The Eustace Diamonds

"Show, don't tell," that's what all the writing guides say, and there's plenty of truth to that truism. But sometimes you want a story to be told—there's a reason they're called "storytellers"—and when that's your mood, go straight to Trollope who, refreshingly, tells you exactly what to think about the (anti-)heroine of this tale: "We will tell the story of Lizzie Greystock from the beginning, but we will not dwell over it at great length, as we might do if we loved her." (It's a very long book, though, so maybe that sly narrator loves her after all!) I came late to Trollope, but when I finally read The Eustace Diamonds, all I could do was ask why had I been depriving myself of such deliciousness?