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A review by duffypratt
The American Senator by Anthony Trollope
4.0
I bumped this to four stars from three. I've read all of Trollope. It took many years. When I ranked his books when I first signed up for Goodreads, I had only vague recollections about some of them. I started reading him when I was in my twenties because I was looking for an author who wrote lots of fat books where pretty much nothing happened. He quickly became one of my very favorite writers, especially in the big books told by his charming narrator.
To be fair, this book is mediocre Trollope. But mediocre Trollope is still very, very good. It interweaves three plots that center around a rural area named Diillsborough. It should probably have been named Dullsborough. First, there is a love triangle among the moderately well off class - a working farmer, a younger son who just barely has enough to maintain a life of leisure, and the daughter of a struggling attorney. This story is quite thin, and it involves a plot that Trollope retread many times. A good girl is admired by a man quite suitable for her, but she doesn't love him. Everyone tries to push her into the marriage, but she refuses to yield. Secretly, her heart belongs to another.
Second, and quite more biting, are the efforts of Arabella Trefoil, a beautiful and heartless social climber. She starts the book engaged to one fairly wealthy, but dull man (who is the elder son of the gentleman involved in plot number one). But she soon sets her sights higher, and tries to catch a Lord while keeping open her options on the first engagement. Bella is a great character. The Lord she tries to catch is weak willed, a bit slimy in his dealings with women, and a liar. It's pretty clear from the start that he will escape from Bella. It's less clear whether this was the best thing, either for him or her.
The remaining plot is probably the weakest part of the book. It involves the American Senator and his observations about English country life. Trollope has the Senator introduced to this by trying to get him to understand the values of fox hunting. This plot involves some people who laid poison in a wood to kill either some foxes or hounds. One suspect has shown resentment over the hunters trampling his crops, and foxes eating his livestock. The Senator comes to his defense. This plot is by far the thinnest of the three, and the Senator is pretty much a one-dimensional boor, who happens to also be fairly intelligent. On the plus side, the fox hunting gives a great parallel to Arabella's hunt for the Lord, and Trollope handles the comparison very nicely, without being too blunt.
To be fair, this book is mediocre Trollope. But mediocre Trollope is still very, very good. It interweaves three plots that center around a rural area named Diillsborough. It should probably have been named Dullsborough. First, there is a love triangle among the moderately well off class - a working farmer, a younger son who just barely has enough to maintain a life of leisure, and the daughter of a struggling attorney. This story is quite thin, and it involves a plot that Trollope retread many times. A good girl is admired by a man quite suitable for her, but she doesn't love him. Everyone tries to push her into the marriage, but she refuses to yield. Secretly, her heart belongs to another.
Second, and quite more biting, are the efforts of Arabella Trefoil, a beautiful and heartless social climber. She starts the book engaged to one fairly wealthy, but dull man (who is the elder son of the gentleman involved in plot number one). But she soon sets her sights higher, and tries to catch a Lord while keeping open her options on the first engagement. Bella is a great character. The Lord she tries to catch is weak willed, a bit slimy in his dealings with women, and a liar. It's pretty clear from the start that he will escape from Bella. It's less clear whether this was the best thing, either for him or her.
The remaining plot is probably the weakest part of the book. It involves the American Senator and his observations about English country life. Trollope has the Senator introduced to this by trying to get him to understand the values of fox hunting. This plot involves some people who laid poison in a wood to kill either some foxes or hounds. One suspect has shown resentment over the hunters trampling his crops, and foxes eating his livestock. The Senator comes to his defense. This plot is by far the thinnest of the three, and the Senator is pretty much a one-dimensional boor, who happens to also be fairly intelligent. On the plus side, the fox hunting gives a great parallel to Arabella's hunt for the Lord, and Trollope handles the comparison very nicely, without being too blunt.