Trollope seemed to have had a particular fondness for The Little Woman Who Could, exemplified by Lucy Robarts, who rose to the occasion to assert herself when challenged by Lady Lufton in _Framley Parsonage_. Mary Thorne in _Doctor Thorne_ and Florence Burton of _The Claverings_ were a few other of these courageous young women. And then there is the American Woman, described as "exigeant" by Charles Glascock in _He Knew He Was Right_. (Would "high maintenance" be the current equivalent of "exigeant"?) Trollope had personal experience with the American woman in his close friendship with Kate Field and aspects of her personality must have surely appeared in some of his American women: Caroline Spalding, the woman who was tarred with the "exigeant" brush in _He Knew He Was Right_; Isabel Boncassen (_The Duke's Children_); Rachel O'Mahoney (_The Landleaguers_); and Lucinda Roanoke (_The Eustace Diamonds_). Is there a classification for Lady Glencora Palliser, who dominates the society of the Palliser novels, even after her death, and for Mrs. Proudie, who also exerts the power of her personality throughout the Barsetshire series? I prefer to think of these women as Unclassified. And a list of memorable Trollope women must include a few who appeared in only one novel--Dorothy ("Dolly") Grey, daughter of the attorney Mr. Grey in _Mr. Scarborough's Family_, Lizzie Eustace of _The Eustace Diamonds,_ and Lady Mary Mason of _Orley Farm_. Trollope's own interest in politics evidenced itself in the glorification of an ambition to serve in Parliament--as in Mr. Grey and also Plantagenet Palliser in the Palliser series. However, he was disgusted by rotten boroughs and the corrupt practices of buying votes. We see these practices as a potential path to ruin for several of his characters, including George Vavasor in _Can You Forgive Her?_, Sir Thomas Underwood in _Ralph the Heir_, and Butler Cornbury in _Rachel Ray_. Much depended on birth in the Victorian world. The eldest son, by right of birth, got it all. This was of such importance that there was sometimes a question as to who was the oldest son--that is, who was the oldest legitimate son. Alleged weddings on foreign soil were particularly suspect, as in _Marion Fay_, _Lady Anna_, and _Is He Popenjoy?_ The questions of birthright could be complex in the extreme and could foster blackmail and fraud. _Castle Richmond_ and _Mr. Scarborough's Family_ show us how family secrets could be exploited.