# Mrs. Dobbs Broughton — The Last Chronicle of Barset character guide

> Mrs. Dobbs Broughton in The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mrs. Broughton, Dobbs Broughton, Mrs. Dobbs

**First appearance:** 0023-xxiv-mrs-dobbs-broughton-s-dinner-party

## Snapshot

A beautiful London hostess whose glittering marriage dissolves under financial ruin, leaving her vulnerable to scandal and the attentions of a younger man.

## Who they are

Maria Dobbs Broughton presides over a fashionable Bayswater mansion funded by her husband's City speculations, her beauty immortalized in Conway Dalrymple's paintings. When Dobbs Broughton's finances collapse and he takes his own life, she is left exposed—financially dependent, socially precarious, and emotionally entangled with Dalrymple. Her plight reveals how quickly a woman's position can unravel when the men who sustain it fail.

## In the story

### [Mrs. Dobbs Broughton's Dinner-Party](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_last_chronicle_of_barset_se/chapters/xxiv-mrs-dobbs-broughton-s-dinner-party)

The beautiful hostess, painted by Dalrymple as a Grace, who tries to arrange a match between Dalrymple and Miss Van Siever.

### [Miss Madalina Demolines](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_last_chronicle_of_barset_se/chapters/xxv-miss-madalina-demolines)

Discussed by Miss Demolines as being flighty and possibly too familiar with Dalrymple; the painting scheme is said to risk causing her trouble.

### [The Picture](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_last_chronicle_of_barset_se/chapters/xxvi-the-picture)

Hosts Dalrymple and Clara; initially supports the painting idea but later withdraws, insisting Dalrymple must marry Clara and ending their flirtation.

### [Jael](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_last_chronicle_of_barset_se/chapters/xxxviii-jael)

Engages in flirtatious banter with Conway Dalrymple, advises him to marry Clara Van Siever, and eagerly participates in the secret painting scheme.

### [The Bayswater Romance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_last_chronicle_of_barset_se/chapters/xlvi-the-bayswater-romance)

Mentioned in connection with Dalrymple's portrait; Madalina warns that Mrs. Van Siever has heard of it and that Maria Clutterbuck is infatuated.

### [Mrs. Dobbs Broughton Piles Her Fagots](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_last_chronicle_of_barset_se/chapters/li-mrs-dobbs-broughton-piles-her-fagots)

Piles her fagots of romantic melodrama, oscillating between jealousy and self-sacrifice, as she presides over the secret portrait sittings.

### [The End of Jael and Sisera](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_last_chronicle_of_barset_se/chapters/lx-the-end-of-jael-and-sisera)

Reveals her husband's ruin and her own distress, faints during the confrontation, and arranges one more sitting for the painting despite the chaos.

### [The Tragedy in Hook Court](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_last_chronicle_of_barset_se/chapters/lxiv-the-tragedy-in-hook-court)

Unaware of her husband's death; Dalrymple breaks the news to her.

### [Miss Van Siever Makes Her Choice](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_last_chronicle_of_barset_se/chapters/lxv-miss-van-siever-makes-her-choice)

Grieving widow who claims credit for bringing Clara and Conway together, despite her own past attachment to Dalrymple.

### [Madalina's Heart Is Bleeding](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_last_chronicle_of_barset_se/chapters/lxxv-madalina-s-heart-is-bleeding)

Mentioned as having given her heart to Conway Dalrymple after marrying Dobbs Broughton.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_last_chronicle_of_barset_se/characters/mrs_dobbs_broughton
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_last_chronicle_of_barset_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_last_chronicle_of_barset_se/characters