Reviews

**there are spoilers below so be warned!**

I have written as I read along for Instagram posts

And here we are away from the cathedral city of Barchester to Greshamsbury where matrimonial prospects abound.

Young Frank Gresham is heir to the impoverished estate and loves with all his heart Mary Thorne, niece of the local and titular doctor.

An unsuitable marriage many feel, including Mary herself at the outset as her mother came from poverty, and of whom no-one except her Uncle knows or mentions.

The De Courcy’s; Frank’s relations; are hilarious, Arabella in particular is much in the vein of Lady Catherine de Bourgh and other well known ‘haaaandbag’ speeches which just makes me smile. They ban Mary from Greshamsbury thinking she wants to get her hands on Frank and the estate.

It transpires that Mary May in fact be heir to a huge fortune and as Frank Gresham is meant to marry for money, what will happen to this lovely couple?

Trollope is on fine form, the writing is lighthearted, witty and is a joy to spend time in this books pages!

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Further tales from Greshamsbury

Frank is off to Courcy Castle. His aunt is matchmaking, of which he is not keen, as we readers know he holds a candle for Mary Thorne.

Trollope is quite tongue in cheek at times with his writing, he is with us on the outside, laughing with a knowing wink at some of these characters; Mr Nearthewinde a parliamentary agent ( remind you of anyone?!), Mr Closerstil, Doctor Filgrave, Reddypalm the publican; all have raised a chortle from me with my reading! Even the Bishop of Barchester and Mrs Proudie, who as we know is the actual bishop 🤣 make a fleeting appearance.

We also meet Miss Martha Dunstable, who is meant to be the new Mrs Frank Gresham according to Arabella. She has a bit about her which I liked ‘she had a will of her own.’ and also inherited the intriguingly named ‘ointment of Lebanon’ from her father and it’s huge fortune. The pair find each other agreeable companions but not lovers, Frank is startled by her admission of three of four lovers in fact!

‘He would never marry Miss Dunstable, and he felt equally sure that Miss Dunstable would never marry him.’

There is a however a rivalry for Martha’s affections, she picks them off one by one and dumps them royally and wonderfully!

——————-

Meanwhile Mary Thorne has been cast out of Greshamsbury all because Frank loves her and Lady Arabella is not happy about it! She bears it well. I like her she is a strong woman who knows her own mind. I love how we have these characters in Victorian literature, quite a contrast to Hardy’s heroines who always seem to get stomped all over.

Doctor Thorne tends to Sir Roger Scatcherd at his time of dying, who is determined to have Mary marry his son Louis 😱😱 and also will inherit everything if Louis dies young….I think we can all see where this plot is going. Poor Dr Thorne - he does tie himself up in knots with this business!

Lady Arabella is still scheming to have the Thorne’s effectively excommunicated from Greshamsbury, Doctor Thorne becomes a little more kick ass in his dealings with her, I was cheering him from the sidelines

‘ If there is such a love affair, put a stop to it - that is, if you have the power.’ 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

Little does she know - and I will enjoy watching the worm turn with this one!

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We are nearing the end of our exploits in Greshamsbury. Louis wants to marry Mary much to Dr Thorne’s chagrin. Frank has found a bit of gumption and also still wants to marry Mary, much to Lady Arabella’s chagrin. Poor Mary is in a bit of a state about it, riding about on her donkey (honestly, the donkey is an excellent character!)

Trollope’s writing is so good, I am so involved with these characters, I know it’s a little bit stuffy at times but really human nature doesn’t change at all. This could easily be rewritten for modern times with no problem!

‘He certainly did not get nearly so far as putting his hand even upon her knee before he was made to understand that it ‘was no go,’ as he graphically described it to his mother.’

Louis is told in no uncertain terms that there’s no chance by Mary! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 there is so much gossipmongering for poor Mary stuck in the middle of the Gresham families pomposity.

At long last Frank and Mary declare to each other, but to nobody else. Doctor Thorne is twisted this way and that, playing piggy in the middle with the Greshams and Louis Scatcherd; the poor man! Finally Louis leaves Greshamsbury after a parting salvo of wanting to foreclose on the Greshams debt.

Mary faces down Lady Arabella magnificently over her engagement, Louis dies leaving everything to Mary and alls well that ends well.

—————-

What a joy it has been to spend time with the people of Greshamsbury, I was uncertain before as I had given my heart to The Warden but I am glad that we are discovering the wider Barsetshire now.

bibliobethreads's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

flamingo_and_owl_books's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

rosielazar1's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

bonsai_delores's review against another edition

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challenging funny lighthearted slow-paced

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

4.75

smbla's review

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4.0

I loved Dr. Thorne and can absolutely see why it I is the anointed favorite of the chronicles. You like the integrity and development of the main characters-Mary Thorne is a heroine that you absolutely root for from beginning to end.

cljeff19's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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