A review by markk
The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope

5.0

This is the fourth of the Palliser novels that I have read (I skipped over The Eustace Diamonds with no ill effect) and so far it's the best of the bunch. In it Anthony Trollope offers two intertwining tales: that of the government of the upright and dutiful Plantagenet Pallier, Duke of Omnium, and the courtship of Emily Wharton, the daughter of a rich barrister, by the slick speculator Ferdinand Lopez. While I started the novel to read the first tale, I soon found myself much more interested in the development of the latter, which was perhaps a little predictable but no less engrossing for it. Yet Trollope's depiction of politics is no less entertaining in this novel, largely because of his focus on the machinations of the duke's wife, Lady Glencora Palliser. Though well-meaning, Trollope sees her efforts as counter-productive, which certainly raised questions for me as to why she is regarded by so many as one of Trollope's greatest heroines. Independent and willful as she may be, she seems to be presented in this novel mainly as a cautionary note as to the folly of women participating in politics, as her actions create many of the problems her husband's government subsequently faces. Nevertheless, she is marvelous as a plot device, and is one of the greatest strengths of this enjoyable book.