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A review by pgchuis
The Bertrams by Geoffrey Harvey, Anthony Trollope
4.0
George Bertram decides to become a barrister, since his rich uncle has made it clear that George will not be his heir. George's friend, Arthur (a minister), decides not to ask Adela to marry him because he believes he cannot afford it. George travels to Jerusalem to meet his father, the unreliable and selfish Sir Lionel and there meets and becomes engaged to Caroline, but their romance is broken off.
I delayed reading this novel because I thought it was set in Jerusalem, but in fact only a few of the chapters are set there (with a later section describing a trip to Egypt). Some of the observations about what the church has done to Jerusalem were very interesting and George's spiritual experience on Mount of Olives was quite moving, but there were many passages describing the local populations in terms which are wholly unacceptable today. In general in Trollope I have found references (usually to Jews) which grate, but this novel took things to a whole other level and made me understand that the Victorians did clearly believe that cleanliness is next to godliness - I think Trollope managed to describe almost every non-Christian character as dirty at some point.
That aside, I found this story very enjoyable. Adela was a delight. George and Caroline got what they deserved and then for a moment it looked as if Trollope was going to bless them with a second chance, but the very ending shows that he was not quite able completely to forgive Caroline for marrying without intending to love, which seems to be the unforgivable sin for Trollope. Miss Todd and Sir Lionel provided some comic relief, although I didn't really enjoy the chapter describing the trip home from Egypt - Mrs Cox and Mrs Price didn't seem to fit into the novel at all. I'm glad Mrs Wilkinson was humbled.
I delayed reading this novel because I thought it was set in Jerusalem, but in fact only a few of the chapters are set there (with a later section describing a trip to Egypt). Some of the observations about what the church has done to Jerusalem were very interesting and George's spiritual experience on Mount of Olives was quite moving, but there were many passages describing the local populations in terms which are wholly unacceptable today. In general in Trollope I have found references (usually to Jews) which grate, but this novel took things to a whole other level and made me understand that the Victorians did clearly believe that cleanliness is next to godliness - I think Trollope managed to describe almost every non-Christian character as dirty at some point.
That aside, I found this story very enjoyable. Adela was a delight. George and Caroline got what they deserved and then for a moment it looked as if Trollope was going to bless them with a second chance, but the very ending shows that he was not quite able completely to forgive Caroline for marrying without intending to love, which seems to be the unforgivable sin for Trollope. Miss Todd and Sir Lionel provided some comic relief, although I didn't really enjoy the chapter describing the trip home from Egypt - Mrs Cox and Mrs Price didn't seem to fit into the novel at all. I'm glad Mrs Wilkinson was humbled.