Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As usual, Trollope is hilarious in how he pokes fun at everyone, Whig or Tory, rich or poor, silly or wise.
I never thought I would give Trollope only two stars. After the glories of "Barchester Towers", this third novel of the Barchester Chronicles was a great disappointment.
The plot was so thin that it could all have been dealt with in 200 pages, but no, we went into every conversation and thought about the need for Frank to marry money for 800 wearying pages. I liked the character of Dr Thorne, who was a good and honourable man but human enough to become angry and impatient with the more impossible characters in the story.
Frank was all right if a bit indecisive. Mary, his love interest, was sweet and pretty and nothing much else - almost a Dickensian heroine.
Really, it isn't worth the effort. I do hope things pick up in the next part of the Chronicles, but I won't be checking it for a while yet.
The plot was so thin that it could all have been dealt with in 200 pages, but no, we went into every conversation and thought about the need for Frank to marry money for 800 wearying pages. I liked the character of Dr Thorne, who was a good and honourable man but human enough to become angry and impatient with the more impossible characters in the story.
Frank was all right if a bit indecisive. Mary, his love interest, was sweet and pretty and nothing much else - almost a Dickensian heroine.
Really, it isn't worth the effort. I do hope things pick up in the next part of the Chronicles, but I won't be checking it for a while yet.
Voto: 3.5
Il terzo volume delle Chronicles of Barsetshire tratta essenzialmente di questioni danarose. L'autore ad inizio lettura ci avvisa che i protagonisti della storia potrebbero essere addirittura tre: il Dottor Thorne infatti vive con la nipote Mary la quale grazie all'amicizia che lega lo zio al possidente di Grashamsbury, il signor Gresham, cresce con i figli di lui godendo di ottima educazione e compagnie; ma tra le figlie del possidente vi è anche colui che sarà l'erede della tenuta, Frank Gresham, che sarà obbligato a fare un matrimonio di convenienza a causa dei debiti della famiglia ma che l'amore crescente per Mary si metterà in mezzo.
La storia si delinea attraverso le vicende parallele di tre famiglie: quella dei Grasham appunto, con a capostipite il possidente, un uomo buono e generoso ma dal carattere debole che sottostà al volere della moglie, lady Arabella, la donna che incarna l'ipocrisia del tempo, le figlie Augusta, che in nome dell'importanza sanguigna rinuncia all'amore, e Beatrice, grande amica di Mary e per finire Frank, l'erede e possibile protagonista del romanzo che purtroppo però non è entrato nelle mie simpatie; nonostante la costanza dei suoi sentimenti, gioca un po' a fare il donnaiolo appena ne ha la possibilità, almeno fino all'incontro con la signorina Dunstable che lo aiuterà nel suo percorso a raggiungere la maturità.
La seconda famiglia ovviamente è quella composta dal dottore e da Mary: il dottor Thorne è forse il personaggio principale che più ho apprezzato anche se sempre con qualche riserva, è quanto di più ligio ci possa essere, ama la propria professione ed è onesto e sincero, un ottimo amico per tutti quelli che hanno la fortuna di incontrarlo e il suo amore per la nipote è infinito, anche se spesso esternato con parole leggermente ambigue; Mary invece è la tipica eroina trollopiana, non particolarmente bella si fa notare per il suo carattere peperino, sempre con la risposta pronta, indipendente e leale, onesta e razionale nonostante i forti sentimenti che la legano a Frank.
La terza famiglia ad essere inclusa in questa storia è quella degli Scatcherd: padre, madre e successivamente figlio; Sir Roger, il capostipite, è tutto l'opposto del dottore, un uomo che, con un passato difficile alla spalle, ha fatto carriera completamente da sé, guadagnando una fortuna nel ramo ferroviario; vive in una bella casa, con una moglie non particolarmente intelligente ma buona, nonostante ciò ha modi bruschi e arroganti, non scordando la passione per la bottiglia che lo porterà alla rovina; alla di lui dipartita entra in scena il giovane figlio che sembra proprio essere l'esatta controfigura del padre. Questa famiglia sarà centrale nella vicenda di Mary, il cui passato è misterioso e strettamente legato a Sir Roger, e fondamentale per la risoluzione finale.
Trollope è una maestro nella caratterizzazione dei personaggi, in mezzo ai già citati voglio ricordare meglio la signorina Dunstable, forse il personaggio che più ho apprezzato, una non più giovanissima signorina da sposare che è preda delle mire di lady Arabella e della famiglia De Courcy, visto il patrimonio ingente che il padre le ha lasciato, è una donna intelligente e indipendente che non casca nelle misera trappola a cui lo stesso Frank è spinto, anzi tra di loro si creerà un vero e duraturo rapporto di fiducia e amicizia; personalmente indimenticabile è anche il signor Moffat, un povero pretendente e aspirante parlamentare, degno di tutta l'ironia e di tutto il sarcasmo che l'autore gli concede.
Tra gran bei personaggi e mediocri macchiette, la rappresentazione sociale di Trollope è magnifica: ricca di ipocrisia e snobismo attraverso i De Courcy e lady Arabella ma al contempo ricca di onestà e sensibilità attraverso i due Thorne; da ricordare anche le enormi tenute sontuose che fanno da cornice all'intero romanzo e che spesso sono protagoniste delle vicende più importanti dell'intreccio.
Il romanzo non è tra i miei preferiti della serie ma Trollope è sempre lui con pregi e difetti.
Il terzo volume delle Chronicles of Barsetshire tratta essenzialmente di questioni danarose. L'autore ad inizio lettura ci avvisa che i protagonisti della storia potrebbero essere addirittura tre: il Dottor Thorne infatti vive con la nipote Mary la quale grazie all'amicizia che lega lo zio al possidente di Grashamsbury, il signor Gresham, cresce con i figli di lui godendo di ottima educazione e compagnie; ma tra le figlie del possidente vi è anche colui che sarà l'erede della tenuta, Frank Gresham, che sarà obbligato a fare un matrimonio di convenienza a causa dei debiti della famiglia ma che l'amore crescente per Mary si metterà in mezzo.
La storia si delinea attraverso le vicende parallele di tre famiglie: quella dei Grasham appunto, con a capostipite il possidente, un uomo buono e generoso ma dal carattere debole che sottostà al volere della moglie, lady Arabella, la donna che incarna l'ipocrisia del tempo, le figlie Augusta, che in nome dell'importanza sanguigna rinuncia all'amore, e Beatrice, grande amica di Mary e per finire Frank, l'erede e possibile protagonista del romanzo che purtroppo però non è entrato nelle mie simpatie; nonostante la costanza dei suoi sentimenti, gioca un po' a fare il donnaiolo appena ne ha la possibilità, almeno fino all'incontro con la signorina Dunstable che lo aiuterà nel suo percorso a raggiungere la maturità.
La seconda famiglia ovviamente è quella composta dal dottore e da Mary: il dottor Thorne è forse il personaggio principale che più ho apprezzato anche se sempre con qualche riserva, è quanto di più ligio ci possa essere, ama la propria professione ed è onesto e sincero, un ottimo amico per tutti quelli che hanno la fortuna di incontrarlo e il suo amore per la nipote è infinito, anche se spesso esternato con parole leggermente ambigue; Mary invece è la tipica eroina trollopiana, non particolarmente bella si fa notare per il suo carattere peperino, sempre con la risposta pronta, indipendente e leale, onesta e razionale nonostante i forti sentimenti che la legano a Frank.
La terza famiglia ad essere inclusa in questa storia è quella degli Scatcherd: padre, madre e successivamente figlio; Sir Roger, il capostipite, è tutto l'opposto del dottore, un uomo che, con un passato difficile alla spalle, ha fatto carriera completamente da sé, guadagnando una fortuna nel ramo ferroviario; vive in una bella casa, con una moglie non particolarmente intelligente ma buona, nonostante ciò ha modi bruschi e arroganti, non scordando la passione per la bottiglia che lo porterà alla rovina; alla di lui dipartita entra in scena il giovane figlio che sembra proprio essere l'esatta controfigura del padre. Questa famiglia sarà centrale nella vicenda di Mary, il cui passato è misterioso e strettamente legato a Sir Roger, e fondamentale per la risoluzione finale.
Trollope è una maestro nella caratterizzazione dei personaggi, in mezzo ai già citati voglio ricordare meglio la signorina Dunstable, forse il personaggio che più ho apprezzato, una non più giovanissima signorina da sposare che è preda delle mire di lady Arabella e della famiglia De Courcy, visto il patrimonio ingente che il padre le ha lasciato, è una donna intelligente e indipendente che non casca nelle misera trappola a cui lo stesso Frank è spinto, anzi tra di loro si creerà un vero e duraturo rapporto di fiducia e amicizia; personalmente indimenticabile è anche il signor Moffat, un povero pretendente e aspirante parlamentare, degno di tutta l'ironia e di tutto il sarcasmo che l'autore gli concede.
Tra gran bei personaggi e mediocri macchiette, la rappresentazione sociale di Trollope è magnifica: ricca di ipocrisia e snobismo attraverso i De Courcy e lady Arabella ma al contempo ricca di onestà e sensibilità attraverso i due Thorne; da ricordare anche le enormi tenute sontuose che fanno da cornice all'intero romanzo e che spesso sono protagoniste delle vicende più importanti dell'intreccio.
Il romanzo non è tra i miei preferiti della serie ma Trollope è sempre lui con pregi e difetti.
Entertaining, but I don't quite believe the "great love" between Mary and Frank.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
The most melodramatically romantic of the Barsetshire novels.... and it's still brilliant, because it's Trollope.
Listened to the audio version (from audible.co.uk). Wonderfully read by Timothy West.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-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
<b>Victober</b> (<u>2</u>)
<b>4.5 stars</b> rounded up
I love <i>Downton Abbey</i>. <i>Downton Abbey</i> is my all-time favorite series, the number one, and basically my 'comfort zone', that place where I usually get back when I have no idea about what to watch on TV. I guess I'm kind of obsessed with <i>Downton Abbey</i>. As a matter of fact, it has been a while since I finished the whole series and since I saw a complete episode, however, I do confess that the first thing that comes to mind when someone says England is, of course, <i>Downton Abbey</i>. Well, as you can tell, I'm a huge fan of this period drama, and so is my mother, though she is still watching it. So, in order for me—and for my mother once she finished <i>Downton Abbey</i> as well—to keep enjoying series of that kind, I decided to look for other Julian Fellowes' works, the creator and writer of <i>Downton Abbey</i>, basically those period dramas where he has worked as a writer. It turned out that there are at least four more series or miniseries of the sort: <i>Belgravia</i> (an interesting drama, yet somewhat melodramatic for my taste – in the end the experience was great though, with a deeply satisfying ending), <i>Titanic</i> (this series was anything but a good version: I never happened to meet the characters who were actually rather plain and not likable; besides, there were many subplots and all of them quite superficial), <i>The Gilded Age</i> (this was fabulous, a really nice, enjoyable experience, good plots and well-developed characters, my second favorite after <i>Downton Abbey</i>), and of course, <b>Doctor Thorne</b>.
I knew beforehand <b>Doctor Thorne</b> would be the TV adaptation of the homonymous novel by Anthony Trollope, and since I truly enjoyed my previous Trollope reading experience, I said to myself 'let's watch—should I say 'read'?—it as soon as possible.' Okay, here's the thing: when it comes to TV adaptations, I don't like to watch the adaptation before reading the corresponding book; I feel like, since the book is (almost) always much better than its adaptation, it's a better idea for me to get to the book first, finish it, and then, and just then, watch the series or the movie in question. This was my plan, and that was what I did.
I also knew <b>Doctor Thorne</b> is part of a series called <u>The Chronicles of Barsetshire</u>, being the third book in the series. Honestly, I didn't care much about that fact; for me, the order of a series is optional, you can start wherever you want as long as you are comfortable with it, and besides, a GR friend of mine, Justin, told me that this book sort of has nothing to do with the two previous novels in the series; so, I eventually picked it up and ended up loving it. Whereas <b>Doctor Thorne</b>—sorry, I mean the TV adaptation—was somewhat plain, and with one-dimensional characters, yet a compelling storyline (a little different to the book though), the novel is actually very well written, with an engaging, profound story, palpable characters, and a well-developed conflict and resolution. In other words: book > TV adaptation (what a surprise, huh?).
<b>Doctor Thorne</b> is a novel with quite a few characters but with only one main plot: the love story of Mary Thorne, Doctor Thorne's niece, who has a mysterious background—though it is mysterious only for the rest of the characters as the reader knows the actual mystery from the very beginning—and Frank Gresham, son of a wealthy(?), respected family, who must <i>marry money</i>, according to many members of his family. The problem is, as you can imagine, that Mary has no money. So, Frank will have two options: he will have to follow either his family's wishes or his heart. What a dilemma!
Furthermore, there is an interesting subplot that involves a couple of characters and has something to do with alcoholism and its consequences – the way Trollope depicted how a human being might be affected by that disease and their consequent behavior in the society of his time feels really vivid and palpable, and the descriptions of how a person and the people around them may suffer because of it were really moving and rather realistic.
In short, this novel was another successful reading experience, and a good option for me to keep enjoying my Trollope journey and this Victober (though it's Victober for me throughout the entire year, as you can tell). I'd highly recommend <b>Doctor Thorne</b> to anyone who loves Victorian literature, and even if you are not very much into it. Probably you will want to read <b>The Warden</b> and <b>Barchester Towers</b> before getting to <b>Doctor Thorne</b>, which I think it will be a perfect idea (I don't regret doing the things differently though, but I hope I can read the first and second novels sooner rather than later and then keep reading the entire series, this time in the right order).
As I said before, probably in my review of <b>He Knew He Was Right</b>, Trollope's prose is very easy to read, it's enjoyable and compelling; that being said, I do believe sometimes the author is digressing a little from the main storyline, which was the case in <b>He Knew He Was Right</b>, but fortunately not so often here in <b>Doctor Thorne</b> – at the end of the day, this is something I have usually found in many Victorian novels, so I guess that was the way people used to write way back in that period of time. Anyway, just give Trollope's novels a try if you haven't done so already, and hopefully you will enjoy his stories as much as I do.
<i><b>He had a pride in being a poor man of a high family; he had a pride in repudiating the very family of which he was proud; and he had a special pride in keeping his pride silently to himself.</b></i>
<b>4.5 stars</b> rounded up
I love <i>Downton Abbey</i>. <i>Downton Abbey</i> is my all-time favorite series, the number one, and basically my 'comfort zone', that place where I usually get back when I have no idea about what to watch on TV. I guess I'm kind of obsessed with <i>Downton Abbey</i>. As a matter of fact, it has been a while since I finished the whole series and since I saw a complete episode, however, I do confess that the first thing that comes to mind when someone says England is, of course, <i>Downton Abbey</i>. Well, as you can tell, I'm a huge fan of this period drama, and so is my mother, though she is still watching it. So, in order for me—and for my mother once she finished <i>Downton Abbey</i> as well—to keep enjoying series of that kind, I decided to look for other Julian Fellowes' works, the creator and writer of <i>Downton Abbey</i>, basically those period dramas where he has worked as a writer. It turned out that there are at least four more series or miniseries of the sort: <i>Belgravia</i> (an interesting drama, yet somewhat melodramatic for my taste – in the end the experience was great though, with a deeply satisfying ending), <i>Titanic</i> (this series was anything but a good version: I never happened to meet the characters who were actually rather plain and not likable; besides, there were many subplots and all of them quite superficial), <i>The Gilded Age</i> (this was fabulous, a really nice, enjoyable experience, good plots and well-developed characters, my second favorite after <i>Downton Abbey</i>), and of course, <b>Doctor Thorne</b>.
I knew beforehand <b>Doctor Thorne</b> would be the TV adaptation of the homonymous novel by Anthony Trollope, and since I truly enjoyed my previous Trollope reading experience, I said to myself 'let's watch—should I say 'read'?—it as soon as possible.' Okay, here's the thing: when it comes to TV adaptations, I don't like to watch the adaptation before reading the corresponding book; I feel like, since the book is (almost) always much better than its adaptation, it's a better idea for me to get to the book first, finish it, and then, and just then, watch the series or the movie in question. This was my plan, and that was what I did.
I also knew <b>Doctor Thorne</b> is part of a series called <u>The Chronicles of Barsetshire</u>, being the third book in the series. Honestly, I didn't care much about that fact; for me, the order of a series is optional, you can start wherever you want as long as you are comfortable with it, and besides, a GR friend of mine, Justin, told me that this book sort of has nothing to do with the two previous novels in the series; so, I eventually picked it up and ended up loving it. Whereas <b>Doctor Thorne</b>—sorry, I mean the TV adaptation—was somewhat plain, and with one-dimensional characters, yet a compelling storyline (a little different to the book though), the novel is actually very well written, with an engaging, profound story, palpable characters, and a well-developed conflict and resolution. In other words: book > TV adaptation (what a surprise, huh?).
<b>Doctor Thorne</b> is a novel with quite a few characters but with only one main plot: the love story of Mary Thorne, Doctor Thorne's niece, who has a mysterious background—though it is mysterious only for the rest of the characters as the reader knows the actual mystery from the very beginning—and Frank Gresham, son of a wealthy(?), respected family, who must <i>marry money</i>, according to many members of his family. The problem is, as you can imagine, that Mary has no money. So, Frank will have two options: he will have to follow either his family's wishes or his heart. What a dilemma!
Furthermore, there is an interesting subplot that involves a couple of characters and has something to do with alcoholism and its consequences – the way Trollope depicted how a human being might be affected by that disease and their consequent behavior in the society of his time feels really vivid and palpable, and the descriptions of how a person and the people around them may suffer because of it were really moving and rather realistic.
In short, this novel was another successful reading experience, and a good option for me to keep enjoying my Trollope journey and this Victober (though it's Victober for me throughout the entire year, as you can tell). I'd highly recommend <b>Doctor Thorne</b> to anyone who loves Victorian literature, and even if you are not very much into it. Probably you will want to read <b>The Warden</b> and <b>Barchester Towers</b> before getting to <b>Doctor Thorne</b>, which I think it will be a perfect idea (I don't regret doing the things differently though, but I hope I can read the first and second novels sooner rather than later and then keep reading the entire series, this time in the right order).
As I said before, probably in my review of <b>He Knew He Was Right</b>, Trollope's prose is very easy to read, it's enjoyable and compelling; that being said, I do believe sometimes the author is digressing a little from the main storyline, which was the case in <b>He Knew He Was Right</b>, but fortunately not so often here in <b>Doctor Thorne</b> – at the end of the day, this is something I have usually found in many Victorian novels, so I guess that was the way people used to write way back in that period of time. Anyway, just give Trollope's novels a try if you haven't done so already, and hopefully you will enjoy his stories as much as I do.
<i><b>He had a pride in being a poor man of a high family; he had a pride in repudiating the very family of which he was proud; and he had a special pride in keeping his pride silently to himself.</b></i>
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes