1815: Anthony Trollope - Palliser series II: Phineas Finn
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1edwinbcn
Phineas Finn is the second of the "Palliser" series of novels. Its sequel, Phineas Redux, is the fourth novel in the series.
It deals with both British parliamentary politics of the 1860s, including voting reform (secret ballot and eliminating rotten boroughs and Irish tenant-right) and Finn's romances with women of fortune, which would secure his financial future.
2rebeccanyc
Here is my review of Phineas Finn.
The second in Trollope's Palliser series, this book interweaves British politics, life among the elite, a look at life for the more "common" people, romance, the challenges of being a woman in the Victorian era, trips to Ireland and Scotland, even a duel (hence, I suppose, the gun on the cover of my edition), and a coming of age tale of a sort. The novel follows Phineas Finn, the son of an Irish doctor, whose father sent him to London to study law but who is selected by a lord in the local Irish district to run for Parliament -- and he wins. Although he is nervous, as who wouldn't be at first, he quickly makes friends and soon the plot is moving along. Phineas is described as attractive and comfortable talking to people, and he makes friends first with Lady Laura Standish and her father, Lord Brentford, as well as various people in Parliament. Later, because Parliament is dissolved several times, he is elected from other districts, is selected for a role in the government (which includes a salary, as service in Parliament is unpaid), and eventually faces a crisis of conscience about standing by his party (the liberals) or voting in support of his own beliefs.
Phineas's romantic life is equally complicated. Although he has a devoted girlfriend back in Ireland, he falls in love first with Lady Laura (and has the bad timing to only declare himself just after she has accepted a Scottish member of Parliament named Robert Kennedy), then with Lady Violet Effingham, Lady Laura's dearest friend who she desperately wants her somewhat good-for-nothing brother to marry, and possibly later with a foreign widow, Madame Goesler. What all of these women have in common, in addition to beauty and wit, is money -- and Phineas is in need of money if he is to continue in Parliament not only because Parliament doesn't pay but also because money is needed to run for Parliament. As always, Trollope creates wonderful female characters, and is also astute about the problems they encounter in trying to have lives of their own. Lady Laura's unhappy marriage is very compassionately, and excruciatingly, detailed.
At the same time, a lot is going on in British politics. As best as I could understand it, there was a proposal of a Reform Act that would extend the franchise to more people (but not all, and certainly not women), and would also eliminate certain electoral districts that were small and controlled by an individual lord. The politics of this are well explored, even to the point of being confusing, and Phineas does lose his seat because his district is axed (but he is able to run from another district, helped out by his political friends). The issue that causes his crisis of conscience has to do with land reform in Ireland, where he comes from, although the ending of the book is a little too conveniently happy.
The novel, as I've come to expect of Trollope, is chock full of characters, subplots, and set pieces, including a hunting scene with Lady Laura's brother (who becomes a friend of Phineas's, until conflict about Lady Violet rears its head), various dinner parties and other social events, the religious harshness of Mr. Kennedy, the Highlands of Scotland and country life in Ireland, a radical and not always scrupulous newspaperman, the man who tutored Phineas in the law and his wife and their disapproval of his going into Parliament, Phineas's landlord and his politics and troubles with the law, an Irish parliamentary colleague who prevails on Phineas to sign a note supporting his debt and the money lender who then haunts Phineas, and much more. Trollope paints a full portrait of a lot of Britain at the time of the novel. And Trollope being Trollope, the book is filled with witty asides.
And what of the Pallisers, Plantagenet and Lady Glencora, after whom this series was named, albeit after the novels were written? Plantagenet, in his role in Parliament, is alluded to occasionally, and Lady Glencora appears in a subplot involving the elderly Duke of Omnium, her husband's relative, and his possible marriage, which could result in Lady Glencora's son no longer being the heir to becoming a duke. I understand that the Pallisers will be featured more in future novels, which I look forward to reading.
The second in Trollope's Palliser series, this book interweaves British politics, life among the elite, a look at life for the more "common" people, romance, the challenges of being a woman in the Victorian era, trips to Ireland and Scotland, even a duel (hence, I suppose, the gun on the cover of my edition), and a coming of age tale of a sort. The novel follows Phineas Finn, the son of an Irish doctor, whose father sent him to London to study law but who is selected by a lord in the local Irish district to run for Parliament -- and he wins. Although he is nervous, as who wouldn't be at first, he quickly makes friends and soon the plot is moving along. Phineas is described as attractive and comfortable talking to people, and he makes friends first with Lady Laura Standish and her father, Lord Brentford, as well as various people in Parliament. Later, because Parliament is dissolved several times, he is elected from other districts, is selected for a role in the government (which includes a salary, as service in Parliament is unpaid), and eventually faces a crisis of conscience about standing by his party (the liberals) or voting in support of his own beliefs.
Phineas's romantic life is equally complicated. Although he has a devoted girlfriend back in Ireland, he falls in love first with Lady Laura (and has the bad timing to only declare himself just after she has accepted a Scottish member of Parliament named Robert Kennedy), then with Lady Violet Effingham, Lady Laura's dearest friend who she desperately wants her somewhat good-for-nothing brother to marry, and possibly later with a foreign widow, Madame Goesler. What all of these women have in common, in addition to beauty and wit, is money -- and Phineas is in need of money if he is to continue in Parliament not only because Parliament doesn't pay but also because money is needed to run for Parliament. As always, Trollope creates wonderful female characters, and is also astute about the problems they encounter in trying to have lives of their own. Lady Laura's unhappy marriage is very compassionately, and excruciatingly, detailed.
At the same time, a lot is going on in British politics. As best as I could understand it, there was a proposal of a Reform Act that would extend the franchise to more people (but not all, and certainly not women), and would also eliminate certain electoral districts that were small and controlled by an individual lord. The politics of this are well explored, even to the point of being confusing, and Phineas does lose his seat because his district is axed (but he is able to run from another district, helped out by his political friends). The issue that causes his crisis of conscience has to do with land reform in Ireland, where he comes from, although the ending of the book is a little too conveniently happy.
The novel, as I've come to expect of Trollope, is chock full of characters, subplots, and set pieces, including a hunting scene with Lady Laura's brother (who becomes a friend of Phineas's, until conflict about Lady Violet rears its head), various dinner parties and other social events, the religious harshness of Mr. Kennedy, the Highlands of Scotland and country life in Ireland, a radical and not always scrupulous newspaperman, the man who tutored Phineas in the law and his wife and their disapproval of his going into Parliament, Phineas's landlord and his politics and troubles with the law, an Irish parliamentary colleague who prevails on Phineas to sign a note supporting his debt and the money lender who then haunts Phineas, and much more. Trollope paints a full portrait of a lot of Britain at the time of the novel. And Trollope being Trollope, the book is filled with witty asides.
And what of the Pallisers, Plantagenet and Lady Glencora, after whom this series was named, albeit after the novels were written? Plantagenet, in his role in Parliament, is alluded to occasionally, and Lady Glencora appears in a subplot involving the elderly Duke of Omnium, her husband's relative, and his possible marriage, which could result in Lady Glencora's son no longer being the heir to becoming a duke. I understand that the Pallisers will be featured more in future novels, which I look forward to reading.
3StevenTX
And my review:
The title character of Phineas Finn is a handsome and sociable Irishman. At the beginning of the novel he is 25 and studying law in London while being supported on a slender allowance from his father, a doctor back in Ireland. It is Phineas's ambition, however, to serve in Parliament. (At this time, the 1860s, Ireland was part of the U.K.) With the help of some political friends and an unexpected aristocratic patron, Phineas wins a seat representing his home borough. But Members of Parliament aren't paid, and Phineas must face the unpleasant necessity of finding a way to support himself.
Of course one alternative to working for one's money is to marry for it. The dilemma of whether to marry for love, for money, or for social position is a common one in 19th century fiction, and Phineas's romantic conundrums are the principal subject of the novel. But the focus isn't entirely on Phineas. Each of his female acquaintances is a major character in her own right, and through them Trollope gives a very sympathetic portrayal of problems of women who had limited range to exercise their talents and interests and were often helplessly at the mercy of a domineering father or husband. As in some of Trollope's other novels, the women in Phineas Finn are his deepest and most interesting characters.
The second major theme of the novel is the political debate in Britain over electoral reform. Phineas enters Parliament as a Liberal and a supporter of what would become the Reform Act of 1867. This act extended voting rights to the urban working class, but proposals for further reforms such as the introduction of a secret ballot failed after much debate. I found the novel to be a painless introduction to some of the workings of the British parliamentary system and its history.
Phineas Finn is the second novel in Trollope's Palliser series, but it stands alone quite well. Some of the characters from the first novel, Can You Forgive Her?, make an appearance, but their role is secondary, and nothing demands that you know their history.
Phineas Finn is an enjoyable and informative novel that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys 19th century fiction, and especially to anyone interested in British political history. The characters are generally likable, and their moral and marital dilemmas are still relevant. Trollope doesn't always wrap things up in a conventional happy ending, and knowing this keeps the reader in suspense about Phineas's fate to the very end.
The title character of Phineas Finn is a handsome and sociable Irishman. At the beginning of the novel he is 25 and studying law in London while being supported on a slender allowance from his father, a doctor back in Ireland. It is Phineas's ambition, however, to serve in Parliament. (At this time, the 1860s, Ireland was part of the U.K.) With the help of some political friends and an unexpected aristocratic patron, Phineas wins a seat representing his home borough. But Members of Parliament aren't paid, and Phineas must face the unpleasant necessity of finding a way to support himself.
Of course one alternative to working for one's money is to marry for it. The dilemma of whether to marry for love, for money, or for social position is a common one in 19th century fiction, and Phineas's romantic conundrums are the principal subject of the novel. But the focus isn't entirely on Phineas. Each of his female acquaintances is a major character in her own right, and through them Trollope gives a very sympathetic portrayal of problems of women who had limited range to exercise their talents and interests and were often helplessly at the mercy of a domineering father or husband. As in some of Trollope's other novels, the women in Phineas Finn are his deepest and most interesting characters.
The second major theme of the novel is the political debate in Britain over electoral reform. Phineas enters Parliament as a Liberal and a supporter of what would become the Reform Act of 1867. This act extended voting rights to the urban working class, but proposals for further reforms such as the introduction of a secret ballot failed after much debate. I found the novel to be a painless introduction to some of the workings of the British parliamentary system and its history.
Phineas Finn is the second novel in Trollope's Palliser series, but it stands alone quite well. Some of the characters from the first novel, Can You Forgive Her?, make an appearance, but their role is secondary, and nothing demands that you know their history.
Phineas Finn is an enjoyable and informative novel that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys 19th century fiction, and especially to anyone interested in British political history. The characters are generally likable, and their moral and marital dilemmas are still relevant. Trollope doesn't always wrap things up in a conventional happy ending, and knowing this keeps the reader in suspense about Phineas's fate to the very end.
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