I love this book. Trollope creates realistic people and not
just perfect heroes and purely dastardly villains. There are two Ralphs in this
novel, Ralph Not the Heir is the illegitimate son of Squire Gregory. He lives
with his father who wants to leave his estate to him, but the law requires a
legitimate heir. Thus, Ralph the Heir, the Squire’s nephew, will inherit the
estate and title. This man has flaws and yet is charming and has a tender
heart. His spend thrift ways cause him to be in dire need of money and to
propose to Polly, the daughter of a well to do tradesman. This marriage idea
shocks everyone who hears of it. Polly is simply not in his social class since
he is a gentleman. Trollope explores here the idea of marrying for love, or to
improve social standing or save an estate from ruin by marrying money. Polly is
a heroine as she absolutely refuses to marry the heir. She feels she would not
be comfortable as the lady of the estate and she knows her dear papa would
never fit in there. In another story line, Sir Thomas Underwood has two
daughters and a niece of marriageable age, so romance is in the air, plus he is
called to stand for a seat in Parliament. Electioneering then in 1870s England turned out to be quite corrupt, which
comforted me as I look at the current elections in the USA and our own
political fighting. I am reviewing the copy I bought, which is the Folio
Society edition, printed in London
in 1996 with a foreword by John Letts. The book is a hardcover with a robin's
egg blue cover and slipcase and includes numerous black and white drawings by
Shirley Bellwood which added a lot to my pleasure as I read the book.
6 comments:
good review
I've been meaning to read some Anthony Trollope. Maybe this would be a good one to start with.
Such a great review, Terra! It sounds so good. Thank you so much for sharing.
this does sound good!!
I'm so looking forward to reading some standalone Trollopes once I've got to the end of Barchester. This sounds very good.
Thanks to your comment at FHC I was aware of the author and able to pick up one of Trollope's novels for my tbr stack! Glad you've shared the plot of this one - very interesting. Reminds me of one of George MacDonald's The Baron's Apprentice.
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