The Bertrams: A Novel; Volume 2

The Bertrams was published in 1859, a period during which Anthony Trollope was rapidly establishing his reputation as a prolific chronicler of Victorian social life. Unlike the popular Barsetshire series, this novel was written in the wake of Trollope's return from an extended postal service mission to Egypt and the Holy Land, an experience that influenced the travel motifs woven throughout the narrative. He later expressed personal dissatisfaction with the work, famously regarding it as one of his least successful efforts in terms of character development and structural coherence.

The novel reflects the mid-Victorian preoccupation with the tensions between professional ambition and personal morality, themes that permeated much of Trollope's bibliography. As a three-volume production, the format was dictated by the prevailing conventions of the circulating library system, which prioritized multi-volume sets to maximize readership. While its initial reception was lukewarm compared to the acclaim for his earlier works, the novel remains a significant study in Trollope's stylistic evolution and his grappling with the complexities of the Victorian legal and clerical spheres.