Palliser novels Palliser novels The Palliser novels are six novels by Anthony Trollope. They were more commonly known (before the BBC aired a television adaptation) as the Parliamentary Novels. The common threads throughout the series are the wealthy aristocrat and politician Plantagenet Palliser, and his wife, Lady Glencora. The plots involve British and Irish politics in varying degrees, specifically in and around Parliament. The Pallisers do not always play major roles, and in "The Eustace Diamonds" they merely comment on the main action. The books are: The series overlaps with Trollope's Chronicles of Barsetshire, also a series of six novels, which deal
19th century powers and in resistance by the native population. In 1867, diamonds were discovered in the Kimberley region of South Africa. In 1886, gold was discovered in Transvaal. This led to colonization in Southern Africa by the British and business interests, led by Cecil Rhodes. The 19th century saw the birth of science as a profession; the term scientist was coined in 1833 by William Whewell, which soon replaced the older term of (natural) philosopher. Among the most influential ideas of the 19th century were those of Charles Darwin (alongside the independent researches of Alfred Russel Wallace), who in 1859 published