"Framley Parsonage" is the fourth of the Barsetshire series of novels by Anthony Trollope. This beautifully written novel contrasts the simpler integrity, though sometimes snobbish values, of the old ways with the more meretriciously glamorous lives of a newer society. As so often, Trollope produced a multitude of characters whose motives are completely credible, and his depiction of the different social groups provides a vivid picture of Victorian life and attitudes. As always, there is nothing outdated in Trollope's sure insight into human nature.
Young clergyman Mark Robarts receives a choice parish, thanks to Lady Lufton, the mother of one of his university friends. However, Robarts, though newly and happily married, is not content to settle into the life of a country minister. Lured by a wealthy and worldly set of new acquaintances, he finds himself pushed into living beyond his means and, worse yet, being held legally responsible for another man's bad debts.
Meantime the young Lord Lufton has been smitten by the charms of Robarts' sister Lucy, much to the displeasure of his aristocratic mother. It take a great act of magnanimity on Lucy's part - helping the impoverished Crawley family during a crisis (the Crawleys are more prominent in The Last Chronicle of Barset) - to finally convince Lady Lufton that Lucy is worthy of her son.