Augustus Melmotte is a fraudulent foreign financier who preys on dissolute nobility - using charm to tempt the weak into making foolish investments in his dubious schemes. Persuaded to put money into a notional plot to run a railroad from San Francisco to Santa Cruz, the capricious gambler Felix Carbury soon becomes one of his victims.Publisher: Penguin Books LtdAuthor(s): Anthony TrollopeNumber of pages: 816Publication date: 1994Dimensions: 196 x 129 x 37Cover type: Paperback / softbackEditor(s): Frank Kermode