A review by ipb1
The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope

5.0

I love Trollope, and loved this, but do be warned that xenophobia and anti-Semitism pop up more frequently and loom larger than in any other Trollope novel I can think of. Usually I just stick my [metaphorical] fingers in my ears and sing "la la la" to pass by the occasional cringe-inducing sentence, but given the 'traits' of foreign-ness and Jewishness are central to many of the characters' distrust and disparagement of Lopez there are many more uncomfortable moments in this novel than in his others. 21st Century sensibilities aside this is more of the same from Mr T, and no less wonderful for that. Planty Pal and Lady Glen take centre stage and are in truly marvellous form. The hardest part for the modern reader, and that requiring the greatest suspension of disbelief, is the notion of an ethical and moral Prime Minister. Not to worry though, the overwhelming majority of the establishment and Parliamentary estate are the kinds of self-serving, back-stabbing, moral bankrupts we are completely familiar with today.