dies, in her 40s after taking a chill. Plantagenet is distraught as she was almost the only person he could talk to.. He finds that true to her nature she has been plotting on behalf of the children.. doing things he might not approve of. She knows that her only daughter, Mary, is in love with a young man called Frank Tregear, who does not have much money,. She wants to plan so that if Mary's romance with him lasts, she will be able to marry him... Her own early life was blighted by her not being allowed to marry Burgo Fitzgerald.. and she knows that Frank is a decent young man and would make Mary happy. M/F

They Knew Mr Knight Part V

While Thomas is awaiting trial, Douglas goes back to college and says he will try to help his mother financially until his father is out of jail. Ruth gets a job as a secretary and goes on writing a novel in her spare time. Then they learn that Mr Knight has been arrested for fraud.. and shortly after being bailed he goes to his office and shoots himself. Their incubus is gone, albeit without standing trial. Celia and Ruth go back to their old home in the town, and she takes in a lodger to provide a little more money. Then Thomas is tried and gets a one year sentence. Mrs Knight has very little money and is lost without her husband - she never understood his business...However Thomas' sister, Isabel, who has been friendly with her, suggests that she and Mrs Knight sell up her valuables and set up a tea shop in Brighton. Celia feels sorry for Mrs Knight who is not a bad woman, and throws herself into managing her life while waiting for Thomas to get out of jail. She keeps house and Ruth helps, and they are pleased when Ruth's novel is accepted... Just before Thomas' release from prison, Celia has a religious experience, where she realises that material things dont matter, and that she will survive. Thomas is released and they go to the nearby Cathedral... and vow to support and love each other....

They Knew Mr KNight Part IV

Celia starts to feel more and more resentment against Knight, since he seems to be breaking up her family. Freda has become an aimless socialite. Douglas is unhappy because of the loss of his girl. Ruth seems happy and not seeking for more. Knight suggests that the Blakes buy out his country house, and Celia is tempted by this. She does not want material possessions but she is happy to get out of the town and to have more space and a more active country life. She enjoys gardening and the women's insititute and is happy for a time, but Thomas is always worrying about money. He is eager to make more. Knight is launching a new business called Kosmos, and Thomas buys in. The shares go up and up and he is delighted but then abruptly the business crashes. Thomas seeks out Knight for advice. He is shocked to find that the older man tells him that he has finished wet nursing him and that he wants Blake to repay the money he owes him, immediately or he will sue. Thomas now realises that Knight is a fraudster who has probably managed to get out of the business before it collapsed. But he does not know how he is going to pay back his many debts. Celia asks if he can get a loan from the bank, but he will still be in debt. Freda is very upset that she has had a few years of a social life and now she will have to support herself. She walks out of the house one day and marries Coggy, almost in secret. She does not love him but he is a good natured man and she hopes he will look after her a bit. Celia thinks he is a nice man but weak and foolish, and she hopes her daughter won't regret the hasty marriage. Thomas is desperate and in a wild attempt to borrow enough money to sort himself out, he alters papers in his company's accounts. Then he feels guilty and gives himself up to the police. It looks pretty certain that he will go to jail, for fraud.

They Knew Mr Knight Part III

As the children grow up, Celia continues to be uneasy about Wright. She finds that Thomas spends less time at home with his family and more time in the masculine world of business, playing golf with Mr Wright and discussing making money with him. Edward, his younger brother, keeps on losing jobs and infuriates Thomas. The final straw happens when Freda finds him working at a charity ball as a cloakroom attendant. She is embarrassed and Thomas tells Edward off. He washes his hands of his brother. Edward, depressed, goes to the pub as he often does. He is friendly with the landlady's daughter, Carrie. She looks up to him as a gentleman. They become closer and he asks her to marry him. He knows his family will look down on him even more for marrying a pub keeper's daughter and maybe working in the pub himself, but he has reached a point of not caring. Meanwhile, Douglas is leaving school and gets into college, but he decides to study Science instead of engineering...He doesn't tell his parents. Douglas then has a nasty shock when he becomes infatuated with one of the young women who visit Mr Knight's house. She is a model and very beautiful and Douglas is smitten. Then he finds out that she is not an innocent young woman, but she's been Wright's mistress for some time, because he has money. Douglas is disgusted and devotes himself to his studies. Freda continues to be friendly with Mrs Knight and to go to her parties and go around with the aimless but good natured Coggy.

They knew Mr Knight Part II

Celia is not happy about the friendship that begins to grow between Knight and Thomas. She feels that such a rich successful man can't be relied on. Thomas tells her that she does not understand how much financial worry he has. He has an elderly mother whom he helps out, and a brother, Edward who can't hold down a job. He has his own children to provide for. He feels that women like his wife don't understand about money or how much responsibility a man has for looking after his family. Mr Knight invites the family to meet his wife. Maud is a rather common but good natured woman. She used to be in Music hall and Knight is a bit embarrassed by her. She tells Celia and Freda that she does not really want to live outside London and there is nothing to do in their country house. Mr Knight invites friends to stay and Mrs Knight tries to put a brave face on the fact that he is often having an affair with a young woman friend. Over a few years, Thomas's business does fairly well and he gets tips from Mr Knight to increase his wealth by buying shares. Celia still feels uneasy, but Thomas continues to work with Knight, to try and make himself richer. Freda leaves school and she has no real ambitions other than to enjoy herself at social events. Mrs Knight invites her to parties and dances, and Freda makes some upper class friends... However, she had fallen in love with a young man, who married another girl. She goes around with one of his relatives, Coggy, an older man who has no occupation but is at least likable and good natured. Because the family are now better off, Douglas is sent to boarding school. M/F