This is a book overflowing with diverse characters and engaging plots that I really enjoyed.
Roger Carbury’s unwavering goodness stood out in a world where such characters are rare. His selflessness was refreshing and heartening to see in a book.
Melmotte’s rise and fall served as a timeless lesson about society’s sway over our perceptions.
Marie’s stand for herself against her father’s schemes was admirable, though Felix’s character was pretty unlikeable.
But what really got to me, especially having gone through recent heartbreak, is Mrs. Hurtle’s story. Her emotional journey felt achingly real and struck a personal chord with me.
Overall, the book offers a mix of humor (think Dolly Longestaffe and the John Crumb trope), life lessons and memorable characters that stick with you. 10/10 would recommend.
What is your favorite plot/who’s your favorite character and why?
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I read this a few years ago. Melmotte reminded me of Trump, lol.
I felt like it wasn’t the tightest of Trollope’s works. It was perhaps written too hastily, and not edited too much. (I personally like He Knew He Was Right, The Belton Estate maybe a bit better than this one)
There were certain things which became so repetitive throughout the novel that i had to roll my eyes when Trollope would again take us through the same things , like Lady Carbury’s love for her son and slight neglect of her daughter, and also her motivations for going after Mr Broune. Trollope kept repeating himself, which was a bit tedious.
Another thing i wasn’t a fan of was the fact that Felix Carbury is just so extraordinarily one-dimensional he is a dissipated young man. That’s it. Hs is literally nothing else, he doesn’t have any thoughts or feelings that don’t fit into that particular stereotype.
Usually, Trollope is great at adding layers and nuances to personalities. Just look at Melmotte himself! Such a well written character. But Felix absolutely fails to seem anything more than a cardboard cutout.
I genuinely feel like Trollope should have taken more time with this one. It could have been even better had he done that.
Obviously, many of his characters resemble others from his many many novels, but he manages to make them quite convincing usually.
I would rate this an 8/10. Some of the themes and depictions were just really well done, some characters however needed more work.
Roger Carbury and Mrs. Winifred Hurtle were my favourite characters. I wish they had met each other and ended up together. Lol.
(Oh, and i am really glad more and more people are reading Trollope. He is a very interesting author. I have only read around 16 of his works, but i own all of them! )
What do you think s a good entry read for Trollope? Always meant to read him, just never got around to it.
If you want a really short one, Cousin Henry is great to dip one’s toes in.
The Belton Estate or Miss Mackenzie are quite good too, and short.
If you want a mid sized work, The Claverings or Is He Poppenjoy? are nice.
And if you want a tome, He Knew He Was Right is a good representation of what he does exceptionally well, in my opinion (dysfunctional relationships)
He also wrote two series called
▪︎ The Barchester Chronicles , and
▪︎ The Palliser Chronicles
The former has to be read before the latter, otherwise there can be some spoilers.
Agreed on the Melmotte/Trump resemblance.
Apart from the repetitiveness issue that you mentioned, how do you think his other works are better?
I love The Way We Live Now. Melmotte and the exploration of how con artists in the 19th century used people’s greed against them is brilliantly done. It’s such a modern novel - influence, lies, cupidity, business, gossip, fraud and posturing.
I don’t actually like Roger Carbury all that much. It works out all right in the end, but he’s really creepy about Hetta at first. I adore Felix - he’s just one of the best dissolute ne’er do wells in fiction! Lady Carbury is splendidly persistent - she knows she’s not a great writer but she keeps on using her title, her small talent and her feminine wiles to get her as far as she can go. And Mrs Hurtle is magnificent and a bit terrifying.
Everyone is grasping and struggling and I love it.
I think Dickens’ novel Our Mutual Friend hits some of the same notes, but Dickens is much more scathing and personal about it.