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A review by duffypratt
Dr. Thorne by Anthony Trollope
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
In several Trollope books, we have heroines who have given their hearts to some man, and who steadfastly remain true to him, despite the opposition of their family. Here, the good girl will always adhere to the family's insistence that she shut herself away and not communicate with her lover, but at the same time resolve that she is, in her heart, already married and thus not free to give in to her family's demands that she give him up.
This book essentially flips that down. It is the man, here Frank Gresham, who rebels against his family's wishes and needs. His father, the foremost commoner of Greshamberry, has squandered his estate by running for Parliament and by keeping the pack of hounds for the hunt. To preserve the estate, according to his wife, it is absolutely essential that Frank marry money. Working for a living is, of course, unthinkable and absolutely beneath the dignity of a Gresham.
Frank has other ideas, and unlike most Trollope heroes, he is a fairly strong character. He has fallen in love with Mary Thorne, the niece of the local doctor. Unfortunately, she is of unknown birth and penniless. Otherwise, she is perfectly ladylike, and like so many of Trollope's women, she is absolutely good, but for reasons that don't seem readily apparent.
The resolution of all these problems comes through the revelation of the "mystery" of Mary's birth, and the execution of a will. In most other novelists hands, these twists would be shrouded in mystery throughout the book, with shocking revelations toward the end. I'm thinking of you, Dickens.
Trollope will not involve himself in that kind of mystery or surprise. Instead, it's abundantly clear from about 1/4 of the way through the novel how everything will ultimately resolve. And that is a lot of the book's charm. Since we know how things will turn out, we can enjoy the portrayal of the characters, their strengths, weaknesses, hypocrisies, etc...
And that's good as far as it goes, but the characters in this book are less interesting than in some other Trollope books. The best of them is Miss Dunstable, the heiress that the family targets as Frank's future bride. But her appearance is all too short. The portrayal of Mr. Satcherd, a working class man who has become a railroad tycoon, is also excellent. And the portrait of Dr. Thorne himself is quite touching. That said, the main players, Frank and Mary, are uninteresting because they are just too good. And their immediate circle are not that much deeper than stock characters.
Still, even middling Trollope is better than most books, and I found this a pleasure to read again, even if its not as good as Barchester Towers.
This book essentially flips that down. It is the man, here Frank Gresham, who rebels against his family's wishes and needs. His father, the foremost commoner of Greshamberry, has squandered his estate by running for Parliament and by keeping the pack of hounds for the hunt. To preserve the estate, according to his wife, it is absolutely essential that Frank marry money. Working for a living is, of course, unthinkable and absolutely beneath the dignity of a Gresham.
Frank has other ideas, and unlike most Trollope heroes, he is a fairly strong character. He has fallen in love with Mary Thorne, the niece of the local doctor. Unfortunately, she is of unknown birth and penniless. Otherwise, she is perfectly ladylike, and like so many of Trollope's women, she is absolutely good, but for reasons that don't seem readily apparent.
The resolution of all these problems comes through the revelation of the "mystery" of Mary's birth, and the execution of a will. In most other novelists hands, these twists would be shrouded in mystery throughout the book, with shocking revelations toward the end. I'm thinking of you, Dickens.
Trollope will not involve himself in that kind of mystery or surprise. Instead, it's abundantly clear from about 1/4 of the way through the novel how everything will ultimately resolve. And that is a lot of the book's charm. Since we know how things will turn out, we can enjoy the portrayal of the characters, their strengths, weaknesses, hypocrisies, etc...
And that's good as far as it goes, but the characters in this book are less interesting than in some other Trollope books. The best of them is Miss Dunstable, the heiress that the family targets as Frank's future bride. But her appearance is all too short. The portrayal of Mr. Satcherd, a working class man who has become a railroad tycoon, is also excellent. And the portrait of Dr. Thorne himself is quite touching. That said, the main players, Frank and Mary, are uninteresting because they are just too good. And their immediate circle are not that much deeper than stock characters.
Still, even middling Trollope is better than most books, and I found this a pleasure to read again, even if its not as good as Barchester Towers.