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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I've just finished rereading this one, again, in anticipation of next week's meeting for the Trollope Society at the Mercantile Library. (Please do come chat with us about the book, if you'd like!)
While Trollope is always a pleasure, Doctor Thorne is a particularly captivating book, seemingly light and easy, but really quite densely interwoven with considerations of class and culture. The story concerns the illegitimately born Mary Thorne, who is raised as a "lady" and taught to think of good "blood" as being the strongest possible point of pride. This central theme is reflected in a variety of courtship subplots which thrust upon reader and characters constant questions as to the relative values of birth, wealth, character, and conduct, questions which are actually surprisingly modern, for all their apparent conservative aura.
Certainly, though, a part of the frisson of the novel comes from tracking the early threads of connection between two characters who don't come together until Framley Parsonage (1860), a small thrill for more dedicated Trollopians.
14 June 2012
While Trollope is always a pleasure, Doctor Thorne is a particularly captivating book, seemingly light and easy, but really quite densely interwoven with considerations of class and culture. The story concerns the illegitimately born Mary Thorne, who is raised as a "lady" and taught to think of good "blood" as being the strongest possible point of pride. This central theme is reflected in a variety of courtship subplots which thrust upon reader and characters constant questions as to the relative values of birth, wealth, character, and conduct, questions which are actually surprisingly modern, for all their apparent conservative aura.
Certainly, though, a part of the frisson of the novel comes from tracking the early threads of connection between two characters who don't come together until Framley Parsonage (1860), a small thrill for more dedicated Trollopians.
14 June 2012
All the makings of an excellent soap opera, chases, escapes, true love, etc.
Good reading as it turned out. This tale was actually (I learned) the author's best selling book ever. He made very little money on it, having sold the copyrights upfront. This story features a long-suffering maiden, not my favorite thing to find a plot. But alas, good clean fun.
Good reading as it turned out. This tale was actually (I learned) the author's best selling book ever. He made very little money on it, having sold the copyrights upfront. This story features a long-suffering maiden, not my favorite thing to find a plot. But alas, good clean fun.
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
funny
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
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
Five things about Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope. 3/5⭐️s
1. I really did enjoy this third installment in Barchester Chronicles.
2. Yet, I still find Trollope a bit dull overall. This one was pleasant and the storylines familiar- as seen throughout Victorian literature. There was no gut wrenching at the end as I felt with The Warden but also no side splitting laughter as I felt much of the time with Barchester Towers.
3. I suppose I should commend Trollope for his versatility but even through the variety there’s an overarching sky of placidity that just makes his writing feel muted.
4. I am officially halfway through the series now and until this moment there was no guarantee that I’d continue on to the end but I’m committed is.
5. I suppose I’ll just have to accept that my Victorian passion is to be more likely found in Dickens, Collins, or Bronte than within Trollope’s Barset.
1. I really did enjoy this third installment in Barchester Chronicles.
2. Yet, I still find Trollope a bit dull overall. This one was pleasant and the storylines familiar- as seen throughout Victorian literature. There was no gut wrenching at the end as I felt with The Warden but also no side splitting laughter as I felt much of the time with Barchester Towers.
3. I suppose I should commend Trollope for his versatility but even through the variety there’s an overarching sky of placidity that just makes his writing feel muted.
4. I am officially halfway through the series now and until this moment there was no guarantee that I’d continue on to the end but I’m committed is.
5. I suppose I’ll just have to accept that my Victorian passion is to be more likely found in Dickens, Collins, or Bronte than within Trollope’s Barset.
You must marry money!
This was so delightful. I’ve absolutely been charmed to bits by Anthony Trollope’s playful and realistic take on people being weird about money. It also tackles topics like alcoholism, aristocratic hypocrisy and the strength of friendship. Trollope is the most caring of authors, always worrying about the readers comfort and dropping in now and again to reassure.
He’s the kind of guy who can write about catty ladies for days and I’m sure he’d keep everyone hanging on to every word. He’s got to be one of my favorite Victorian authors.
This was so delightful. I’ve absolutely been charmed to bits by Anthony Trollope’s playful and realistic take on people being weird about money. It also tackles topics like alcoholism, aristocratic hypocrisy and the strength of friendship. Trollope is the most caring of authors, always worrying about the readers comfort and dropping in now and again to reassure.
He’s the kind of guy who can write about catty ladies for days and I’m sure he’d keep everyone hanging on to every word. He’s got to be one of my favorite Victorian authors.
While the author insists this book is really about Dr. Thorne (hence the title), essentially it is a love story, between Mary, the doctor’s illegitimate but well raised niece and Frank, the son of the local squire who faces bankruptcy. Frank reminded me a bit of Fred Vincey from Middlemarch who also loved a girl named Mary, although Fred actually did have to work for a living eventually. Frank and Mary's main obstacle, besides the fact that his extended family tell him constantly that he must marry money, is his mother, Lady Arabella, a consummate snob who is determined to keep Mary from Frank at all costs. In their corner, however, is the delightful Miss Dunstable (I wish there had been more of her in the book)and the ever constant Dr. Thorne.
If The Warden and Barchester Towers are satires on C of E politics, Dr. Thorne is a satire on heredity and snobbery. The ending is pretty much telegraphed from the beginning of the book, there is little suspense for such a long novel, but I loved it anyway. In keeping with the two Trollope books I have read previously, it is both very funny and very moral.
If The Warden and Barchester Towers are satires on C of E politics, Dr. Thorne is a satire on heredity and snobbery. The ending is pretty much telegraphed from the beginning of the book, there is little suspense for such a long novel, but I loved it anyway. In keeping with the two Trollope books I have read previously, it is both very funny and very moral.
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes