"The Eustace Diamonds" by Anthony Trollope *****

• Audiobook
• Originally published 1873
• #3 in Palliser series
• English author
• Review:  Trollope continues, in this third installment of his Palliser series, to poke fun at the aristocracy.  It is really more than poking fun, but the writing makes one laugh while also clearly identifying the vanities, hypocrisies, and various other frailties of the
  English upper class in the mid 1800s.  Lady Eustace, the melodramatic, manipulative, narcissistic widow will stop at nothing to hold onto her beloved diamond necklace, while desperately seeking a new spouse in the poetic incarnation of a corsair.  In the course of pursuing her nefarious goals, she lies, cheats, double-crosses, perjures, and uses everyone in her path.  I won't tell you what happens to the necklace or her love life, because that would spoil half the fun. I look forward to the next volume and what antics will occur there!