Group read: Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope

Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope (1861)

" I wish Mr Trollope would go on writing Framley Parsonage forever. I don't see any reason why it should ever come to an end, and every one I know is dreading the last number."---Elizabeth Gaskell

Introduction

Hello, all! Welcome to the group read of Anthony Trollope's Framley Parsonage, the fourth novel in his "Chronicles Of Barsetshire" series.

Framley Parsonage was serialised in the Cornhill Magazine in 1860 and published in 1861. It was enormously popular, and established Anthony Trollope as one of England's premier novelists.

As usual with Trollope, the novel is predominantly an affectionate and detailed portrait of day-to-day life. It does, to an extent, revert to the church-based plot and characters of The Warden and Barchester Towers but in a very different way: one of its main themes is that a man of the cloth is, after all, just a man.

During the late 18th century, England was quite a secular place. The church was seen chiefly as a "dumping ground" for younger sons, with religious feeling having little to do with this choice of profession. This gradually changed into and across the 19th century, with religion becoming a far more prominent and important part of life.

However, for those churchman who considered themselves "High Church", there was always a certain tension between the demands of their profession and the demands of society. Within a certain section of the community (those who might be referred to as "high and dry"), it was considered both suitable and desirable for a High Church minister to also lead an essentially normal social life, with the result that ministers could find themselves subjected to the same pressures and temptations as any other young men---and getting into the same sorts of trouble. This situation is a major aspect of this novel.

At the same time, political matters play a more prominent role in Framley Parsonage compared to the earlier ones in the series, and it is easy to imagine that Trollope was already toying with the idea of writing about the prevailing state of politics in England.

People who missed our friends from Barchester in Dr Thorne may be pleased to know that while he continues to open up the imaginary territory of Barset and to introduce a raft of new characters in Framley Parsonage, Trollope also brings back quite a number of familiar faces.

As for the conduct of the group read itself, having learned from the experience of Dr Thorne I will be setting up three threads at the outset (Chapters 1-16, Chapters 17-32, Chapters 33-48) so that those who wish to dash ahead will have somewhere to dash ahead to. Also, this time around, instead of me doing it, I think the rest of you should post some favourite quotes as you go along!

There aren't many rules for this group read - no set number of chapters in a set time - everyone can go at their own pace. As always, we simply ask that posters indicate in bold what chapter they are referring to, so that others can avoid potential spoilers.

Speaking of spoilers, I would also discourage people from reading the introductions and/or notes to their editions on the way through. If you have any questions at all, please post them here.

The characters of Framley Parsonage:

Mark Robarts - a young clergyman
Fanny Robarts - his wife
Lucy Robarts - Mark's sister

Lady Lufton - Mark's patron
Lord Lufton - her son, Mark's friend

The Duke of Omnium - a Whig nobleman, a man of bad reputation but great power
Mr Fothergill - the duke's agent

Nathaniel Sowerby - owner of Chaldicotes, MP for West Barsetshire under the duke's patronage, and a man deeply in debt
Mrs Harold (Harriet) Smith - his sister
Harold Smith - her husband, an MP

Miss Martha Dunstable - "the richest woman in England"

Archdeacon Grantly
Mrs Grantly
Griselda Grantly

Bishop Proudie
Mrs Proudie
Olivia Proudie

So! - if you're going to be joining in the group read, please give a shout and let everyone know! :)

I'm in! I have it loaded on my e-reader and I'll probably start reading on Saturday.

I'm here. Should start this weekend, and read it when I get mad at Janny Wurts (I'm reading her Peril's Gate, all 950 pages of it!).

I'll be joining in for a re-read!

Just a note - I added this to the group wiki.

Hi, Carrie, Jean and Genny - great to have you here!

Thank you, Jim. :)

I'm in but I won't start for a week or so. I am anxious to get back to Trollope:)

That's fine, Bonnie, take your own time.

I'm in and have already read the first two chapters!!

I'm in. I'm about 25 pages through it and enjoying it. I will be slow but here!

I'm in too! I've started but I'm only a couple of chapters in so far.

I will be following the audio version, read by Timothy West, but shan't be starting for a day or two.

A bit of a long quote from Chapter 3:

"And what are the difficulties, Mrs. Smith, in which I am to assist you?"

"We have six or seven gentlemen here, Mr. Robarts, and they always go out hunting before breakfast, and they never come back—I was going to say—till after dinner. I wish it were so, for then we should not have to wait for them."

"Excepting Mr. Supplehouse, you know," said the unknown lady, in a loud voice.

"And he is generally shut up in the library, writing articles."

"He'd be better employed if he were trying to break his neck like the others," said the unknown lady.

"Only he would never succeed," said Mrs. Harold Smith. "But perhaps, Mr. Robarts, you are as bad as the rest; perhaps you, too, will be hunting to-morrow."

"My dear Mrs. Smith!" said Mrs. Proudie, in a tone denoting slight reproach, and modified horror.

"Oh! I forgot. No, of course, you won't be hunting, Mr. Robarts; you'll only be wishing that you could."

"Why can't he?" said the lady with the loud voice.

"My dear Miss Dunstable! a clergyman hunt, while he is staying in the same house with the bishop? Think of the proprieties!"

"Oh—ah! The bishop wouldn't like it—wouldn't he? Now, do tell me, sir, what would the bishop do to you if you did hunt?"

"It would depend upon his mood at the time, madam," said Mr. Robarts. "If that were very stern, he might perhaps have me beheaded before the palace gates."

Mrs. Proudie drew herself up in her chair, showing that she did not like the tone of the conversation; and Miss Proudie fixed her eyes vehemently on her book, showing that Miss Dunstable and her conversation were both beneath her notice.

Mrs Proudie and Miss Dunstable return! One happy reader :-)

Oh, that's only the tip of the iceberg! :)

Ok, I'm in too. I read this a long time ago, so long ago that I've forgotten it., so it qualifies for a ROOT read as well.

I am almost caught up with this group. I plan to finish Dr. Thorne today! I may take a little break, but will start reading the next one after my week end company leaves.

Welcome, Laura, Cushla, Heather, Kerry, Maggie and Donna!!

Phew!! :)

>17 souloftherose:: oh yes Heather, I read Ch. 3 before bed last night and was chuffed to bits to see my old friends! Well, Mrs Proudie isn't exactly a friend ... :)

I'm not sure that I'm in this time. I will definitely read *FP*, but I'm tired from last month's push, and "having" to keep up a respectable pace sounds daunting right now. We'll see whether I can resist.

Mr Slope!!! (Well, indirectly.)

I'm into Chapter 7 and it is great seeing the old characters from Barchester Towers popping back up.

>>#23

No rush, Peggy - Bonnie won't be starting for a week or two.

>>#24

:D

Dropping in to follow along. I read Framley Parsonage last year, but I'm looking forward to the groups' comments, and to your wonderful tutelage, Liz.

#23 Don't feel like you 'have' to keep to a pace Peggy. I know I've raced ahead quite a bit but I'm not expecting everyone else to.

>24 cushlareads:: it is great seeing the old characters from Barchester Towers popping back up.
Oh I love that too! It was nice to hear what Slope has been up to. Archbishop Grantly was also mentioned, and I am looking forward to seeing him again. And then there was this bit in Ch 6:
And there were one or two gentlemen on the second seat who shook hands with some of our party. There was Mr. Thorne, of Ullathorne, a good-natured old bachelor, whose residence was near enough to Barchester to allow of his coming in without much personal inconvenience; and next to him was Mr. Harding, an old clergyman of the chapter, with whom Mrs. Proudie shook hands very graciously, making way for him to seat himself close behind her if he would so please. But Mr. Harding did not so please.

Good old Mr. Harding!

Is "Mr Thorne, of Ullathorne" the Doctor Thorne of the previous novel? I seem to remember there were other Thornes in the area as well.

No, Mr Thorne of Ullathorne is the head of the family who lives with sister, Miss Monica Thorne, outside Barchester. They are cousins to Dr Thorne and Mary Thorne, and were the hosts of the rather memorable garden party in Barchester Towers.

I know you're all dashing on past, but I wanted to point out something in Chapter 3, which I've found is a detail that people sometimes struggle with in 19th century novels: the lack of light. Lighting of large rooms was expensive and something that was often skimped, particularly in situations where people were only expected to be talking. If people were simply gathering in a room prior to going to dinner, often very few if any lights were put on. This is one reason why so many 19th century novels have scenes where someone can overhear a conversation, or not realise that a particular person is near to them while they are speaking. Literally, you couldn't always see who was in the room.

Trollope captures this very well at Chaldicotes, where we know money is in short supply:

"Is that Mr Robarts?" said Mrs Harold Smith, getting up to greet him, and screening her pretended ignorance under the veil of the darkness...

But as she moved towards the door, it opened, and a short gentleman, with a slow, quiet step, entered the room; but was not yet to be distinguished through the dusk...

And then the bishop, feeling through the dark...

>29 lyzard:: thanks for that, Liz. I remember that garden party! I appreciate you connecting the dots for me.
>30 lyzard:: I wondered about that scene when I read it, I couldn't figure out why it would be so dark!

I am liking Lucy Robarts a lot. She's just got bored at Lady Lufton's dinner party and would rather be at home reading a book! "With her own book and a fireside she never felt herself to be miserable as she was now." (Chapter 10).

Cushla, you're making excellent progress!

I enjoyed the part where the recently-married Frank and Mary Gresham (from Doctor Thorne) arrived on the scene, I think that's in Chapter 8. Not that much happened, I just like seeing familiar characters return and mix with the new ones.

Also Chapter 3

Go, Miss Dunstable!

    "Have you much work in your parish, Mr. Robarts?" she asked. Now, Mark was not aware that she knew his name, or the fact of his having a parish, and was rather surprised by the question. And he had not quite liked the tone in which she had seemed to speak of the bishop and his work. His desire for her further acquaintance was therefore somewhat moderated, and he was not prepared to answer her question with much zeal.
    "All parish clergymen have plenty of work, if they choose to do it."
    "Ah, that is it; is it not, Mr. Robarts? If they choose to do it? A great many do—many that I know, do; and see what a result they have. But many neglect it—and see what a result they have. I think it ought to be the happiest life that a man can lead, that of a parish clergyman, with a wife and family, and a sufficient income."
    "I think it is," said Mark Robarts, asking himself whether the contentment accruing to him from such blessings had made him satisfied at all points. He had all these things of which Miss Dunstable spoke, and yet he had told his wife, the other day, that he could not afford to neglect the acquaintance of a rising politician like Harold Smith.
    "What I find fault with is this," continued Miss Dunstable, "that we expect clergymen to do their duty, and don't give them a sufficient income—give them hardly any income at all. Is it not a scandal, that an educated gentleman with a family should be made to work half his life, and perhaps the whole, for a pittance of seventy pounds a year?"
    Mark said that it was a scandal, and thought of Mr. Evan Jones and his daughter;—and thought also of his own worth, and his own house, and his own nine hundred a year.

I like the difference in attitude and behaviour of Miss Dunstable towards Mary and Frank, compared to her treatment of the Duke of Omnium.

And Miss Dunstable put her toes up on the fender to warm them with as much self-possession as though her father had been a duke also, instead of a quack doctor.

Finished!

And now I shall flick back through and see if I can remember any of those points about which I thought to myself, "I really should say something about that..." :)

I've read through Chapter 12, and am just loving it.

I was curious about a quote -- sadly since I'm reading this on my Kindle and highlighting passages, when I come back to them I can't easily tell which chapter they're in. But anyway, here it is, somewhere in chapter 11 or 12 I think:

Do not let persons on this account suppose that Mrs. Robarts was a tuft-hunter, or a toad-eater. If they do not see the difference they have yet got to study the earliest principles of human nature.

tuft-hunter? toad-eater?

And, as a woman of a certain age (i.e.; slightly past 50), this one stood out:

"He was an old man when he died, was he not?" "Just seventy, my lord." "Ah, then he was old. My mother is only fifty, and we sometimes call her the old woman. Do you think she looks older than that? We all say that she makes herself out to be so much more ancient than she need do."

Harrumph.

A toad-eater is anyone of a particularly servile disposition, or who gets along in life by sucking up; a tuft-hunter is a toad-eater who specifically sucks up to the upper classes or the aristocracy.

"Toad-eaters" originally supposedly really ate toads: it was a term for the assistants of certain quacks or charlatans who demonstrated how powerful their medicines were by curing their assistants after they ate poisonous toads. The term ended up meaning someone who would do anything for their superior, no matter how undignified, or who would stop at nothing in terms of flattery or grovelling.

"Tuft-hunter" refers to the fact that noblemen and the sons of noblemen had a gold tassel (or tuft) on their university mortarboards, rather than a plain black one. A "tuft-hunter" therefore ran after noblemen.

Of course what Trollope is saying is that Fanny Robarts is neither a tuft-hunter nor a toad-eater in spite of her willingness to serve Lady Lufton, that rather it stems from genuine affection and gratitude (and a little fear).

Harrumph.

I had exactly the same reaction to the "old women" in Mary Roberts Rinehart's stories about Letitia Carberry and her friends, who are just the same age as someone else I could mention...

>38 lyzard:: thanks Liz! I suppose toad-eater gave rise to the term "toady"? Oh yes, I just verified this in Wikipedia, here (if you consider that a credible source!)

#30 Thanks for mentioning that Liz - I hadn't spotted when reading that chapter.

#32 - 35 I think I would quite like to be friends with both Lucy Robarts and Miss Dunstable (in fact, I think I want to be Miss Dunstable).

I loved this quote from Chapter 11 (Dr Grantly is speaking first):

"So it is.—But the very fact of the duke's wishing to have a clergyman there, should always be taken as a sign of grace, Lady Lufton. The air was impure, no doubt; but it was less impure with Robarts there than it would have been without him. But, gracious heavens! what blasphemy have I been saying about impure air? Why, the bishop was there!"

"Yes, the bishop was there," said Lady Lufton, and they both understood each other thoroughly.

And another from Chapter 17

In her heart of hearts Mrs. Grantly hated Mrs. Proudie—that is, with that sort of hatred one Christian lady allows herself to feel towards another. Of course Mrs. Grantly forgave Mrs. Proudie all her offences, and wished her well, and was at peace with her, in the Christian sense of the word, as with all other women. But under this forbearance and meekness, and perhaps, we may say, wholly unconnected with it, there was certainly a current of antagonistic feeling which, in the ordinary unconsidered language of every day, men and women do call hatred. This raged and was strong throughout the whole year in Barsetshire, before the eyes of all mankind.

Argh. Have not yet started because I'm so caught up in Peril's Gate I can't put it down! Almost done with it though. Framley next.

I'm going to join in the read of this. I spotted it over on the TIOLI challenge and added my name there the other day, but as I'm catching up on threads, I'm just discovering this one. I downloaded the free Kindle version and will probably begin reading it later this week.

I've only (re)read the first couple of chapters so far. In Chapter 2 I was struck by the following passing comparison of Mark Robarts to the wicked Old Testament King Ahab - who coveted his neighbour Naboth's vineyard and had him killed in order to obtain it when Naboth refused to sell it to him. This is a surprisingly unflattering comparison to make of the central character of a novel, and presages something rather dark in Mark Robarts' character: at the very least, that he is envious (unjustifiably), and perhaps that he might be prepared to go to unreasonable lengths to get what he wants.

"...there was a little garden path running from the back of the vicarage grounds into the churchyard, cutting the Podgens off into an isolated corner of their own;— from whence, to tell the truth, the vicar would have been glad to banish them and their cabbages, could he have had the power to do so. For has not the small vineyard of Naboth been always an eyesore to neighbouring potentates? The potentate in this case had as little excuse as Ahab, for nothing in the parsonage way could be more perfect than his parsonage.

I think the trouble with Mark is that "good things" (to use Trollope's favourite expression) have come to him too easily, and so he is insufficiently grateful. He is also inclined to chalk it up to his own merits rather than luck, and therefore puts too much weight on what he "deserves".

To return to Laura's point, it is Mark rather than Fanny who is the tuft-hunter.

Since I see that Heather has dashed ahead, I will set up a second thread for discussion of the next set of chapters, so we don't spoil anything here for those who are further behind.

ETA: And the second thread (chapters 17 - 32) is here.

>>#41

No rush, Jean!

>>#42

Welcome, Lori! - and again, no rush. There are no reading rules here except start when you like and go at your own pace. :)

Chapter 6

Hee, hee!

    And then Mrs. Proudie began her story about Mr. Slope, or rather recommenced it. She was very fond of talking about this gentleman, who had once been her pet chaplain but was now her bitterest foe; and in telling the story, she had sometimes to whisper to Miss Dunstable, for there were one or two fie-fie little anecdotes about a married lady, not altogether fit for young Mr. Robarts's ears. But Mrs. Harold Smith insisted on having them out loud, and Miss Dunstable would gratify that lady in spite of Mrs. Proudie's winks.
    "What, kissing her hand, and he a clergyman!" said Miss Dunstable. "I did not think they ever did such things, Mr. Robarts."
    "Still waters run deepest," said Mrs. Harold Smith.
    "Hush-h-h," looked, rather than spoke, Mrs. Proudie. "The grief of spirit which that bad man caused me nearly broke my heart, and all the while, you know, he was courting—" and then Mrs. Proudie whispered a name.
    "What, the dean's wife!" shouted Miss Dunstable, in a voice which made the coachman of the next carriage give a chuck to his horses as he overheard her.
    "The archdeacon's sister-in-law!" screamed Mrs. Harold Smith.

And so even yet we may say, "Poor Eleanor!"

Finally got a start on Framley Parsonage. I'll catch up!

OK I have read through the end of chapter 11 and am thoroughly enjoying it. Loved this bit from Chapter 6; it's a perfect example of Trollope's dry humor:

"O Civilization! thou that ennoblest mankind and makest him equal to gods, what is like unto thee?" Here Mrs. Proudie showed evident signs of disapprobation, which no doubt would have been shared by the bishop, had not that worthy prelate been asleep. But Mr. Smith continued unobservant; or at any rate regardless.

Trollope and Barbara Pym are the only authors I know who bring back characters and I love them both for it.

Making me laugh so hard to see the Duke of Ominum so reviled. At least in the privacy of one's home. I doubt Mrs Lufton would be so censorious to his face. :)

Trollope can make me laugh out loud at how he makes fun of 'proper' society.

Chapter 10

    Lady Lufton had of course heard of the doctor's death, and had sent all manner of kind messages to Mark, advising him not to hurry home by any means until everything was settled at Exeter. And then she was told of the new-comer that was expected in the parish. When she heard that it was Lucy, the younger, she also was satisfied; for Blanche's charms, though indisputable, had not been altogether to her taste. If a second Blanche were to arrive there what danger might there not be for young Lord Lufton!
    "Quite right," said her ladyship, "just what he ought to do. I think I remember the young lady; rather small, is she not, and very retiring?"
    "Rather small and very retiring. What a description!" said Lord Lufton.
    "Never mind, Ludovic; some young ladies must be small, and some at least ought to be retiring."

Chapter 11

But to tell the truth openly and at once—a virtue for which a novelist does not receive very much commendation—

Heh!

I'm looking forward to using taradiddle in conversation soon! (I forget which chapter... but the one in which Lady Lufton tells one.)

I am reviving this thread for those of us who are still in the first part of the book. I have read through Chapter 15 now and am liking this book very much. Lucy has just been told by Fanny that the young Lord Lufton has been flirting with her and it must stop. Yeah, right.

Liz, your quotes and notes have been extremely helpful. I probably would have passed over things like the poor lighting back then. Your explanations have made for a richer reading experience. Thanks!

Welcome, Donna! Please feel free to highlight quotes or ask questions. :)

I'm at Chapter 14. The romance begins...

I notice it's Lucy's 'fault' rather than Lord Lufton's. Just as in Doctor Thorne when Mary was sent away because Frank was in love with her, the 'passive' character (i.e. the woman) gets the blame and suffers rather than the 'active'.

Yes, and yet the women are often the stronger characters when it's all said and done, and the men wouldn't get very far without them!

>57 CDVicarage:, 58 Wish I had a Like button for these comments:)

#57 - 59 Agreed! :-)

This is another of the contradictions that Trollope delights in pointing out: young women were raised in the knowledge that they were expected to catch an eligible husband (often regardless of his feelings or her own), while young men were simultaneously warned about "snares" and "traps". In both of the cases cited we are dealing with an oldest son, so the whole primogeniture nightmare is added to the mix.

Hi all! Liz has informed me that it is ok to ask a question on this thread even though it is months old.....

I am up to chapter 14 and Lady Lufton has been fretting over Mark's activities. Was it really considered a sin for a clergyman to participate in activities such as hunting? Would it have also been a sin for lesser clergy to own horses? Or is it just that it is a poor decision considering Mark's finances.

Mark has a serious case of "keeping up with the Jones's" and I agree that he doesn't show the proper gratitude for all that he already has in his life. It makes me sympathetic towards Lady Lufton in a way I was not towards Lady Gresham in the last novel.

>62 Cobscook: It makes me sympathetic towards Lady Lufton in a way I was not towards Lady Gresham in the last novel.

I had the same reaction to Lady Lufton. She seems to be motivated more by love than by social position or money. Not that social position and money aren't important to her, but they're important because she wants her loved ones to fit in.

It's not only okay, it's encouraged! :)

There are two separate issues here, Heidi. In the first place it was not considered really "proper" for a clergyman to hunt - not sinful, but not setting a good example, either. In the 18th century the "sporting parson" (the phrase is used here) who did hunt and shoot, and also drank and gambled, was a common thing, but into the 19th century there was a big push to reform the behaviour of the clergy and by the time we are speaking of hunting was no longer an acceptable hobby for a clergyman. Clergymen were supposed to have moral authority over their parishes and indulging in activities like hunting was perceived as undignified and "levelling".

On the secondary level, hunting was a very expensive hobby, and it was also considered "not proper" for a clergyman to be spending so much on his stable. Mark would own a horse, or horses, for ordinary day-to-day business, but he has no business buying a hunter - particularly when he knows he shouldn't be hunting in the first place! He doesn't need the horse, and worse, he can't afford it. Giving in here is probably worse than signing his name to Sowerby's bill.

The relationship between Lady Lufton and Mark is full of ambiguities and questions. How much control over Mark should she have? How far is Mark obliged to obey her? Typical Trollope, Mark makes his stand against her not on reasonable grounds (for example, the teacher he and Fanny discuss early on), but when he knows perfectly well he's in the wrong. :)

Hi, Carrie!

I think Trollope maintains a very clever split-vision of Lady Lufton: we see both how far she is in the right, but also where she starts to go wrong. She's both sympathetic and a bit exasperating. She is certainly no Lady Arabella, though! :)

Thanks Liz! That all makes sense. Mark is the character I find seriously exasperating so far. He keeps doing things that he knows are not right! I imagine this goes back to your point in the summary at the top of this thread....many men became members of the clergy because it was a way to make a good living, not because they truly felt called to the profession.

Mind you, even people who truly feel called are perfectly capable of doing the wrong thing even while knowing it is wrong (I speak from experience, but I don't think it is just me...).

Oh yes Genny you are right. I guess I meant that Mark hasn't been written in a way that makes me think he is particularly religious...so maybe that's why he would rather be hunting, riding horses, and hanging out with his buddies.....rather than writing sermons, visiting the sick, or other things I imagine clergy did during that time period. LOL

In writing these novels, Trollope avoided dealing with "sacred things", as he puts it in Barchester Towers, because he felt that to do so in what were basically comedies would be inappropriate and disrespectful. But although he always described his clergymen as the social individuals they were rather than attempting to deal with their religious feeling, it is safe to take it for granted that Mark has the proper calling. We would be told if he didn't.

Bump

Thanks for bumping, Ro. I have all the Trollope Group Read threads starred since I plan to read them all eventually!

>71 EBT1002: Howdy Ellen. I'll be listening to this one in August! I'll be sure to follow along when you and Julia pick this series up again.

...and I will be watching with interest. :)

I found it! Just started it this morning, so mostly just scene-setting so far. It didn't take long to fall back into Trollope's sly wit. I bet he was fun to sit next to at parties. :-)

Excellent! I hope you enjoy it. :)

And of course please do add any comments or questions.

I had a long stretch where other books claimed my time, but I am back at Framley Parsonage and enjoying myself immensely. I am in the midst of Chapter 17, and Lady Lufton is about to pelt up to London to rescue Griselda Grantly from her many admirers during the Season, in order to further ensnare her for Lord Lufton. Other than Mark Robarts, who makes me want to gently bang his head into the wall for being such a fool, the characters are all delightful.

I don't have much to add (except emphatic agreement) to the observations above about how poor Lucy Robarts is being blamed for things she didn't do, but now that she has explicitly rejected Lord Lufton per Lady Lufton's orders, I'm more sure than ever that we are heading for a happily-ever-after with those two. :-)

I may have spoken too soon, as we have now reached the section of the book where Trollope blathers endlessly on about a change in government, except of course he has to couch it all in highfalutin' metaphors about the "gods" and the "giants" and Apollo and Jove and so on and so forth. Reader, I confess: I skimmed through, reading just closely enough to figure out how it all affected the characters we actually care about.

>76 rosalita:

Delighted to see you here again, m'dear! :)

>77 rosalita:

Tsk! Trollope is getting warmed up here for the Palliser novels. :D

It was a time of great political confusion in Britain with neither party securing a safe majority and a lot of back-and-forth and in-and-out and deal-making as a consequence. The manoeuvring (political and personal) as careers were made and shattered was something that would become of increasing interest to him, particularly the question of what an individual would do to cling to power.

BTW, you know there's a second thread for this around somewhere, right?

I did not know there was a second thread, though I did wonder why people stopped talking about the book at a certain point. But there aren't any continuation links and the title doesn't indicate a second thread, so I figured the conversation just petered out, as happens sometimes.

We had a large group that split itself into two quite quickly, so it was easier to manage.

It's here.

ETA: Oh, and apparently I dealt with the political stuff quite early on there. :D