Book Review
Mar. 26th, 2020 08:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariPhineas Finn
by Anthony Trollope
This is the second of the Palliser novels, but is connected to the previous one only by the re-occurence of a few characters. Phineas Finn instead follows the Parliamentary career of the title character, a handsome and slightly naive young Irishman of modest background. Phineas is a talented and good-hearted man who must balance his ambition and his principles in both his political career and his marriage prospects. All of this is set against the backdrop of the political battles regarding the Second Reform Bill and the Landlord and Tenant Act.
The chief pleasure in this novel is the characters. Phineas is very sympathetic and likeable, if at times maddeningly naive and lacking in perception when it comes to interpersonal relationships. The secondary characters are all even better, especially the women. I particularly liked Violet Effingham and Madame Goesler, who while quite different, shared the quality of knowing what they wanted yet holding firm regarding what they would and would not compromise. While not a feminist exactly, Trollope is, as always, very interested in women's lives and equally sympathetic to the dilemmas they face and the ways they must navigate them.
Trollope is also very witty and occasionally deploys some subtle satire, especially concerning the politics of both Parliament and the marriage game.
by Anthony Trollope
This is the second of the Palliser novels, but is connected to the previous one only by the re-occurence of a few characters. Phineas Finn instead follows the Parliamentary career of the title character, a handsome and slightly naive young Irishman of modest background. Phineas is a talented and good-hearted man who must balance his ambition and his principles in both his political career and his marriage prospects. All of this is set against the backdrop of the political battles regarding the Second Reform Bill and the Landlord and Tenant Act.
The chief pleasure in this novel is the characters. Phineas is very sympathetic and likeable, if at times maddeningly naive and lacking in perception when it comes to interpersonal relationships. The secondary characters are all even better, especially the women. I particularly liked Violet Effingham and Madame Goesler, who while quite different, shared the quality of knowing what they wanted yet holding firm regarding what they would and would not compromise. While not a feminist exactly, Trollope is, as always, very interested in women's lives and equally sympathetic to the dilemmas they face and the ways they must navigate them.
Trollope is also very witty and occasionally deploys some subtle satire, especially concerning the politics of both Parliament and the marriage game.
