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MARION FAY by Anthony Trollope
Oct. 1st, 2013 10:13 pmThis rather good quote occurs close to the beginning, establishing the premise: The radicalism of a Marquis is apt to be tainted by special considerations in regard to his own family.
I was charmed by the collision of the mildly hypocritical familial personages - the uncle the Marquis against his radical nephew who then becomes a new radical Marquis and a father of children much more extreme than he is. Lady Frances falls for post office clerk George Roden and Lord Hampstead for Marion Fay the Quaker's daughter, the cause of great familial consternation. The Marchioness is grievously upset at her stepchildren's mesalliances and retains hopes for her own sons in the succession scheme; her indolent chaplain Greenwood encourages her worst impulses while grasping at income for himself; and bumptious post office clerk Crocker intrudes at every opportunity.
The best description I've read of this novel is Catherine Pope's "a literary bubble and squeak". The novel is about the characters' interactions with rank, but the mood and nature of the different story threads make them seem oddly juxtaposed. This is a long juicy novel of ample substance for an entertainment of length, but some aspects don't weave well together.
There's an autobiographical element in George Roden's profession. The novel contains interesting descriptions of life in the Public Service, which has and hasn't changed since that time. Here's one such:
"Is a young man to be afraid of that?" asked the Quaker, indignantly. "Ten till four, with one hour for the newspapers and another for lunch. See the consequence. I never knew a young man yet from a public office who understood the meaning of a day's work."
"I think that is a little hard," said Roden. "If a man really works, six hours continuously is as much as he can do with any good to his employers or himself."
It was also interesting to read that the expression 'talk the hind legs off a dog' was considered unsuitable for the ears of well-born ladies at this time. (I assume because of 'hind'.)
The story retreads some ground covered in AN EYE FOR AN EYE, but Hampstead is much more likeable than Fred Neville when it comes to falling in love with women of lower rank; the Marquis' heir treats Marion Fay with honest respect as well as infatuation. This line has an interesting innuendo to it, though, regarding Marion from Hampstead's point of view:
She had poked his fire, and she must be made to sit at his hearth for the remainder of their joint existence.
The plot and characters sometimes seem mechanical. Sometimes the honourable characters act in a way that's noble and seems to show a touching faith in human nature on the author's part, but which also comes across as not quite plausible. (A sense of honour before reason can be a human trait, but it took me some distance into the novel to become convinced and interested in these characters.) Additionally, the antagonists are lacking in power and seem pathetic, particularly Crocker the clerk and Greenwood the chaplain.( Read more... )
Some aspects charming, some aspects mechanical, a mix of traits. Since this is a long novel, there's plenty of meat on its bones to fill a reader's time in a congenial way.
I was charmed by the collision of the mildly hypocritical familial personages - the uncle the Marquis against his radical nephew who then becomes a new radical Marquis and a father of children much more extreme than he is. Lady Frances falls for post office clerk George Roden and Lord Hampstead for Marion Fay the Quaker's daughter, the cause of great familial consternation. The Marchioness is grievously upset at her stepchildren's mesalliances and retains hopes for her own sons in the succession scheme; her indolent chaplain Greenwood encourages her worst impulses while grasping at income for himself; and bumptious post office clerk Crocker intrudes at every opportunity.
The best description I've read of this novel is Catherine Pope's "a literary bubble and squeak". The novel is about the characters' interactions with rank, but the mood and nature of the different story threads make them seem oddly juxtaposed. This is a long juicy novel of ample substance for an entertainment of length, but some aspects don't weave well together.
There's an autobiographical element in George Roden's profession. The novel contains interesting descriptions of life in the Public Service, which has and hasn't changed since that time. Here's one such:
"Is a young man to be afraid of that?" asked the Quaker, indignantly. "Ten till four, with one hour for the newspapers and another for lunch. See the consequence. I never knew a young man yet from a public office who understood the meaning of a day's work."
"I think that is a little hard," said Roden. "If a man really works, six hours continuously is as much as he can do with any good to his employers or himself."
It was also interesting to read that the expression 'talk the hind legs off a dog' was considered unsuitable for the ears of well-born ladies at this time. (I assume because of 'hind'.)
The story retreads some ground covered in AN EYE FOR AN EYE, but Hampstead is much more likeable than Fred Neville when it comes to falling in love with women of lower rank; the Marquis' heir treats Marion Fay with honest respect as well as infatuation. This line has an interesting innuendo to it, though, regarding Marion from Hampstead's point of view:
She had poked his fire, and she must be made to sit at his hearth for the remainder of their joint existence.
The plot and characters sometimes seem mechanical. Sometimes the honourable characters act in a way that's noble and seems to show a touching faith in human nature on the author's part, but which also comes across as not quite plausible. (A sense of honour before reason can be a human trait, but it took me some distance into the novel to become convinced and interested in these characters.) Additionally, the antagonists are lacking in power and seem pathetic, particularly Crocker the clerk and Greenwood the chaplain.( Read more... )
Some aspects charming, some aspects mechanical, a mix of traits. Since this is a long novel, there's plenty of meat on its bones to fill a reader's time in a congenial way.
