After the death of his Irish wife, Phineas Finn returns to London and to the House of Commons. But though drawn back apparently irresistibly, he never approaches politics with the zest of earlier days. Phineas survives an attempt on his life by the half-crazed and jealous Robert Kennedy, but his reputation is seriously damaged by the scandalous association with Lady Laura, Kennedy's wife. When he is put on trial for murder his disenchantment with his former life is so great that he never again enters the charmed inner circle of power. In some of his most powerful writing, Trollope charts Phineas's sad progress towards maturity and wisdom. Phineas Redux (1874) is the fourth of the six Palliser novels, published between 1864 and 1880. As a group they provide us with the most extensive and telling expose of British life during the period of its greatest prestige.