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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
"As Doctor Thorne is our hero - or I should rather say my hero, a privilege of selecting for themselves in this respect being left to all my readers - and as Miss Mary Thorne is to be our heroine, a point on which no choice whatsoever is left to any one, it is necessary that they shall be introduced and explained and described in a proper, formal manner."
Anthony Trollope's humor has me in love with his writing. His writing is excellent anyway, but when he throws in things like this, I can't help but love it even more. And that makes his books enjoyable even when his characters are driving me quite mad.
I've seen the miniseries adapted from this book half a dozen times or so and adore it. Give it a watch, if you haven't. I liked Doctor Thorne just as much as I expected to based on that adaptation. Mary was quite wonderful as well. Frank, although he was frustrating and sometimes a fool, really started to grow up toward the end, and was quite likable. Miss Dunstable, though not around a lot was brilliant. Patience Oriel was lovely. Even Sir Roger and Lady Scacherd were good.
The rest of the characters - namely the Greshams and all their connections - were awful. Honestly. And they never got any better. I know that time and society were different then, social construction was not what I know and I can understand and give concession for that. But that does not make being a downright jerk acceptable.
Things ended too well for some of these characters, honestly. I don't think my heart would have been good enough to treat them all so well.
Still, the book is very good and I'm looking forward to more of the Barsetshire novels in the future.
I loved this book even more than the previous Barchester books, because there's more action and more dialogue. I love the country setting, and how the small doings of ordinary people become quite important.
The scope of this novel is wide in that it concerns people of all walks of life, and how they interact and influence one another. But the scope is also small in that it tells of the little day-to-day concerns of plain people. That is the genius of Trollope!
In this book, there aren't really any villains per se; just foolish, proud people that you feel sorry for or despise for their weakness and selfishness. They certainly keep the plot interesting with their bad decisions, and make things difficult for the heroes. The villains bring about their own unhappiness through clinging to their own stupidity.
Doctor Thorne himself is a wonderful character; he's well-rounded, funny but dignified, clever but simple in his habits, kind and gracious in every circumstance but liable to lose his temper if pushed too far. Just brilliant writing!
I was so glad that Mary Thorne wasn't one of these perfect angel heroines that you see so much of in Victorian literature. She has her faults, and her struggles against the evil within. She makes mistakes and gets angry, then regrets it later. She is stubborn sometimes but never selfish. She won't sink to the petty level of those around her; she's high-minded. She is fiercely loyal against all odds. I just adore her!
Frank Gresham is perhaps the best character of all, because he goes through the most change and growth. I loved seeing him becoming more sure of himself, more manly and confident. His love for his father and sisters is very sweet, and his courageous unselfishness was inspirational. He has his faults too though (What a flirt!), and his moments of weakness and stupidity. A delightful character!
I could have done without the whole political elections sub-plot. Boring, and not actually necessary to the main plot, but it was okay. A few funny anecdotes about political morality were good, and thankfully not very long.
One thing that I didn't like was that the entire story was told by jumping around chronologically. An event would be told focusing on one character's experience, then told again focusing on another character, but in order to understand the second character's reactions the narrator goes back two months before to explain something else that happened which influenced that second character, then back to the "present", and we're told that neither character knew that only two days from now there would be another event which would make both their experiences of the present event null and void. So everything was told by jumping around in time. It was never confusing though! It was easy to follow what was happening, but after 600 pages of jumping through time, I was tired of it.
The plot is fairly predictable, but that did not ruin my enjoyment in the least! There are plenty of small surprises in the plot which make up for the obvious happy ending. I was gasping and crying and laughing the entire way through!
The scope of this novel is wide in that it concerns people of all walks of life, and how they interact and influence one another. But the scope is also small in that it tells of the little day-to-day concerns of plain people. That is the genius of Trollope!
In this book, there aren't really any villains per se; just foolish, proud people that you feel sorry for or despise for their weakness and selfishness. They certainly keep the plot interesting with their bad decisions, and make things difficult for the heroes. The villains bring about their own unhappiness through clinging to their own stupidity.
Doctor Thorne himself is a wonderful character; he's well-rounded, funny but dignified, clever but simple in his habits, kind and gracious in every circumstance but liable to lose his temper if pushed too far. Just brilliant writing!
I was so glad that Mary Thorne wasn't one of these perfect angel heroines that you see so much of in Victorian literature. She has her faults, and her struggles against the evil within. She makes mistakes and gets angry, then regrets it later. She is stubborn sometimes but never selfish. She won't sink to the petty level of those around her; she's high-minded. She is fiercely loyal against all odds. I just adore her!
Frank Gresham is perhaps the best character of all, because he goes through the most change and growth. I loved seeing him becoming more sure of himself, more manly and confident. His love for his father and sisters is very sweet, and his courageous unselfishness was inspirational. He has his faults too though (What a flirt!), and his moments of weakness and stupidity. A delightful character!
I could have done without the whole political elections sub-plot. Boring, and not actually necessary to the main plot, but it was okay. A few funny anecdotes about political morality were good, and thankfully not very long.
One thing that I didn't like was that the entire story was told by jumping around chronologically. An event would be told focusing on one character's experience, then told again focusing on another character, but in order to understand the second character's reactions the narrator goes back two months before to explain something else that happened which influenced that second character, then back to the "present", and we're told that neither character knew that only two days from now there would be another event which would make both their experiences of the present event null and void. So everything was told by jumping around in time. It was never confusing though! It was easy to follow what was happening, but after 600 pages of jumping through time, I was tired of it.
The plot is fairly predictable, but that did not ruin my enjoyment in the least! There are plenty of small surprises in the plot which make up for the obvious happy ending. I was gasping and crying and laughing the entire way through!
It was a simpler story than the Warden and Barchester Towers, but it was always fun to read Trollope.
I always hesitate when I read a Trollope book, despite having read half a dozen now! They always start out slo-o-o-o-w and I have to be in the mindset to wait for the action to get going. Yet they do get going and are engaging and even funny at times. Doctor Thorne is no exception.
The writing in the first couple of chapters is worth the time, too. It's full of lovely details that really bring the characters and location to life for me. And it's amazing that Trollope can tell you the ending right up front and still the book is entertaining and suspenseful.
I won't wait so long to read another Trollope novel.
The writing in the first couple of chapters is worth the time, too. It's full of lovely details that really bring the characters and location to life for me. And it's amazing that Trollope can tell you the ending right up front and still the book is entertaining and suspenseful.
I won't wait so long to read another Trollope novel.
Trollope, Anthony. Doctor Thorne. 1858. Chronicles of Barsetshire No.3. Project Gutenberg.
I have a friend who always has a Charles Dickens novel on her bedside and has read all of them in order several times. Only two other nineteenth-century English novelists are likely to inspire such devoted rereading: Jane Austen and Anthony Trollope. And if you decide to go through Trollope, you won’t be done for a while, because you will have 47 novels, few of them shorter than five hundred pages, in your list. The reason these three authors can be read this way is that their work is remarkably consistent. You can depend on them to give you the kind of insight and entertainment you expect. From Trollope you get a quite transparent style, a comforting and witty acknowledgement in an authorial aside that he is not planning to pull the rug out from under you at all. In the first chapter of Doctor Thorne, Trollope reassures us that this is just a novel and that some description is necessary before the story can start, then apologizing for the digression, which he knows his readers regard as part of his charm. Unlike many novelists of the period he does not write heavily plotted stories bur rather depends on your interest in character and situation to keep you reading. Here the situation involves a kindly, ethical doctor who has to keep a secret from his adopted daughter and provide useless but thorough care for a couple of drunken patients who hold the key to her future in their hands. None of his characters is purely virtuous or purely evil, and he is quite willing along the way to satirize the hypocrisy in English class structure without ever renouncing it entirely. I doubt I will get through all 47 novels, but I do plan to hit some of the better stories, of which this is one.
I have a friend who always has a Charles Dickens novel on her bedside and has read all of them in order several times. Only two other nineteenth-century English novelists are likely to inspire such devoted rereading: Jane Austen and Anthony Trollope. And if you decide to go through Trollope, you won’t be done for a while, because you will have 47 novels, few of them shorter than five hundred pages, in your list. The reason these three authors can be read this way is that their work is remarkably consistent. You can depend on them to give you the kind of insight and entertainment you expect. From Trollope you get a quite transparent style, a comforting and witty acknowledgement in an authorial aside that he is not planning to pull the rug out from under you at all. In the first chapter of Doctor Thorne, Trollope reassures us that this is just a novel and that some description is necessary before the story can start, then apologizing for the digression, which he knows his readers regard as part of his charm. Unlike many novelists of the period he does not write heavily plotted stories bur rather depends on your interest in character and situation to keep you reading. Here the situation involves a kindly, ethical doctor who has to keep a secret from his adopted daughter and provide useless but thorough care for a couple of drunken patients who hold the key to her future in their hands. None of his characters is purely virtuous or purely evil, and he is quite willing along the way to satirize the hypocrisy in English class structure without ever renouncing it entirely. I doubt I will get through all 47 novels, but I do plan to hit some of the better stories, of which this is one.
I loved most of the Barsetshire series, but this one was a little week. Only vaguely connected to the Grantleys who are some of the most entertaining characters in the series, the book is a story about a blameless young woman and how she is finally happily wed. Not one of his greater efforts.
Overall, I liked this. I enjoyed the story (although the ending was obvious from the beginning). What I didn't enjoy was the way that Trollope constantly went off on tangents and talked to the reader about his writing process. For instance, at one point he makes an aside about the fact that as a writer he should hire a lawyer to make sure that the legal details of his novels are correct, but as he has no lawyer, we should forgive him if such and such a detail wasn't correct. This happened more than once and it was a bit jarring to suddenly be taken out of the story. And I know that at this time novelists generally published a chapter at a time and were paid by the word. It shows in the style of Trollope's prose.
However, the story was good, and that can cover a multitude of sins.
However, the story was good, and that can cover a multitude of sins.
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Frank Gresham must marry for money as the heir and the only one who help make up for his father's debts. Unfortunately, for the family, Frank is love with Mary Thorne, the town doctor's niece. Like the other books in this series this one has a lot of drama, but it has less politics. Again, Trollop speaks to his readers, hinting things that he and the reader knows, but the characters don't know. This jumps around in time referring things that had happened that character in previous chapter wouldn't know about or he brings up a subplot that will be relevant later. This is a bit disorienting until you get use to it. The characters are as complex and as human as ever creating feelings of frustration, anger, and adoration. The characters have their faults and their attributes. Like The Warden and Barchester Towers this is an enjoyable read for me.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Dr. Thorne is a distant cousin to the Thornes of Ullathorne, minor characters in 'Barchester Towers', who moved to Greshamsbury years before after his bristling pride and steadfast devotion to his dissipated, and now dead, brother burned all of his bridges in Barchester proper. He has a small practice and gives all of his affection to his young niece, Mary. His friendship with the old squire leads to Mary growing up with the squire's grandchildren and having all the benefits of a genteel education.
Trollope opens 'Doctor Thorne' giving us readers the chance to pick our hero. He prefers the titular Thorne, but allows that they may have Frank Gresham. Frank Gresham is heir, but as his father and mother, a daughter of the Earl de Coucy, have bankrupted the estate with election schemes and extravagant visits to Town, all will be lost unless he marries a great deal of money. Unfortunately, he has already fallen in love.
We have no choice in heroine. Observing every social duty and Victorian obligation, Mary Thorne is the acknowledged niece of the doctor but she is told nothing of her parents and of course must never trouble her pretty head about it. She all but grew up with Frank Gresham and his sisters, but when he tells her he loves her she is to be put through years of mental anguish and suffering.
Trollope goes to great lengths to remind the reader that Mary is entirely blameless. She offers no encouragement to Frank, however much she may want to, but she becomes a social pariah from mere suspicion. Lady Arabella, Franks mother, bars her from the house and from consorting with her children, despite still needing Dr. Thorne's services. Mary's low birth connections are known only to her uncle, the squire, and eventually, the squire's son - her prospective husband. No real thought is given to telling her, even when she pleads with her uncle to know who her mother was. Dr. Thorne wants to shield her from her low connections, even at the expense of her happiness.
In the opening chapter there is a lengthy exposition about the happiness of England in being one of the few places on Earth where the land is in the hands of the truly noble. With grinning irony the readers are asked to name the leading lights of other nations and compare them with the far longer list of those they know hailing from England. As much as the actions of the characters in the novel prove the lie of that boast, the truly noble are thoughtless, cruel and overall grasping for the money that fuels their privilege. Even our secondary hero, who pledges to give up everything for love, admits that he's useless for anything practical and takes no steps to remedy that fact in the months and months Mary is isolated and slandered. Even after the last page of the novel I wasn't sure if she shouldn't have gotten clean away from the place after all.
The writing is clever. While we don't get much more than statements about what is in Dr. Thorne's, or Mary's or Lady Arabella's heads at any given time, the social needs of the time are well displayed. Humor a shade more biting than previously seen in Barsetshire covers the squabbles between medical men, the mechanics of electioneering - complete with negative campaigning, and the high-stakes of wooing an heiress. He moralizes about the debilitating effects of strong drink and involves his readers with the moral dilemma of wanting a man's death while protesting, often and hard, that that isn't the case.
I didn't enjoy the plot, but the layers of social commentary make 'Doctor Thorne' a groundbreaking novel. I hope that some of the side characters, even poor snobbish Augusta, find their way into other novels later in the series, as Trollope seems to promise.
Consequently, I shall pay a visit to 'Framley Parsonage'.
Trollope opens 'Doctor Thorne' giving us readers the chance to pick our hero. He prefers the titular Thorne, but allows that they may have Frank Gresham. Frank Gresham is heir, but as his father and mother, a daughter of the Earl de Coucy, have bankrupted the estate with election schemes and extravagant visits to Town, all will be lost unless he marries a great deal of money. Unfortunately, he has already fallen in love.
We have no choice in heroine. Observing every social duty and Victorian obligation, Mary Thorne is the acknowledged niece of the doctor but she is told nothing of her parents and of course must never trouble her pretty head about it. She all but grew up with Frank Gresham and his sisters, but when he tells her he loves her she is to be put through years of mental anguish and suffering.
Trollope goes to great lengths to remind the reader that Mary is entirely blameless. She offers no encouragement to Frank, however much she may want to, but she becomes a social pariah from mere suspicion. Lady Arabella, Franks mother, bars her from the house and from consorting with her children, despite still needing Dr. Thorne's services. Mary's low birth connections are known only to her uncle, the squire, and eventually, the squire's son - her prospective husband. No real thought is given to telling her, even when she pleads with her uncle to know who her mother was. Dr. Thorne wants to shield her from her low connections, even at the expense of her happiness.
In the opening chapter there is a lengthy exposition about the happiness of England in being one of the few places on Earth where the land is in the hands of the truly noble. With grinning irony the readers are asked to name the leading lights of other nations and compare them with the far longer list of those they know hailing from England. As much as the actions of the characters in the novel prove the lie of that boast, the truly noble are thoughtless, cruel and overall grasping for the money that fuels their privilege. Even our secondary hero, who pledges to give up everything for love, admits that he's useless for anything practical and takes no steps to remedy that fact in the months and months Mary is isolated and slandered. Even after the last page of the novel I wasn't sure if she shouldn't have gotten clean away from the place after all.
The writing is clever. While we don't get much more than statements about what is in Dr. Thorne's, or Mary's or Lady Arabella's heads at any given time, the social needs of the time are well displayed. Humor a shade more biting than previously seen in Barsetshire covers the squabbles between medical men, the mechanics of electioneering - complete with negative campaigning, and the high-stakes of wooing an heiress. He moralizes about the debilitating effects of strong drink and involves his readers with the moral dilemma of wanting a man's death while protesting, often and hard, that that isn't the case.
I didn't enjoy the plot, but the layers of social commentary make 'Doctor Thorne' a groundbreaking novel. I hope that some of the side characters, even poor snobbish Augusta, find their way into other novels later in the series, as Trollope seems to promise.
Consequently, I shall pay a visit to 'Framley Parsonage'.