The Way We Live Now
A vast, biting panorama of a corrupt age, Trollope’s masterpiece centers on the mysterious financier Augustus Melmotte, whose dazzling speculative empire draws in a society obsessed with money, status, and dishonest gain—until the bubble bursts. Ranging across fraudulent finance, cynical marriages, and literary vanity, it is Trollope’s darkest and most ambitious novel, a savage indictment of Victorian greed that feels startlingly modern. Rich in character and scathing in its satire, The Way We Live Now exposes a world where everything and everyone is for sale. Sweeping and powerful, it stands as one of the great English novels about money, ambition, and moral decay.
About the Author
Anthony Trollope (1815-1882) was an English novelist of the Victorian era, celebrated for the Barsetshire and Palliser series, whose warm, realistic novels of society and character remain widely loved.
See all books by Anthony Trollope →
Listen to The Way We Live Now Audiobook Free
Listen to The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope free online. The full audiobook (33 hr 51 min, 100 chapters, read by Debra Lynn) streams free on this page.
The Way We Live Now (1875) is a public domain work.
| # | Chapter | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ch. 001 Three Editors | 21:48 | |
| 2 | Ch. 002 The Carbury Family | 21:49 | |
| 3 | Ch. 003 The Beargarden | 16:01 | |
| 4 | Ch. 004 Madame Melmotte's Ball | 31:38 | |
| 5 | Ch. 005 After The Ball | 8:18 | |
| 6 | Ch. 006 Roger Carbury And Paul Montague | 25:11 | |
| 7 | Ch. 007 Mentor | 19:22 | |
| 8 | Ch. 008 Love-Sick | 17:00 | |
| 9 | Ch. 009 The Great Railway To Vera Cruz | 18:48 | |
| 10 | Ch. 010 Mr Fisker's Success | 25:22 | |
| 11 | Ch. 011 Lady Carbury At Home | 27:32 | |
| 12 | Ch. 012 Sir Felix In His Mother's House | 13:19 | |
| 13 | Ch. 013 The Longestaffes | 22:47 | |
| 14 | Ch. 014 Carbury Manor | 19:25 | |
| 15 | Ch. 015 'You Should Remember That I Am His Mother' | 20:59 | |
| 16 | Ch. 016 The Bishop And The Priest | 27:09 | |
| 17 | Ch. 017 Marie Melmotte Hears A Love Tale | 25:37 | |
| 18 | Ch. 018 Ruby Ruggles Hears A Love Tale | 13:05 | |
| 19 | Ch. 019 Hetta Carbury Hears A Love Tale | 25:06 | |
| 20 | Ch. 020 Lady Pomona's Dinner Party | 13:00 | |
| 21 | Ch. 021 Everybody Goes To Them | 27:04 | |
| 22 | Ch. 022 Lord Nidderdale's Morality | 17:01 | |
| 23 | Ch. 023 'Yes I'm A Baronet' | 22:52 | |
| 24 | Ch. 024 Miles Grendall's Triumph | 19:19 | |
| 25 | Ch. 025 In Grosvenor Square | 14:22 | |
| 26 | Ch. 026 Mrs Hurtle | 27:40 | |
| 27 | Ch. 027 Mrs Hurtle Goes To The Play | 24:46 | |
| 28 | Ch. 028 Dolly Longestaffe Goes Into The City | 12:20 | |
| 29 | Ch. 029 Miss Melmotte's Courage | 17:08 | |
| 30 | Ch. 030 Mr Melmotte's Promise | 22:21 | |
| 31 | Ch. 031 Mr Broune Has Made Up His Mind | 20:15 | |
| 32 | Ch. 032 Lady Monogram | 19:41 | |
| 33 | Ch. 033 John Crumb | 27:43 | |
| 34 | Ch. 034 Ruby Ruggles Obeys Her Grandfather | 12:38 | |
| 35 | Ch. 035 Melmotte's Glory | 24:46 | |
| 36 | Ch. 036 Mr Broune's Perils | 13:51 | |
| 37 | Ch. 037 The Board-Room | 28:34 | |
| 38 | Ch. 038 Paul Montague's Troubles | 19:54 | |
| 39 | Ch. 039 'I Do Love Him' | 27:49 | |
| 40 | Ch. 040 'Unanimity Is The Very Soul Of These Things' | 12:47 | |
| 41 | Ch. 041 All Prepared | 12:39 | |
| 42 | Ch. 042 'Can You Be Ready In Ten Minutes?' | 22:37 | |
| 43 | Ch. 043 The City Road | 26:26 | |
| 44 | Ch. 044 The Coming Election | 21:45 | |
| 45 | Ch. 045 Mr Melmotte Is Pressed For Time | 18:52 | |
| 46 | Ch. 046 Roger Carbury And His Two Friends | 20:59 | |
| 47 | Ch. 047 Mrs Hurtle At Lowestoft | 28:09 | |
| 48 | Ch. 048 Ruby A Prisoner | 12:19 | |
| 49 | Ch. 049 Sir Felix Makes Himself Ready | 19:33 | |
| 50 | Ch. 050 The Journey To Liverpool | 20:58 | |
| 51 | Ch. 051 Which Shall It Be? | 21:15 | |
| 52 | Ch. 052 The Results Of Love And Wine | 18:07 | |
| 53 | Ch. 053 A Day In The City | 24:00 | |
| 54 | Ch. 054 The India Office | 26:00 | |
| 55 | Ch. 055 Clerical Charities | 13:17 | |
| 56 | Ch. 056 Father Barham Visits London | 20:31 | |
| 57 | Ch. 057 Lord Nidderdale Tries His Hand Again | 21:44 | |
| 58 | Ch. 058 Mr Squercum Is Employed | 21:10 | |
| 59 | Ch. 059 The Dinner | 21:21 | |
| 60 | Ch. 060 Miss Longestaffe's Lover | 19:45 | |
| 61 | Ch. 061 Lady Monogram Prepares For The Party | 11:29 | |
| 62 | Ch. 062 The Party | 27:24 | |
| 63 | Ch. 063 Mr Melmotte On The Day Of The Election | 18:49 | |
| 64 | Ch. 064 The Election | 22:01 | |
| 65 | Ch. 065 Miss Longestaffe Writes Home | 17:16 | |
| 66 | Ch. 066 'So Shall Be My Enmity' | 19:02 | |
| 67 | Ch. 067 Sir Felix Protects His Sister | 16:53 | |
| 68 | Ch. 068 Miss Melmotte Declares Her Purpose | 17:05 | |
| 69 | Ch. 069 Melmotte In Parliament | 26:03 | |
| 70 | Ch. 070 Sir Felix Meddles With Many Matters | 19:17 | |
| 71 | Ch. 071 John Crumb Falls Into Trouble | 19:16 | |
| 72 | Ch. 072 'Ask Himself' | 24:19 | |
| 73 | Ch. 073 Marie's Fortune | 16:45 | |
| 74 | Ch. 074 Melmotte Makes A Friend | 19:32 | |
| 75 | Ch. 075 In Bruton Street | 21:01 | |
| 76 | Ch. 076 Hetta And Her Lover | 22:13 | |
| 77 | Ch. 077 Another Scene In Bruton Street | 21:56 | |
| 78 | Ch. 078 Miss Longestaffe Again At Caversham | 16:31 | |
| 79 | Ch. 079 The Brehgert Correspondence | 24:08 | |
| 80 | Ch. 080 Ruby Prepares For Service | 15:38 | |
| 81 | Ch. 081 Mr Cohenlupe Leaves London | 25:45 | |
| 82 | Ch. 082 Marie's Perseverance | 23:01 | |
| 83 | Ch. 083 Melmotte Again At The House | 20:39 | |
| 84 | Ch. 084 Paul Montague's Vindication | 20:22 | |
| 85 | Ch. 085 Breakfast In Berkeley Square | 16:08 | |
| 86 | Ch. 086 The Meeting In Bruton Street | 19:30 | |
| 87 | Ch. 087 Down At Carbury | 19:15 | |
| 88 | Ch. 088 The Inquest | 17:57 | |
| 89 | Ch. 089 'The Wheel Of Fortune' | 24:38 | |
| 90 | Ch. 090 Hetta's Sorrow | 15:57 | |
| 91 | Ch. 091 The Rivals | 21:12 | |
| 92 | Ch. 092 Hamilton K. Fisker Again | 20:43 | |
| 93 | Ch. 093 A True Lover | 19:26 | |
| 94 | Ch. 094 John Crumb's Victory | 18:18 | |
| 95 | Ch. 095 The Longestaffe Marriages | 17:25 | |
| 96 | Ch. 096 Where 'The Wild Asses Quench Their Thirst' | 19:35 | |
| 97 | Ch. 097 Mrs Hurtle's Fate | 20:17 | |
| 98 | Ch. 098 Marie Melmotte's Fate | 18:55 | |
| 99 | Ch. 099 Lady Carbury And Mr Broune | 19:15 | |
| 100 | Ch. 100 Down In Suffolk | 18:14 |
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