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The Golden Lion of Granpere
The only paperback edition available, The Golden Lion of Granpere (1867) was written when Trollope was at the height of his popularity. Set in a village in the Vosges mountains in north-eastern France, this short and very entertaining novel concerns the events in the lives of an innkeeper's
family; the relationship between George Voss, the landlord's son, and his beloved Marie, the rivalry between Voss and another suitor for Marie's hand in marriage, and the results of a betrothal based on mutual misunderstandings.
family; the relationship between George Voss, the landlord's son, and his beloved Marie, the rivalry between Voss and another suitor for Marie's hand in marriage, and the results of a betrothal based on mutual misunderstandings.
270 pages, Paperback
First published March 11, 1871
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214 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Trollope
2,305 books1,767 followersAnthony Trollope became one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of Trollope's best-loved works, known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire; he also wrote penetrating novels on political, social, and gender issues and conflicts of his day.
Trollope has always been a popular novelist. Noted fans have included Sir Alec Guinness (who never travelled without a Trollope novel), former British Prime Ministers Harold Macmillan and Sir John Major, economist John Kenneth Galbraith, American novelists Sue Grafton and Dominick Dunne and soap opera writer Harding Lemay. Trollope's literary reputation dipped somewhat during the last years of his life, but he regained the esteem of critics by the mid-twentieth century.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_...
Trollope has always been a popular novelist. Noted fans have included Sir Alec Guinness (who never travelled without a Trollope novel), former British Prime Ministers Harold Macmillan and Sir John Major, economist John Kenneth Galbraith, American novelists Sue Grafton and Dominick Dunne and soap opera writer Harding Lemay. Trollope's literary reputation dipped somewhat during the last years of his life, but he regained the esteem of critics by the mid-twentieth century.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
October 28, 2014
This is one of the three novels Trollope wrote anonymously at the height of fame; all were set on the continent. Not one of his greatest; it is a straightforward tale with little action and Trollope, as usual focuses on character and emotion.
The Golden Lion of Granpere is an inn in the Alsace region. It is run by Michel Voss and Madame Voss, his wife. They have a son, George and Michel’s niece Marie also lives with them having lost all her family. George and Marie begin to fall in love and Michel does not approve. George moves to a neighbouring town to run an inn there, although both still love each other. Michel Voss, about a year later, decides it is time to marry off his niece. The working out of this is the novel. As usual with Trollope, the main female character is strong and the male protagonists are rather dense, if well meaning. Trollope explores the thin line between affection and tyranny in parenthood. The dramas of family life where lots of little actions occur which create pressure which can trap and suffocate. It’s well plotted and well told with an age old theme.
The Golden Lion of Granpere is an inn in the Alsace region. It is run by Michel Voss and Madame Voss, his wife. They have a son, George and Michel’s niece Marie also lives with them having lost all her family. George and Marie begin to fall in love and Michel does not approve. George moves to a neighbouring town to run an inn there, although both still love each other. Michel Voss, about a year later, decides it is time to marry off his niece. The working out of this is the novel. As usual with Trollope, the main female character is strong and the male protagonists are rather dense, if well meaning. Trollope explores the thin line between affection and tyranny in parenthood. The dramas of family life where lots of little actions occur which create pressure which can trap and suffocate. It’s well plotted and well told with an age old theme.
June 15, 2025
Another thoroughly enjoyable Anthony Trollope.
February 3, 2012
Imagine an author so popular that, in the middle of his career, he takes off time to write three novels anonymously -- just to see if his readers would recognize his work. All three were set in Europe, through which he had traveled extensively. I have yet to read Nina Balatka, I did not much like Linda Tressel, but The Golden Lion of Granpere has won a place in my heart. It is not the best of the author's novels, but it is a pleasant read, with a fine feeling for all its characters.
The Golden Lion of Granpere is an inn in a small town in Alsace-Lorraine. The inn's owner, Michel Voss, is a kind of domestic tyrant, but not without heart. When his son George falls in love with Marie Bromar, a distant cousin who works at the inn, Michel and George have words; and George leaves to make his fortune at an inn in Colmar, a larger nearby city. But he doesn't leave without having exchanged vows of love with Marie.
Then, for the space of a year, there is no communication between them. In that time, Michel talks Marie, much against her better judgment, to agree to marry a wealthy young linen merchant, Armand Urmand, from nearby Switzerland. When he finds out, George is very upset and goes back to Granpere to have words with Marie. The misunderstanding between the two just gets worse and worse, and Marie is drawn deeper and deeper into a marriage she doesn't want -- going so far as a betrothal ceremony -- until they finally get their communication lines repaired.
I enjoyed Golden Lion of Granpere and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a pleasant, well-crafted read. What is particularly good is that there are no villains here: Even that oily little t*rd Armand Urmand is treated with quiet dignity by Trollope.
The Golden Lion of Granpere is an inn in a small town in Alsace-Lorraine. The inn's owner, Michel Voss, is a kind of domestic tyrant, but not without heart. When his son George falls in love with Marie Bromar, a distant cousin who works at the inn, Michel and George have words; and George leaves to make his fortune at an inn in Colmar, a larger nearby city. But he doesn't leave without having exchanged vows of love with Marie.
Then, for the space of a year, there is no communication between them. In that time, Michel talks Marie, much against her better judgment, to agree to marry a wealthy young linen merchant, Armand Urmand, from nearby Switzerland. When he finds out, George is very upset and goes back to Granpere to have words with Marie. The misunderstanding between the two just gets worse and worse, and Marie is drawn deeper and deeper into a marriage she doesn't want -- going so far as a betrothal ceremony -- until they finally get their communication lines repaired.
I enjoyed Golden Lion of Granpere and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a pleasant, well-crafted read. What is particularly good is that there are no villains here: Even that oily little t*rd Armand Urmand is treated with quiet dignity by Trollope.
November 19, 2024
A solidly enjoyable short Trollope novel. I didn't enjoy this as much as the shorter Dr. Wortle's School, but I did enjoy it much more than the shorter novels An Old Man's Love and Cousin Henry. This novel is unique because it's set in the disputed French/German region of Alsace that is in modern-day France and a tiny bit in Basel, Switzerland. I enjoyed the setting a lot, though I'm not sure how much the characters are French/Swiss since Trollope is obviously English. I know he traveled a lot though, so maybe they're more accurate than I'm giving him credit for. There is a love triangle at the heart of the novel, though it's complicated by the young woman's sense of duty to the uncle who has raised her and provided for her. An easy-to-read, one-plot novel - definitely recommend!
September 26, 2022
How does he do it? None of the characters in this little novel resemble any other Trollope characters, so that even if the plot is similar, the book itself is so carefully drawn that I again find myself reading until the wee hours. An online group that I belong to recently read this book, with summaries and comments on each chapter. It's an interesting read with a twist few could anticipate.
August 8, 2018
A pleasant, much-ado-about-nothing kind of read. There is lots of talk of duty, with characters not saying what they really think, which leads to romantic mishap. All's well that ends well, however.
September 3, 2022
This is my last read of this Trollope novel. I think I would rate it as my least favourite. Still has some gorgeous sentences. And emphasizes that if women had real choices, the world would be a better place.
July 10, 2018
A sweet little romance with decent characterization that’s a suitable read for when you don’t want to be bothered with a complicated plot. Essentially the lovers must overcome the disapprobation of their parents, and they do. Not Trollope at his best, but quite charming. I look forward to discussing this with the Victorians! GR Group in August: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...
April 5, 2020
The Golden Lion of Grandpère ~ Anthony Trollope 🦁
🦁This is one of three novellas that Trollope wanted to publish anonymously. Because the two previous stories (Nina Balatka and Linda Tressel) had been largely unsuccessful, William Blackwood of Blackwood's Magazine, did not want to publish the third..."the story remained on my hands, unread and unthought of, for a few years..."
🦁We meet the young Marie Bromar who upon having become an orphan, was been taken in by her uncle Michel Voss and her aunt Josey in the French village of Grandpère. Michel Voss is an innkeeper and a man of temper - he is very loving, very stubborn and very strict. Marie works at the Inn and is one of the family, much like a favourite daughter. When he discovers that Marie and his son, George, from his first marriage have fallen in love - a foolish and childish affection in his opinion - he sends George away to work at a relative's Inn in a different village. George, being equally stubborn, never sends Marie any messages to make her sure of his constancy. So when a very agreeable suitor comes along, Michel is very keen to marry Marie off and despite her unwillingness, she finds it difficult to give a reason acceptable to her uncle. And he is extremely persistent!
🦁 I found the book amusing and thought it was hilarious that Trollope even assumed he could get away with publishing anonymously! "Whether the thanks of the people are more honestly due to Oberlin or to the late Emperor, the author of this little story will not pretend to say..." Trademark Trollope!
🦁This is one of three novellas that Trollope wanted to publish anonymously. Because the two previous stories (Nina Balatka and Linda Tressel) had been largely unsuccessful, William Blackwood of Blackwood's Magazine, did not want to publish the third..."the story remained on my hands, unread and unthought of, for a few years..."
🦁We meet the young Marie Bromar who upon having become an orphan, was been taken in by her uncle Michel Voss and her aunt Josey in the French village of Grandpère. Michel Voss is an innkeeper and a man of temper - he is very loving, very stubborn and very strict. Marie works at the Inn and is one of the family, much like a favourite daughter. When he discovers that Marie and his son, George, from his first marriage have fallen in love - a foolish and childish affection in his opinion - he sends George away to work at a relative's Inn in a different village. George, being equally stubborn, never sends Marie any messages to make her sure of his constancy. So when a very agreeable suitor comes along, Michel is very keen to marry Marie off and despite her unwillingness, she finds it difficult to give a reason acceptable to her uncle. And he is extremely persistent!
🦁 I found the book amusing and thought it was hilarious that Trollope even assumed he could get away with publishing anonymously! "Whether the thanks of the people are more honestly due to Oberlin or to the late Emperor, the author of this little story will not pretend to say..." Trademark Trollope!
August 19, 2016
I think if I had read this six months before or after another Trollope I would say 4 stars. May I admit that I'm tearing through Trollope because I want the orange bindings of the Penguin books off my shelf? Shallow, but true.
A theme that runs through so many of his books is the conflict between doing a thing (like marrying a man) from a sense of duty or from deep love. It's an antiquated notion —that a girl would marry a man because her guardian wants it —, already waning at the end of the nineteenth century when Trollope wrote.
So plot-wise this book was 'meh.' But the character development and descriptions continue to feed my spirit. Here are two:
He was fat and burly to be sure; but then he was not fat to lethargy, or burly with any sign of slowness. There was still the spring of youth in his footstep, and when there was some weight to be lifted, some heavy timber to be thrust here or there, some huge lumbering vehicle to be hoisted in or out, there was no arm about the place so strong as that of the master.
He was a handsome young man too, though rather small, and perhaps a little too apt to wear rings on his fingers.
I am thankful I read this book for this streaming shining song of September:
It was a beautiful autumn afternoon, in that pleasantest of all months in the year,
when the sun is not too hot,
and the air is fresh and balmy,
and one is still able to linger abroad,
loitering either in or out of the shade,
when the midges cease to bite,
and the sun no longer scorches and glares;
but the sweet vestiges of summer remain,
and everything without doors is pleasant and friendly,
and there is the gentle unrecognised regret for the departing year,
the unconscious feeling that its glory is going from us,
to add the inner charm of a soft melancholy
to the outer luxury of the atmosphere.
I doubt whether Michel Voss had ever realised the fact
that September is the kindliest of all the months,
but he felt it.
A theme that runs through so many of his books is the conflict between doing a thing (like marrying a man) from a sense of duty or from deep love. It's an antiquated notion —that a girl would marry a man because her guardian wants it —, already waning at the end of the nineteenth century when Trollope wrote.
So plot-wise this book was 'meh.' But the character development and descriptions continue to feed my spirit. Here are two:
He was fat and burly to be sure; but then he was not fat to lethargy, or burly with any sign of slowness. There was still the spring of youth in his footstep, and when there was some weight to be lifted, some heavy timber to be thrust here or there, some huge lumbering vehicle to be hoisted in or out, there was no arm about the place so strong as that of the master.
He was a handsome young man too, though rather small, and perhaps a little too apt to wear rings on his fingers.
I am thankful I read this book for this streaming shining song of September:
It was a beautiful autumn afternoon, in that pleasantest of all months in the year,
when the sun is not too hot,
and the air is fresh and balmy,
and one is still able to linger abroad,
loitering either in or out of the shade,
when the midges cease to bite,
and the sun no longer scorches and glares;
but the sweet vestiges of summer remain,
and everything without doors is pleasant and friendly,
and there is the gentle unrecognised regret for the departing year,
the unconscious feeling that its glory is going from us,
to add the inner charm of a soft melancholy
to the outer luxury of the atmosphere.
I doubt whether Michel Voss had ever realised the fact
that September is the kindliest of all the months,
but he felt it.
August 28, 2018
A light and fun read.
August 16, 2025
Trollope specializes in well to do people in England dealing with “first world problems.” This short novel, originally published anonymously, is a departure. It takes place in an Inn in the Vosges Mountains. It’s a good story well told, and there aren’t any real villains, just people with flaws.
November 7, 2019
Short by Trollope standards, but good.
January 17, 2012
Famous authors can be notoriously insecure. They begin to wonder whether their success is based on continued excellence or if people just buy their books because their name has become a popular brand.
This apparently happened to Anthony Trollope in the mid-1860s when he was at the height of his fame, having just finished the Barsetshire series. So he decided to publish some books anonymously and see if they were as popular as, say, Doctor Thorne.
There are a couple of problems with this. One is that Doctor Thorne is, in the estimation of many people, his best book, so comparing it to anything else, let alone an anonymously published novel means little. But the main problem is that AT, whose novels range from 400 to 800 pages and more, wrote three very slim novels. And unlike any of his other novels they were set in Europe. The characters were not English. And two of the three were tragedies, with people throwing themselves off cliffs in despair and such. They could hardly be more different from the books that made him popular.
Not surprisingly, they flopped. In fact, nobody wanted to publish his third novel and it was only a journal that Trollope himself was editing that finally accepted The Golden Lion of Granpere.
The novel? Well, at least it's not one of the tragedies; it starts out as a sensible novel of an angry father, a proud son, and a reticent girl. The boy loves the girl, the girl loves the boy, and the father wants to separate them. For no good reason at all except his sense that he should be making these decisions in his own house.
From there the novel deteriorates to farce, and rather funny farce at that. A charming book, easy and quick reading, and entertaining.
One other problem. Trollope and his wife visited Alsace Lorraine in 1867 and he came home and wrote this book set there in France. But because of the difficulty finding a publisher he didn't get it published until 1872. And by then it had changed hands, you know . . .
2012 No 11
This is a repost of comments from an earlier reading.
This apparently happened to Anthony Trollope in the mid-1860s when he was at the height of his fame, having just finished the Barsetshire series. So he decided to publish some books anonymously and see if they were as popular as, say, Doctor Thorne.
There are a couple of problems with this. One is that Doctor Thorne is, in the estimation of many people, his best book, so comparing it to anything else, let alone an anonymously published novel means little. But the main problem is that AT, whose novels range from 400 to 800 pages and more, wrote three very slim novels. And unlike any of his other novels they were set in Europe. The characters were not English. And two of the three were tragedies, with people throwing themselves off cliffs in despair and such. They could hardly be more different from the books that made him popular.
Not surprisingly, they flopped. In fact, nobody wanted to publish his third novel and it was only a journal that Trollope himself was editing that finally accepted The Golden Lion of Granpere.
The novel? Well, at least it's not one of the tragedies; it starts out as a sensible novel of an angry father, a proud son, and a reticent girl. The boy loves the girl, the girl loves the boy, and the father wants to separate them. For no good reason at all except his sense that he should be making these decisions in his own house.
From there the novel deteriorates to farce, and rather funny farce at that. A charming book, easy and quick reading, and entertaining.
One other problem. Trollope and his wife visited Alsace Lorraine in 1867 and he came home and wrote this book set there in France. But because of the difficulty finding a publisher he didn't get it published until 1872. And by then it had changed hands, you know . . .
2012 No 11
This is a repost of comments from an earlier reading.
June 7, 2017
Though I would not classify them as traditional romances, in every Trollope novel there is a love interest - sometimes more than one! In this short novel, the love interest is the whole point of the story. The ending is quite predictable. As you'll notice from my rating, I didn't find this predictability a negative.
The father and uncle of the piece is Michel Voss. In some ways he made me think of Tevye, from Fiddler on the Roof. His word was the rule, and he was a blustery sort of fellow, but he was also capable of tenderness. And so there is a wonderful scene where he rails at his own predicament, almost talking to himself trying to find a way out of it. I could "see" him gesturing, carrying on.
I found this more cinematic than most of the Trollope I've read. It takes place in a small village in Alsace-Lorraine and Trollope paints the setting well. While employed as a Postal Inspector, Trollope traveled extensively. He has seven "overseas" novels, of which this is one. As with any prolific author, some offerings are better than others and I put this as one of his better ones, though not his very best.
The father and uncle of the piece is Michel Voss. In some ways he made me think of Tevye, from Fiddler on the Roof. His word was the rule, and he was a blustery sort of fellow, but he was also capable of tenderness. And so there is a wonderful scene where he rails at his own predicament, almost talking to himself trying to find a way out of it. I could "see" him gesturing, carrying on.
I found this more cinematic than most of the Trollope I've read. It takes place in a small village in Alsace-Lorraine and Trollope paints the setting well. While employed as a Postal Inspector, Trollope traveled extensively. He has seven "overseas" novels, of which this is one. As with any prolific author, some offerings are better than others and I put this as one of his better ones, though not his very best.
February 15, 2010
This is the last of Trollope's experiments in shorter novels with continental settings, and I'm just as happy. Like the other two (Nina Balatka and Linda Tressel), this contains some excellent character studies, but I miss the inclusion of a larger picture of some aspect of society.
June 19, 2025
Not many of Trollope’s European novels and short stories are straightforward boy-girl romances, but ‘The Golden Lion of Granpère’ is one of these, a joyous and at times almost a rollickingly funny novella about love, parental interference, pride, and a very satisfying end after a surprising twist to add spice and complications to the plot. Even in such a short piece, Trollope finds the space to add a letter, one of the trademarks, like fox-hunting, of a Trollope novel.
The charm of the novella lies in the building-up of even the minor characters with such individual personalities that they are imprinted on your mind and memory long after the book itself has been closed. Like all boy-girl romances, the plot is very basic, but the characters who growl and roar and stamp their feet in rage make this one of Trollope's best loved and most popular books.
The charm of the novella lies in the building-up of even the minor characters with such individual personalities that they are imprinted on your mind and memory long after the book itself has been closed. Like all boy-girl romances, the plot is very basic, but the characters who growl and roar and stamp their feet in rage make this one of Trollope's best loved and most popular books.
October 16, 2022
It's Anthony Trollope, so it's great. By Trollope standards, not the greatest, though.
It's a neat little novel, set in France, about love between an innkeeper's son and his quasi-adopted niece. The book is fun, in that the characters are a bit lower-class than is typical for Trollope, and the foreign setting is interesting. It has a sweet, perfect, happy ending.
There's some creepiness, though, at least to 21st-century eyes, in the relationship between the innkeeper and his niece, and the rather standard parent-or-guardian-objects-to-marriage is kind of the whole plot.
But still, a fun read.
It's a neat little novel, set in France, about love between an innkeeper's son and his quasi-adopted niece. The book is fun, in that the characters are a bit lower-class than is typical for Trollope, and the foreign setting is interesting. It has a sweet, perfect, happy ending.
There's some creepiness, though, at least to 21st-century eyes, in the relationship between the innkeeper and his niece, and the rather standard parent-or-guardian-objects-to-marriage is kind of the whole plot.
But still, a fun read.
January 23, 2023
This is a lighter entry by Trollope, a romance and nothing more. I had no trouble getting into it, or sticking with it for that matter, even though I really didn’t feel connected to the main characters. For all the passion described by the author, it is pretty well buried. I mean, I know these are novels of Mann bears, but the action could have had more oomph and — well, action. It was an easy read, by Trollope standards, but I guess I will say no more and risk damning it with faint praise.
April 13, 2022
It's a good one but not a great one, which is of course why it's not that famous. It has all the classic Trollope-ism: A parent figure who stands irrationally in the way of love. It's a little clunkier than some of the more finished novels, a bit of a sketch by a great painter. But .... still satisfying as are all Trollopes.
August 30, 2018
I am in hospital atm, so cannot write well with the IV in my hand, but I am glad that I read this, and enjoyed it- even if it WAS too long. It was a great look at social expectations at this time, and often hilarious to boot! --Jen from Quebec :0)
October 13, 2018
Thoroughly enjoyable
I have read quite a few Trollope novels, and appreciated each one to varying degrees, but this one was so nice, sweet, short and altogether different from his other works that I very much enjoyed it.
I have read quite a few Trollope novels, and appreciated each one to varying degrees, but this one was so nice, sweet, short and altogether different from his other works that I very much enjoyed it.
August 28, 2022
Michael Voss, Adrian Urmand, and George Voss are all concerned with who Marie Bromar is going to marry. The story is about all the escapades that ultimately end up with who will marry Marie. Great read.
August 4, 2018
Too much of a slog...
December 6, 2020
One of Trollope's lighter novels, enjoyable but not brilliant.
January 16, 2021
Nice short Trollope. Complicated love story. Enjoyed it.
April 24, 2024
Sweet - and quite funny. However the story is a bit too predicable.
July 20, 2024
Un Trollope "in trasferta", si legge con piacere, ma niente di più.
September 14, 2020
This is now one of my very favorite stand-alone novels of Trollope. I just loved the ups and downs of the father-son relationship. The love story is very complicated, but one is always hoping the heroine will do the right thing!
December 16, 2015
Second cousins by marriage George and Marie grow up together at the inn at Granpere and fall in love, but are separated by George's father Michel (for shadowy never fully explained reasons). George is sent away to run an inn in a town a few hours away and fails to communicate with Marie for an entire year. Thinking she has been forgotten, Marie reluctantly agrees to marry Adrian, a linen merchant from Basle. George finally pulls his finger out and then Marie tries to break off her engagement.
That is really the whole of the plot pf this (fortunately short) novel. Trollope clearly was an early practitioner of the "this could all have been avoided with one frank conversation" romance trope. The character of Michel (apart from Trollope's insistence on his love for Marie being demonstrated in persecution and verbal abuse) was well-done and the ending, where everyone is desperate to get rid of poor Adrian was very funny. George was a bit grumpy to poor Madame Faragon and uncommunicative to every one else. Otherwise repetitive and made me want to shout "Why don't you just say what you think?" at the characters all the time.
That is really the whole of the plot pf this (fortunately short) novel. Trollope clearly was an early practitioner of the "this could all have been avoided with one frank conversation" romance trope. The character of Michel (apart from Trollope's insistence on his love for Marie being demonstrated in persecution and verbal abuse) was well-done and the ending, where everyone is desperate to get rid of poor Adrian was very funny. George was a bit grumpy to poor Madame Faragon and uncommunicative to every one else. Otherwise repetitive and made me want to shout "Why don't you just say what you think?" at the characters all the time.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews