Reviews

He Knew He Was Right by Anthony Trollope, John Sutherland

gatun's review against another edition

5.0

The first time I encountered Anthony Trollope’s most popular work, He Knew He Was Right, was in a BBC production. My teen aged children and I enjoyed it. I had not read the book that the mini-series was based on. When I was offered the opportunity to review the book narrated by Nigel Patterson, I was happy to finally get a chance at the source.


He Knew He Was Right was written in 1869. It is very important that the listener keep that in mind. It was a very different world, especially for women. The book follows Louis Trevelyan, a wealthy gentleman, who while traveling in one of the Empire’s colonies (it is a fictitious colony)
meets the girl of his dreams, Emily Rowley. Although Emily has been raised outside of England, she does come from a good family as her father is the governor of the colony. Emily and her family travel back to England for the wedding. The first two years of marriage are wonderful complete with a baby boy. Then Louis begins to take exception to an old family friend, a man her father’s age, visiting Emily. He demands she no longer see the man because he suspects infidelity. Emily digs her heels in and refuses to end her harmless friendship. Louis takes it as proof that he wife is not faithful.


There are several subplots to this book, which is over 300 pages in print and 30 hours in audio. The subplots involve other couples including Emily’s sister, Nora. Each couple has their own challenges to overcome, several involving social standing or economic position. While the subplots are interesting, it is Louis and Emily’s story that is the main attraction.


I did have to keep reminding myself of the 1869 publication date because I had a persistent and overwhelming need to slap Louis. Emily never, in deed or word, gives him cause to doubt her but he is so insecure he cannot trust her. It is a combination of Emily’s stubbornness and Louis’s insecurity that cause this to blow up into a major disaster involving both families and dividing friends. That being said, it really is a great book and worth the impulse to slap Louis.


Mr. Patterson does a great job narrating this book. He captures the characters and their emotions. He also handles the language well. Sometimes narrators can allow the more formal language of the 19th century to sound stilted but Mr. Patterson does not. He makes the language flow naturally. I have not had a disappointing listen from Mr. Patterson yet. If you are going to invest in He Knew He Was Right as an audiobook, get the right one with Nigel Patterson as the narrator.

bogumilb's review against another edition

dark funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

kismazsola's review against another edition

3.0

3,5 csillag

Trollope-tól a Barsetshire Krónikák első négy kötetét olvastam hallgattam már, technikai okokból a maradék kettő még hátra van. Nem terveztem addig bármi másba belefogni tőle, de kosztümös filmek keresgélése közben akadtam rá ennek a kötetnek a filmfeldolgozására, amiben David Tennant szerepel. Innentől tehát muszáj vagyok megnézni, de ha egy mód van rá, szeretem először inkább a könyvet elolvasni. Így tartottam az Edith Wharton életmű-hallgatásomban egy nettó 30 órás kitérőt.
Arielle Lipshaw egy igen jó felolvasó, és minden tiszteletem, hogy ezt a monstrumot elejétől a végéig felolvasta a LibriVoxnak. Az egyetlen panaszom, hogy három fejezetnél is vágási hiba miatt a fele a fejezetnek az első felének a megismétlése. Az egyik helyen ráadásul egy lánykérés kellős közepén, úgyhogy ott előtúrtam az internetről a könyvet, és gépen (!!!) elolvastam a fel nem olvasott részt.

Kicsit gyengébbnek éreztem a Barsetshire Kórnikáknál ...lektűrösebbnek(?), mint valami brazil szappanopera kicsit minőségibb formában. Ellenben ha valakit zavart az előbbi sorozatban, hogy minden az egyházi emberek és -politika körül forog, abból itt semmi nincs. Viszont én ezért is éreztem gyengébbnek, meg mert most egyik karakter sem volt igazán újszerű vagy kivételesen jól ábrázolt.
Viszonylag sok szereplőnk van (~900 oldalban ez nem meglepő), és végső soron a kifutása az volt, hogy mindenki megházasodjon, és lehetőleg boldog legyen. Kivéve azt a párosunkat, akikre a cím utal. Morálisan és karakterfejlődésileg ők a legizgalmasabbak egyébként. A férfi, aki elkezd féltékenykedni egy apjakorú családi barátra, egyre inkább belehajszolja ebbe a feleségét és saját magát is, amíg teljesen rámegy az életük, és a kisfiuk személyiségének a megalapozása is. Ez a szál azért volt kicsit nehezen emészthető számomra, mert nem látja az olvasó az előzményeket, hogy hogyan szerettek egymásba, hogyan kezelte a férfi előtte a feleségét, csak meg van mondva, hogy idilli volt a szerelmük. De a történések fényében ezt elég nehéz elhinni. Aztán idővel túltettem magam ezen, csak elfogadtam axiómaként, és elkedztem értékelni, ahogy egyre mélyebbre húzza ez a kezdetben jelentéktelennek tűnő apróság egy teljes család életét.
A többi hölgyemény közül viszont kettőt (Dorothy-t és Norát) szinte folyamatosan kevertem. Nem tudtam, melyik esemény melyikükkel történt, mindketten húgok voltak, visszafogott személyiséggel. Az nem igaz, hogy teljesen ugyanolyanok lettek volna, de pont eléggé hasonlítottak, hogy beleköpjenek a hallgatásélményembe.
Összességében elszórakoztatott, de néhol kicsit untam is már, igazából az összes szálat. Valami hiányzott nekem belőle.

bupdaddy's review against another edition

4.0

Trollope does a great job presenting that really awkward situation between a husband and wife where an argument escalates and nobody knows why and nobody will back down and before you know it they're talking divorce and they're both certain it's the other's fault.

Yep, he does a great job reconstructing that situation, and it's really uncomfortable to read about.

Also, there are just too many people in this story, and the character named Brooke is a man. So confusing.

If you get this on Librivox (free!), the Arielle Lipshaw version is great - professional quality - but pay attention. She reads fast.

michael5000's review against another edition

3.0

I agree with Anthony Trollope that this is one of the less successful books by Anthony Trollope. Where he wanted to portray a character driven mad by pathological sexual jealousy, he ends up giving us a guy who seems to have a fatal case of peevish marital bickering. On the other side of the troubled relationship, where I think Trollope wanted an aggrieved innocent, we get someone so intent on a literal interpretation of social rules, and so bent on having the last word, that it's hard to sympathize too much with her eminently avoidable problems. The several side plots are better realized, but none of them, nor all of them together, is really enough to hang a novel of this size on. Still, second-rate Trollope is pretty good stuff, and there is plenty of urbane wit, keen observation, and knowing authorial asides to made it worth the reading.

liisu's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

sophiefrancoiselucie's review against another edition

4.0

The first question that popped into my mind after finishing this book was, ‘Was it worth the commitment?’ And I’m afraid the answer is, ‘Probably not.’ - except if you’re a Victorian era nerd, which I definitely am.
Emily Trevelyan enjoys a friendship with her dad’s old friend, Colonel Osborne but the latter has a reputation. Rumour has it he likes married women, like really. So Mr Trevelyan asks his wife not to see him anymore because this friendship is quite scandalous. She refuses to please her husband. And that drives him mad, literally. So this story deals with married women’s lots - and single women’s as well - and the effect of jealousy and power on the human mind in what I thought to be a very realistic depiction of the human behaviour.
This novel is a bit more than 800 pages long (in my edition) and there are tons of repetitions which leave you wondering whether YOU are losing your mind, too. It’s the kind of book which is really interesting to read about, and I just can’t wait to start reading essays and reviews on this little number. However, I’m really happy I read it till the end because the cast of characters is just wonderful. I loved them all - or loved to hate them - and that’s very rare. I think Trollope had a very acute way of seeing the world and understanding the human mind. I almost felt as if I was sent back to a salon in 1860-something and that I was told about the shocking story of the Trevelyan household and the conservative Miss Stanbury. It was wonderful! But very long, indeed.

saralynnburnett's review against another edition

5.0

Anthony Trollope is one of my favorite authors - he writes with such familiarity that you get sucked right into the story, no matter what it is.

catebutler's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

#trolloping buddy read on Instagram - May 2023

shadrachanki's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

4.0