Framley Parsonage by Anthony TrollopeMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
While I do not think you need to have read any of the previous books in Trollope’s Barsetshire series, it was nice to find so many of the characters from all three novels turning up in this delightful novel. The author’s ability to get under the skin of both unwise Mark and unpleasant Mrs Proudie with his sympathy and satire is remarkable and very enjoyable. The tale is amusing throughout and intriguing about the various potential romantic entanglements. This alone was a big surprise to me since I usually try to skip past any ‘love bits’ finding them unreal and boring. But when it comes to the typical trial between class and love, so often found during those times, Trollope included personal drama and social class climbing so well that I had to know what would happen to the various characters - right to the end.
Mark Robarts, the central male character, goes through so many unwise behaviours I found myself exclaiming aloud: ‘idiot’ and ‘not again’ more than once. His sister, Lucy Robarts, is a great heroine, perhaps a little too withdrawn to begin with, but eventually you have to admire her strength and integrity. The way she handles the awkward Lady Lufton, as well as Mr Crawley while nursing his seriously ill wife left me full of admiration. Other great characters were Mr Sowerby and Mrs Grantly, each contrasting the good and the bad side of events, but no spoilers.
As usual in these books the author delights in pursuing religious and political matters throughout. His ability again to mix humour and sarcasm while doing this is a feat of writing talent to be wondered at. Framley Parsonage has become a rival for my favourite Trollope novel, pushing Doctor Thorne for the place.
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