Enjoying The Prime Minister

[Truthlover]

Using a Kindle, I'm 40% into The Prime Minister. This is about the twelfth novel of Trollope's which I have read so far. I consider it one of Trollope's best. The characterization of Ferdinand Lopez and his wife Emily Wharton are particularly well done. These two characters stand out far above that of the Prime Minister (Plantagenet) and his wife Glencora, at least in this novel. I am interested in knowing what others who have read this novel think of it. I'm surprised no comments about it are yet found here. The rage of Ferdinand against Emily, (only for having remembered her former suitor as a friend, not as a lover, because she says she never actually loved him as a candidate for marriage); well, this rage about which I read last night in bed, kept me awake half the night; it's so realistic! Ferdinand is a disgusting sociopath, or at least an extreme narcissist. I think Trollope had an incredible capacity to describe human personality disorders.

[MANICHAEAN]

I have not read it yet, but thank you for the recommendation. But I agree with you on Trollope, having found him late in life and just recently finished "Barchester Towers."

[Jackson Richardson]

I've re-read Barchester Towers recently and enjoyed it. His later (and much longer) novels such as The Prime Minister are a bit differnt - there's a certain irony there which he never repeated. The later ones were very popular and can be enjoyable. I'd say they were costume soaps and tend to be a bit formulaic. The Eustace Diamonds is the one I like, although even there the romantic subplot is a bit boring to my mind. Lizzie Eustace pretending to enjoy Shelley's poetry is very funny - but then I don't like Shelley.

I suppose it's the lack of sex that is both the attraction of Trollope and why he gets a bit boring.

[Truthlover]

I finished the book last week. It was well worth the effort. In the 21st Century we have to make a big effort to read novels of the 19th Century, because we don't have the time to dally as they did. Add to that the fact they did not have television and would read the novels in installments in the weekly magazines. But, the reward for us is great. Trollope knows what he's doing. For example, the contrasts between the spouse relationships of the two main characters and the two minor characters. The sub-plot involving the characters Ferdinand and Emily is actually much more thrilling than that of the main characters. Emily Wharton's sense of unworthiness to marry the faithful and patient Arthur Fletcher (after Ferdinand's death), may sound exaggerated to us. However, if you actually put yourself in her shoes, her reaction becomes not only believable, but even probable. In a world that was quieter and slower than ours, people had a lot of opportunity to deepen their inner consciousness. For a reader with faith, the character of Emily might represent one's feelings toward God after having abandoned Him for several years. And Arthur's nonchalance about Emily's past history would be God's mercy toward us. I'm looking forward to reading the final Palliser novel, The Duke's Children.