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Ralph the Heir
'Ralph the Heir' is one of Anthony Trollope's lesser-known novels, yet this compelling tale of property, illegitimacy and inheritance truly boasts of this great writer's flair for dramatic story-telling.
544 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1871
About the author
Anthony Trollope
2,851 books1,858 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 54 reviews
December 23, 2023
A really fantastic Trollope novel - great characters, great writing, wonderful plot. An absolute joy.
March 15, 2024
Mr. Trollope’s Judgement Is to Be Doubted
In his autobiography, Anthony Trollope referred to Ralph the Heir as one of the worst novels he had ever written, and he also complained that a man past the age of fifty ought not to write love plots any more. Now, I don’t know about an age limit for the writing of love plots, but it is quite clear that the novel so ruthlessly belittled by its author deserves more praise than he was willing to give. What is more, I have found it one of the most captivating books I have so far read by Trollope.
There are a bunch of plots and sub-plots, and most of them are connected with the eponymous hero Ralph “the heir” Newton, a young man who stands in expectation of a country estate being settled on him after his uncle’s death. Ralph is quite a man about town, happy-go-lucky, not exactly heedlessly wasteful, but rather a spendthrift, and he does not exactly find it difficult to twist a young woman around his finger and to philander for the sake of philandering. In a way, Ralph is not exactly wicked, but rather selfish, irresponsible, and weak-willed, or as the narrator puts it,
Ralph has been running up certain debts, and they now become so pressing that he seriously contemplates marrying Polly Neefit, his breeches-maker’s daughter, because the girl’s father, scenting the opportunity to “make his daughter a lady”, lures Ralph into a proposal by dangling a dower of £20,000 before his nose when Ralph cannot see a really nice way of paying his incumbent debts to several tradesmen and when he realizes that it is no good waiting for his uncle to die. At the same time, his uncle makes him an offer that would also give Ralph a little breathing-space: What about selling the right of property to him, who has hitherto only held a life-long beneficial interest in the place? That way, Ralph could go on leading the costly life of a gentleman (and go to hell, as his uncle, who is not too partial to him might add silently) and the old squire himself would be able to settle the estate on his own son, who also has the name Ralph Newton, but who is of a different stamp than his namesake because he takes a genuine interest in the maintenance of the estate and in the tenants’ welfare. However, there is one snag: He was born out of wedlock and therefore has no legal right to anything his family owns:
Trollope not only contrasts these two Ralphs, who are very unlike each other but still get on very decently whenever they meet, but he also enriches the book with various love stories: Ralph the heir, for instance, light-heartedly and thoughtlessly takes liberties with Clarissa, the youngest daughter of his former ward Sir Thomas Underwood, not realizing or dismissing that she is head over heels in love with him, but then he goes and, nilly-willy, proposes to Polly Neefit, and a little later he makes another proposal, this time to Clarissa’s cousin Mary Bonner, who lives in the same house with her. Needless to say that a lot of heartsickness and lover’s grief will ensue – except, let it be said, for Ralph, who simply hasn’t got the necessary depth of heart to feel any pain in that way.
What makes Ralph the Heir even more interesting is that this is one of the rare cases where Trollope’s obligatory hunting chapter actually makes sense plot-wise in that something important happens during the hunt depicted, and, secondly, that the book includes a sub-plot on an election in one of those notoriously rotten boroughs – Trollope gives it the fictitious name of Percycross – in the course of which Sir Thomas, who enters the election as one of the Conservative candidates, experiences the degree of vote-buying, treating, browbeating and hoodwinking that was apparently the order of the day in those places. In point of fact, this episode is based on Trollope’s own experiences when running as a Liberal candidate in the borough of Beverley in 1868. Like Sir Thomas, he was forced to spend quite a lot of money on his campaign but unlike him, he did not win but came in last. Actually, his fellow party members seemed to have used Trollope as a stooge to expose the corruption indulged in by the Conservatives and to petition against the election results, with the effect of Beverley’s being eventually disfranchised. The same actually happens to Percycross in the novel.
As ever so often, Trollope entertains his readers with little sparks of wisdom and observation, thrown in here and there, which so much contribute to the appeal of his way of telling us his stories. Here are three examples:
These aphorisms all have to do with men, as I just find after adding them, but one of the finest characters in this novel is definitely a woman, namely Polly Neefit, the ambitious breeches-maker’s daughter, who, on the one hand, is flattered at the thought of being the future mistress of that country estate, but who, on the other, knows very well that she will be despised by her prospective husband’s peers, and maybe even by himself, and that it is far more sensible to listen to her heart and to look favourably on Ontario Moggs’s wooing as he is the man who truly loves and cherishes her and would even take her without her father’s money. As she cleverly puts it,
With which words she happens to address one of the central topics of this novel, namely the question whether “ladies” and “gentlemen” are made or born, or whatever. This novel offers us two Ralph Newtons, one of them the rightful heir to his uncle’s property, and yet an utterly self-indulging and unprincipled man, the other an illegitimate child, and yet well-liked by everyone because of his personal merits and endowed with a strong sense of duty and decency. At the same time, Trollope keeps these two men from becoming cardboard examples of good and bad, for instance, when we learn that even Ralph the Non-Heir feels it hard on him that his father’s premature death should do him out of the property he had finally come to regard as his own, at the same time, of course, reproaching himself for letting such feelings mingle with his grief at the loss of his father.
Characters are often Trollope’s strength, anyway. Here, we not only have the two Ralphs, the sensible Polly, or Clarissa, who has to come to terms with her disappointment in love – but also Sir Thomas Underwood, a man who is torn between his feelings of responsibility for his daughters and his simple wish to be left alone to live in his chambers in London where he betrays himself into thinking that he is doing serious preparations for starting a book on Francis Bacon. There is a curious blend of a sense of duty and enterprise and the readiness to shun any concrete steps for the sake of comfort in this character that I fear I am not completely unfamiliar with. All in all, while I liked Polly best, I had a lot of sympathy with Sir Thomas while reading this novel.
Last not least, the narrator himself vindicates his decision of not showing us paragons of virtue nor epitomes of wickedness:
That statement makes quite a point even though I do not think that a novel’s raison d’être lies in teaching its readers a lesson. It’s simply that complex and morally ambivalent characters are more interesting to read and think about, even if one draws the wrong conclusions, or none at all.
In his autobiography, Anthony Trollope referred to Ralph the Heir as one of the worst novels he had ever written, and he also complained that a man past the age of fifty ought not to write love plots any more. Now, I don’t know about an age limit for the writing of love plots, but it is quite clear that the novel so ruthlessly belittled by its author deserves more praise than he was willing to give. What is more, I have found it one of the most captivating books I have so far read by Trollope.
There are a bunch of plots and sub-plots, and most of them are connected with the eponymous hero Ralph “the heir” Newton, a young man who stands in expectation of a country estate being settled on him after his uncle’s death. Ralph is quite a man about town, happy-go-lucky, not exactly heedlessly wasteful, but rather a spendthrift, and he does not exactly find it difficult to twist a young woman around his finger and to philander for the sake of philandering. In a way, Ralph is not exactly wicked, but rather selfish, irresponsible, and weak-willed, or as the narrator puts it,
”His conscience had been pricking him all his life, but it hardly pricked him sharp enough to produce consequences.”
Ralph has been running up certain debts, and they now become so pressing that he seriously contemplates marrying Polly Neefit, his breeches-maker’s daughter, because the girl’s father, scenting the opportunity to “make his daughter a lady”, lures Ralph into a proposal by dangling a dower of £20,000 before his nose when Ralph cannot see a really nice way of paying his incumbent debts to several tradesmen and when he realizes that it is no good waiting for his uncle to die. At the same time, his uncle makes him an offer that would also give Ralph a little breathing-space: What about selling the right of property to him, who has hitherto only held a life-long beneficial interest in the place? That way, Ralph could go on leading the costly life of a gentleman (and go to hell, as his uncle, who is not too partial to him might add silently) and the old squire himself would be able to settle the estate on his own son, who also has the name Ralph Newton, but who is of a different stamp than his namesake because he takes a genuine interest in the maintenance of the estate and in the tenants’ welfare. However, there is one snag: He was born out of wedlock and therefore has no legal right to anything his family owns:
”He was a base-born son, about to be turned out of his father’s house because of the disgrace of his birth. In the eye of the law he was nobody. The law allowed to him not even a name; — certainly allowed to him the possession of no relative; denied to him the possibility of any family tie.”
Trollope not only contrasts these two Ralphs, who are very unlike each other but still get on very decently whenever they meet, but he also enriches the book with various love stories: Ralph the heir, for instance, light-heartedly and thoughtlessly takes liberties with Clarissa, the youngest daughter of his former ward Sir Thomas Underwood, not realizing or dismissing that she is head over heels in love with him, but then he goes and, nilly-willy, proposes to Polly Neefit, and a little later he makes another proposal, this time to Clarissa’s cousin Mary Bonner, who lives in the same house with her. Needless to say that a lot of heartsickness and lover’s grief will ensue – except, let it be said, for Ralph, who simply hasn’t got the necessary depth of heart to feel any pain in that way.
What makes Ralph the Heir even more interesting is that this is one of the rare cases where Trollope’s obligatory hunting chapter actually makes sense plot-wise in that something important happens during the hunt depicted, and, secondly, that the book includes a sub-plot on an election in one of those notoriously rotten boroughs – Trollope gives it the fictitious name of Percycross – in the course of which Sir Thomas, who enters the election as one of the Conservative candidates, experiences the degree of vote-buying, treating, browbeating and hoodwinking that was apparently the order of the day in those places. In point of fact, this episode is based on Trollope’s own experiences when running as a Liberal candidate in the borough of Beverley in 1868. Like Sir Thomas, he was forced to spend quite a lot of money on his campaign but unlike him, he did not win but came in last. Actually, his fellow party members seemed to have used Trollope as a stooge to expose the corruption indulged in by the Conservatives and to petition against the election results, with the effect of Beverley’s being eventually disfranchised. The same actually happens to Percycross in the novel.
As ever so often, Trollope entertains his readers with little sparks of wisdom and observation, thrown in here and there, which so much contribute to the appeal of his way of telling us his stories. Here are three examples:
”A man does not become economical because he is embarrassed.”
“When one man is wise and another foolish, the foolish man knows generally as well as does the wise man in what lies wisdom and in what folly.”
“We may almost say that a man is only as strong as his weakest moment.”
These aphorisms all have to do with men, as I just find after adding them, but one of the finest characters in this novel is definitely a woman, namely Polly Neefit, the ambitious breeches-maker’s daughter, who, on the one hand, is flattered at the thought of being the future mistress of that country estate, but who, on the other, knows very well that she will be despised by her prospective husband’s peers, and maybe even by himself, and that it is far more sensible to listen to her heart and to look favourably on Ontario Moggs’s wooing as he is the man who truly loves and cherishes her and would even take her without her father’s money. As she cleverly puts it,
“’I don’t want to be a lady; no more than I am just by myself, like. If I can’t be a lady without being made one, I won’t be a lady at all.’”
With which words she happens to address one of the central topics of this novel, namely the question whether “ladies” and “gentlemen” are made or born, or whatever. This novel offers us two Ralph Newtons, one of them the rightful heir to his uncle’s property, and yet an utterly self-indulging and unprincipled man, the other an illegitimate child, and yet well-liked by everyone because of his personal merits and endowed with a strong sense of duty and decency. At the same time, Trollope keeps these two men from becoming cardboard examples of good and bad, for instance, when we learn that even Ralph the Non-Heir feels it hard on him that his father’s premature death should do him out of the property he had finally come to regard as his own, at the same time, of course, reproaching himself for letting such feelings mingle with his grief at the loss of his father.
Characters are often Trollope’s strength, anyway. Here, we not only have the two Ralphs, the sensible Polly, or Clarissa, who has to come to terms with her disappointment in love – but also Sir Thomas Underwood, a man who is torn between his feelings of responsibility for his daughters and his simple wish to be left alone to live in his chambers in London where he betrays himself into thinking that he is doing serious preparations for starting a book on Francis Bacon. There is a curious blend of a sense of duty and enterprise and the readiness to shun any concrete steps for the sake of comfort in this character that I fear I am not completely unfamiliar with. All in all, while I liked Polly best, I had a lot of sympathy with Sir Thomas while reading this novel.
Last not least, the narrator himself vindicates his decision of not showing us paragons of virtue nor epitomes of wickedness:
”But for one Harry Esmond, there are fifty Ralph Newtons, — five hundred and fifty of them; and the very youth whose bosom glows with admiration as he reads of Harry, — who exults in the idea that as Harry did, so would he have done, — lives as Ralph lived, is less noble, less persistent, less of a man even than was Ralph Newton. […] Should we not be taught to see the men and women among whom we really live, — men and women such as we are ourselves, — in order that we should know what are the exact failings which oppress ourselves, and thus learn to hate, and if possible to avoid in life the faults of character which in life are hardly visible, but which in portraiture of life can be made to be so transparent.”
That statement makes quite a point even though I do not think that a novel’s raison d’être lies in teaching its readers a lesson. It’s simply that complex and morally ambivalent characters are more interesting to read and think about, even if one draws the wrong conclusions, or none at all.
September 7, 2013
There is, as the title suggests, Ralph the Heir. There is also Ralph who is Not the Heir, son of Squire Gregory who is Newton of Newton. To round out this group is Pastor Gregory, Ralph the Heir's brother, who is second in line and so is unlikely to become the heir, but could become the heir should something happen to Ralph the Heir. While I'm on names, let's not forget one of the main characters is a Mr. Neefit, a breeches-maker, and a minor character is Mr. Spicer, the mustard maker.
As with many novels, there is a critical plot point. I can't go so far as to say it is predictable, but certainly I anticipated it. The real question in my mind was how was Trollope going to resolve it. What happens after that anticipated, almost-predictable, turning point? And so, the pages quickly turned (figuratively, if not literally as I read these on my Kindle).
Lastly, I never saw so many cases of unrequited love. There are the three above-named young men, so of course there are young women - daughters and niece of a Sir Thomas Underwood, who was, before the novel opens, the guardian of young Ralph the Heir. For comic relief, Mr. Neefit has a daughter. Throw in the bootmaker's son, Ontario Moggs, and the opportunity for various mismatches is almost endless.
Published when Trollope was probably at his writing best, this is quite enjoyable. As far as I can tell, you won't find much truly serious stuff with Trollope, and, in my short experience, this is one of his lighter pieces, although still categorized as one of his dramatic novels. Good fun if you want to go on a Trollope binge.
As with many novels, there is a critical plot point. I can't go so far as to say it is predictable, but certainly I anticipated it. The real question in my mind was how was Trollope going to resolve it. What happens after that anticipated, almost-predictable, turning point? And so, the pages quickly turned (figuratively, if not literally as I read these on my Kindle).
Lastly, I never saw so many cases of unrequited love. There are the three above-named young men, so of course there are young women - daughters and niece of a Sir Thomas Underwood, who was, before the novel opens, the guardian of young Ralph the Heir. For comic relief, Mr. Neefit has a daughter. Throw in the bootmaker's son, Ontario Moggs, and the opportunity for various mismatches is almost endless.
Published when Trollope was probably at his writing best, this is quite enjoyable. As far as I can tell, you won't find much truly serious stuff with Trollope, and, in my short experience, this is one of his lighter pieces, although still categorized as one of his dramatic novels. Good fun if you want to go on a Trollope binge.
April 1, 2025
After reflecting on this reading experience and discussing my thoughts with Elizabeth after our buddy-read, I think 3.5 stars (rounding up to 4 - come on GR we need half-stars!!) is where I'm landing... not a terrible book but definitely subpar compared to the Barsetshire series (the only other Trollope novels I've read up until now). I will say, several of these characters were quite fun to follow and Trollope has a knack for creating unique and believable characters with nuanced motives and varying degrees of maturing/growth. Though I found myself really frustrated with the different plot lines he had going, I do think a few of these characters will stick with me and I had loads of fun discussing with Elizabeth along the way!
June 12, 2007
I absolutely loved this novel about a very hesitant young man. If Wodehouse's character Bertie Wooster were three-dimensional instead of the two-dimensional one Wodehouse intended him to be, he would be Ralph.
Trollope virtually disowned this book. He said he thought it was very bad. I think it's one of the most sympathetic portraits of a pampered fool ever written.
I read this in a facsimile edition published by Dover Books. It had the old nineteenth century engravings, which, typically, didn't give a hint of Trollope's wit.
Trollope virtually disowned this book. He said he thought it was very bad. I think it's one of the most sympathetic portraits of a pampered fool ever written.
I read this in a facsimile edition published by Dover Books. It had the old nineteenth century engravings, which, typically, didn't give a hint of Trollope's wit.
January 29, 2010
Apparently Trollope thought this was his worst novel. He said that he thought it almost "justified that dictum that a novelist after fifty should not write love-stories." Hmm. Well, I never did think authors were the best assessors of their own work. I thoroughly enjoyed it myself. Politics, love, and a great wit on the author's part made this a story I could hardly wait to get back to. It was originally serialized in a magazine, so it has that breathless pace that many of Dickens's novels did, where we are left hanging somewhat at each installment, eager to know what happens next. Soap operas really, but with deeper characters and vastly superior language. What's amazing is that *no* new edition of this book was printed anywhere between 1878 and 1978. So this book went virtually unread for 100 years!
The main story is about Ralph, heir to an estate that his uncle is currently enjoying. Trouble is, the uncle has an illegitimate son that he wants to inherit the estate and he is trying to force Ralph the Heir, who has gotten himself into embarrassing debt, to sell it to him. But there are many other stories going on too. Thomas Underwood, a man with 2 grown daughters and who was Ralph's guardian, decides to stand for Parliament and that is a story unto itself. I learned a lot about politics at that time. I thought it was strange to have a political story embedded in what is mostly a story about love and inheritance, but then I found out that it was an autobiographical portrait of Trollope's own miserable experience trying to win a seat in parliament!
I found Trollope's characters detailed and pretty fair on the whole (except for Jewish people who are portrayed as money lenders and sharks. Sigh. I find this in many of the novels of the day and it's upsetting. It's like reading books of the same era by american authors who use the N word.). Most characters have flaws and Trollope does not excuse them, but he also make efforts to show the good side of people too. The women, who were often portrayed quite one-dimesionally in that era (1870s), are mostly given fair treatment too. In fact, better it seems to me than the men. I guess he was known for that even in his own time; quite the shocking feminist. My favorite female character is Polly, a breeches-maker's daughter who cheerfully but quite firmly stands up to men, including her father, who each want her to marry to suit their own needs. I also thought her father was hilarious. He's determined to get his daughter married "above her station" and damn the consequences. He means well, poor dear, but he's a cantankerous and stubborn as a mule.
Maybe I'm just one of those weird people who love Henry James and Thackeray and Dickens, but if this is Trollope's worst novel, I'm hell-bent for leather to read his "good" ones!
The main story is about Ralph, heir to an estate that his uncle is currently enjoying. Trouble is, the uncle has an illegitimate son that he wants to inherit the estate and he is trying to force Ralph the Heir, who has gotten himself into embarrassing debt, to sell it to him. But there are many other stories going on too. Thomas Underwood, a man with 2 grown daughters and who was Ralph's guardian, decides to stand for Parliament and that is a story unto itself. I learned a lot about politics at that time. I thought it was strange to have a political story embedded in what is mostly a story about love and inheritance, but then I found out that it was an autobiographical portrait of Trollope's own miserable experience trying to win a seat in parliament!
I found Trollope's characters detailed and pretty fair on the whole (except for Jewish people who are portrayed as money lenders and sharks. Sigh. I find this in many of the novels of the day and it's upsetting. It's like reading books of the same era by american authors who use the N word.). Most characters have flaws and Trollope does not excuse them, but he also make efforts to show the good side of people too. The women, who were often portrayed quite one-dimesionally in that era (1870s), are mostly given fair treatment too. In fact, better it seems to me than the men. I guess he was known for that even in his own time; quite the shocking feminist. My favorite female character is Polly, a breeches-maker's daughter who cheerfully but quite firmly stands up to men, including her father, who each want her to marry to suit their own needs. I also thought her father was hilarious. He's determined to get his daughter married "above her station" and damn the consequences. He means well, poor dear, but he's a cantankerous and stubborn as a mule.
Maybe I'm just one of those weird people who love Henry James and Thackeray and Dickens, but if this is Trollope's worst novel, I'm hell-bent for leather to read his "good" ones!
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March 18, 2025Will wait to rate and review until I’ve chatted with Miriam!
January 12, 2010
I don't think I agree with Trollope's assessment of this as one of his worst novels, but it's definitely not in the top ranks. On the plus side, there's some interest in the political plot (which echoes Trollope's own experience of running unsuccessfully for Parliament), and there are several good character studies; on the minus side, the plot threads never seem to hang together well, and the love stories are frankly uninteresting.
May 6, 2015
Moggs the Hero
Moggs, Purity and the Rights of Labour — this motto was painted on the board above the entrance of the inn where Ontario Moggs sets up his residence for the election period in the borough of Percycross. While the novel revolves around Ralph Newton, the title character, whose fancy shifts quite promptly from one lass to another in consonance with that of Phineas Finn, the background story of Ontario's political career and pursuit of Polly Neefit enchanted me too; nay, the whole romance genre should be re-defined and forged after this tale.
As explained in chapter VIII, It was the glory of Ontario Moggs to be a politician;—it was his ambition to be a poet;—it was his nature to be a lover;—it was his disgrace to be a bootmaker, therefore he clashes with his father, for the radical beliefs Ontario stands up for could ruin the lucrative business he had intended his son to carry on. And further dissension arises between the breeches-maker Mr. Neefit and his daughter Polly, whom he's bent upon marrying to Ralph (presumed to be rich, although Ralph has borrowed and failed to repay large sums of money from Mr. Neefit as well as from Mr. Moggs senior), notwithstanding how much she despises her father's snobbishness and endeavours to attain this object (he wishes to raise her to the rank of a lady by harrassing and embarrassing Ralph into taking her for his wife as they had accorded, even after Polly has refused him twice already). Nevertheless, Mr. Neefit's obsession that Polly should not degrade herself by falling for a tradesman (yes, a fellow tradesman like himself, as Polly always remarked with not a hint of shame whatsoever) when she could have a squire instead (regardless of whether that distinction he yearns to confer on his daughter has to be purchased by cancelling Ralph's debts), only serve to show the extremes to which doting yet pretentious parents may go in order to fulfill their own vanity (indeed, Mr. Neefit's obstinacy matches only that of Reverend Crawley's against accepting any sort of assistance to forfend the ruin of his family in The Last Chronicle of Barset), while Polly's reluctance to acquiesce on grounds of dignity upturns every convention and resolution that women abided by two centuries ago and which still rule some nowadays. Hence, as she regards Ontario Moggs' simple but ardent spirit as more precious than Ralph's estate, I am one with him when he declares that he'd sooner have a kiss from her than be Prime Minister.
In fine, it is for people like Ontario and Polly that I keep scouting the harvest of Trollope's pen in search of entertainment and enlightenment. Forsooth, what a blessing that Trollope begot and bequeathed such a sweet drama to posterity!
November 23, 2016
I certainly hope that Sir Thomas may yet write his Life of Bacon!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2024
Ralph the Heir ist dein typischer Jugendroman über wahre Liebe, Gefühle die man bereut und was es bedeutet, nicht aufzugeben, wenn man etwas Gutes und Wahres gefunden hat. Sowie die Geschichte von dem Vater unserer Hauptcharakterinnen, welche politische Situationen der Zeit zusammen fast, aber nicht weniger eine Moral beibringt, die universell für Jugendliche und Erwachsene gilt.
Was es unterscheidet (und weshalb ich vier und nicht drei Sterne gegeben habe) ist:
1. Es wurde in 1871 veröffentlicht. Dies hat, zusammen mit dem Stil des Autors, sicherlich dazu beigetragen, dass es keine übertriebenen unrealistisches Szenen gab, niemand musste gerettet werden und es wurden nur die taten eines jeden beschrieben, die auch so passieren könnten.
2. Der Hauptchakter, ist offensichtlich niemand den man sein möchte, aber so richtig böse ist er auch nicht. Trollope schreibt folgendes dazu:
Und noch Interessanter ist, dass der Dialog den Ralph gemacht hat immer der wärmste, Liebenste war. Im Grundegenommen hätte ihm niemand etwas vorwerfen können, aber trotzdem hätte ich um sein Schicksal wenig getrauert.
Ein letzter Aspekt: Auch hier wird einem bewusst, dass Menschen wissen, wenn sie etwas "falsches" tun. Auch Ralph hatte bedenken, wegen variablen Taten, aber sein Charakter entsprach langes grübeln nicht.
Clarissa ist vielleicht einer der Personen mit den ich mich am meisten Identifizieren konnte und hoffe ich werde wie sie enden.
Was es unterscheidet (und weshalb ich vier und nicht drei Sterne gegeben habe) ist:
1. Es wurde in 1871 veröffentlicht. Dies hat, zusammen mit dem Stil des Autors, sicherlich dazu beigetragen, dass es keine übertriebenen unrealistisches Szenen gab, niemand musste gerettet werden und es wurden nur die taten eines jeden beschrieben, die auch so passieren könnten.
2. Der Hauptchakter, ist offensichtlich niemand den man sein möchte, aber so richtig böse ist er auch nicht. Trollope schreibt folgendes dazu:
[Heros] "Human nature, such as it is, does not often produce them. The portraits of such virtues and such vice serve no doubt to emulate and to deter. But are no other portraits necessary? Should we not be taught to see the men and women among we really live,-men and women such as outselves,-in order that we should know what are the exact failings which opress ourselves and thus learn to hate, and if possible avoid in life, the faults of character which in life are hardly visible, but which in portraiture of life can be made to be so transparent."
Und noch Interessanter ist, dass der Dialog den Ralph gemacht hat immer der wärmste, Liebenste war. Im Grundegenommen hätte ihm niemand etwas vorwerfen können, aber trotzdem hätte ich um sein Schicksal wenig getrauert.
Ein letzter Aspekt: Auch hier wird einem bewusst, dass Menschen wissen, wenn sie etwas "falsches" tun. Auch Ralph hatte bedenken, wegen variablen Taten, aber sein Charakter entsprach langes grübeln nicht.
Clarissa ist vielleicht einer der Personen mit den ich mich am meisten Identifizieren konnte und hoffe ich werde wie sie enden.
August 15, 2022
Another Trollope great, though apparently his own estimation of this novel was very low. It features several particularly interesting examples of Trollopean types, notably the clay-footed Thomas Underwood, which has been crushed by life and has failed to write his biography of Bacon despite three decades of "work" on it. Underwood is apparently widely viewed as the novel's greatest success, and he is a particularly sharply-etched Trollopean figure. However, I was very much taken as well with Mr. Neefit, an unusual instance of the Trollopean monomaniac. Neefit (a wealthy breeches maker--knee fit, get it?) is determined that his daughter will marry up and sets his sights on the eponymous Ralph as the man. Impecunious Ralph (another Trollopean staple is the genteel wastrel, and as is often the case, the question of whether this one will straighten up is protracted through the novel) makes a deal with Neefit--money for marrying Polly, basically. However, a) Polly refuses him and b) Ralph unexpectedly comes into his inheritance so no longer needs the deal. He feels as if he has met the terms of the deal by proposing (twice!), but Neefit disagrees and spends much of the second half of the novel insisting that Ralph honour his pledge. The economic underpinnings of marriage are laid particularly bare in this plotline. As is often the case with Trollope, the novel meanders in different directions, folding in, for example, a compellingly caustic look at election fraud (based on Trollope's own experiences). As is also usual with Trollope, things work out more or less satisfactorily for most of the characters, but as is also the case fairly often with later Trollope, there are threads of dissatisfaction woven into the ending as well. An excellent read, not quite top-drawer Tollope, but close, and definitely a strong late novel.
August 16, 2012
I see that Trollope didn't rate this book. That says something about his critical powers! I am a huge fan of his novels, and this is the most enjoyable ever. OK, the plot is fairly trivial, and the key issue of illegitimacy remote nowadays, but the characterization! One or two of the women are a bit thin, but Sir Thomas and the eponymous Ralph are beaetifully drawn. There is so much to spare even for a minor character like Mr Pabsby, with his 'soft, greasy voice - a voice made up of pretence, politeness and saliva'. Glorious. And the down-to-earth realism of the Radicals in the wonderful election sub-plot - 'everybody ought to go to 'eaven, Mr Moggs.......but everybody don't, 'cause things ain't as they ought to be.'
There is a great deal of authorial voice here, even for Trollope, but for me at least he is always right. Here he is on poor, weak Ralph: 'We may almost say that a man is only as strong as his weakest moment.'
And don't we all know a Sir Thomas? 'He was forever doubting, for ever intending, and for ever despising himself for his doubts and unaccomplished intentions'.
I haven't even mentioned the mad breeches-maker, desperately seeking to 'marry up' his delightful, sensible daughter, or Ontario Moggs the Radical, or the Squire cut off in his prime and his pride.....
If I could give this 10 stars, I would.
There is a great deal of authorial voice here, even for Trollope, but for me at least he is always right. Here he is on poor, weak Ralph: 'We may almost say that a man is only as strong as his weakest moment.'
And don't we all know a Sir Thomas? 'He was forever doubting, for ever intending, and for ever despising himself for his doubts and unaccomplished intentions'.
I haven't even mentioned the mad breeches-maker, desperately seeking to 'marry up' his delightful, sensible daughter, or Ontario Moggs the Radical, or the Squire cut off in his prime and his pride.....
If I could give this 10 stars, I would.
April 1, 2007
Entailed estates often figure in the plots of nineteenth century novels. (Who can forget the entail of the Bennetts' home on the loathsome Collins?) They crop up in several of Trollope's novels.
Here, Gregory Newton's estate is entailed upon his nephew, the Ralph of the title. Mr. Newton has an illegitimate son -- also named Ralph, I guess to keep readers on their toes -- whom he loves. For the benefit of those who never studied the Law of Property or haven't read many English novels, had Newton's son been legitimate, he would have been the heir, a point of much grievance to Gregory Newton.
The main plot of the novel has to do with Gregory Newton's efforts to arrange matters so as to cut off the entail, as well as with the romantic doings of the two Ralphs.
There is a subplot, which I think may be more interesting than the main plot, involving another character, Thomas Underwood, and his attempt to win a seat in Parliament. This plot features bribery and other shenanigans of the sort that Trollope himself encountered in his attempt to win a Parliamentary seat. The novel's electoral politics are funny; I suppose that Trollope's contemporaries in England found them sad as well.
Trollope didn't think much of this novel, but I think it's worth reading.
Here, Gregory Newton's estate is entailed upon his nephew, the Ralph of the title. Mr. Newton has an illegitimate son -- also named Ralph, I guess to keep readers on their toes -- whom he loves. For the benefit of those who never studied the Law of Property or haven't read many English novels, had Newton's son been legitimate, he would have been the heir, a point of much grievance to Gregory Newton.
The main plot of the novel has to do with Gregory Newton's efforts to arrange matters so as to cut off the entail, as well as with the romantic doings of the two Ralphs.
There is a subplot, which I think may be more interesting than the main plot, involving another character, Thomas Underwood, and his attempt to win a seat in Parliament. This plot features bribery and other shenanigans of the sort that Trollope himself encountered in his attempt to win a Parliamentary seat. The novel's electoral politics are funny; I suppose that Trollope's contemporaries in England found them sad as well.
Trollope didn't think much of this novel, but I think it's worth reading.
September 5, 2017
Published in 1871, this is one of Trollope's later works and show his cynicism towards Victorian mores to be in full flower as he skewers British inheritance laws, the methods for getting elected to Parliament, and the British class system.
It's the story of two Ralph Newtons. One is a handsome dandy about town living off the prospects of his coming inheritance and the other a hard-working , worthy fellow, but unfortunately born on the wrong side of the blanket and, thus, ineligible to inherit.
Of course, Ralph the heir is deeply in debt and is so desperate to extricate himself from his financial burdens that he seriously things about (gasp!) marrying a rich tradesman's daughter.
This is one of Trollope's most amusing books, and although it is very long, the pages just seemed to turn themselves.
It's the story of two Ralph Newtons. One is a handsome dandy about town living off the prospects of his coming inheritance and the other a hard-working , worthy fellow, but unfortunately born on the wrong side of the blanket and, thus, ineligible to inherit.
Of course, Ralph the heir is deeply in debt and is so desperate to extricate himself from his financial burdens that he seriously things about (gasp!) marrying a rich tradesman's daughter.
This is one of Trollope's most amusing books, and although it is very long, the pages just seemed to turn themselves.
September 7, 2019
Delighted to find a third-tier Trollope that I liked very much. Ralph the Heir is hopeless--in debt, shallow, careless of women's tender feelings, opportunistic, etc. His cousin, the bastard Ralph-the-non-heir, is a first-class guy, however, whose dad regrets the youthful lapses that made his beloved son illegitimate and doomed the estate to be inherited by the shiftless Ralph.
While the female characters, apart from Polly Neefit, are not particularly interesting this go-round, Polly's desperate, scheming father is delightful, as are Mr. Neefit's struggles to put his wife in her place and choose Polly's husband. Mom wants Ontario Moggs, and Dad wants Shiftless Ralph.
Maybe the best part was that, unlike in 90% of Victorian novels, the tender young woman who declares undying love actually manages to get over it! That, in itself, is worth the price of admission.
While the female characters, apart from Polly Neefit, are not particularly interesting this go-round, Polly's desperate, scheming father is delightful, as are Mr. Neefit's struggles to put his wife in her place and choose Polly's husband. Mom wants Ontario Moggs, and Dad wants Shiftless Ralph.
Maybe the best part was that, unlike in 90% of Victorian novels, the tender young woman who declares undying love actually manages to get over it! That, in itself, is worth the price of admission.
January 11, 2013
Not my favorite Trollope by a long shot, but I gradually got pulled in. I found it confusing that two characters have the same name: Ralph Newton. One is the nephew of the Squire of Newton Priory and his heir, and one is the Squire's illegitimate son and because of the entail can not inherit. Trollope does a good job of making it clear which Ralph he's talking about - as long as I was paying attention and didn't let my mind wander.
Learned two new words, although I'm not optimistic about working them into my conversation: usufruct, which means something one has the legal right to enjoy, and fardel, a burden.
Learned two new words, although I'm not optimistic about working them into my conversation: usufruct, which means something one has the legal right to enjoy, and fardel, a burden.
June 27, 2026
I love Anthony Trollope, I enjoy his dramatic plots embedded with themes surrounding love triangles and politics, but this one didn’t work that well for me.
Trollope regarded this as one of his worst pieces of work. As this is my third book my Trollope I am not able to express whether I agree or disagree with him, but I know that if you enjoy books about disrupted inheritance with a variety of subplots then I think you’ll enjoy this book.
Just make sure you don’t read this as your first Trollope!!
Trollope regarded this as one of his worst pieces of work. As this is my third book my Trollope I am not able to express whether I agree or disagree with him, but I know that if you enjoy books about disrupted inheritance with a variety of subplots then I think you’ll enjoy this book.
Just make sure you don’t read this as your first Trollope!!
September 11, 2017
Ralph is the heir of some fortune. He is the typical Trollope Hero. He hunts, he gambles he is a useless fellow. Charming of course. One of the daughters of his ward falls in love with him. And he behaves badly. Because once he has kissed her. Yes, bad guy. Unfortunately he cannot wait for his uncle to die. He is too deep in debt. There are two options. He can marry the daughter of his tailor (and main debtor) or he can sell his rights to his inheritance. The uncle has a son, also conveniently called Ralph who is a bastard. His father wants to buy him the right to his inheritance. Has something to do with some medieval law. And everything turns out to be okay, Ralph the Bastard becomes Ralph the Heir. But not really, because just before the lawyers can make it final Uncle dies in a hunting accident. Bad Ralph is once again Heir. Good Ralph becomes a small time farmer. Quite wonderful.
Then we have the other sister, intelligent and ugly and also another ward, also a girl and the most beautiful of the lot. Bad Ralph wants her, but she cares only for good Ralph. And in the end really marries him. Bad Ralph has a brother who is also a good guy, a minister, who is in love with stupid sister. We suspect that in the end he will go for ugly sister. But no, Trollope surprises us here.
Then we have Sir Thomas. The best drawn character. He is a loner, having had by accident these girls he has to take care of, but really only cares for his one project, a definitive biography of Francis Bacon. But he takes notes for years without ever writing a line. He was an ex minister and tries to become one again. Everything to avoid writing his book. The politics, meaning corruption around the election process is worth reading the novel, it is said. But I care too much about the Ralphs. Not to forget the tailors’ daughter. She has the chance to become a lady by marrying Ralph but his love making is just not convincing enough. She is also a very strong character and I like his true love, who is a boots maker and agitator. Trollope is a genius.
Then we have the other sister, intelligent and ugly and also another ward, also a girl and the most beautiful of the lot. Bad Ralph wants her, but she cares only for good Ralph. And in the end really marries him. Bad Ralph has a brother who is also a good guy, a minister, who is in love with stupid sister. We suspect that in the end he will go for ugly sister. But no, Trollope surprises us here.
Then we have Sir Thomas. The best drawn character. He is a loner, having had by accident these girls he has to take care of, but really only cares for his one project, a definitive biography of Francis Bacon. But he takes notes for years without ever writing a line. He was an ex minister and tries to become one again. Everything to avoid writing his book. The politics, meaning corruption around the election process is worth reading the novel, it is said. But I care too much about the Ralphs. Not to forget the tailors’ daughter. She has the chance to become a lady by marrying Ralph but his love making is just not convincing enough. She is also a very strong character and I like his true love, who is a boots maker and agitator. Trollope is a genius.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2017
This was tough reading right after Tess of the D’Urbervilles — it’s not the same kind of story, but it has the same slow feel and it was so long! With that said, however, it’s a decent story that I don’t at all regret spending time on, though I do think I might have gotten more out of it if I had something fun to read in between my last one and this one. Basically, this story explores the concepts behind inheritance, property, illegitimacy, and marriage, among others. Some concepts that I didn’t at all expect to be thrown in were dirty election campaigns, which I thought was a lot of fun to read about — it’s vastly different from my own experience as an American citizen, although I’m sure times have changed in England and it’s also vastly different over there today.
While I enjoyed reading the story to get a feel for the arguments Trollope makes about inheritance and such, it was a very long novel. It dragged a bit in in the middle, but was overall fairly interesting. It’s certainly not a fun, light read, however. The characters are fashioned more like character studies rather than original fictional people who are super developed and feel like friends and acquaintances; rather, they are carefully crafted to fit into Trollope’s world of proving points about morals, values, and class.
If you’re studying the late 19th century and want to get a better feel for the era and the social problems they experienced then (as perceived by Trollope) — I think this works great as a companion work. But it’s not a light, fluffy read by any means.
Also posted on Purple People Readers.
While I enjoyed reading the story to get a feel for the arguments Trollope makes about inheritance and such, it was a very long novel. It dragged a bit in in the middle, but was overall fairly interesting. It’s certainly not a fun, light read, however. The characters are fashioned more like character studies rather than original fictional people who are super developed and feel like friends and acquaintances; rather, they are carefully crafted to fit into Trollope’s world of proving points about morals, values, and class.
If you’re studying the late 19th century and want to get a better feel for the era and the social problems they experienced then (as perceived by Trollope) — I think this works great as a companion work. But it’s not a light, fluffy read by any means.
Also posted on Purple People Readers.
September 26, 2015
The story of Ralph (the heir) who almost sells his inheritance to his uncle so that his uncle's illegitimate son (also) Ralph can inherit the estate. Also of the Underwood family; Sir Thomas (Ralph's former guardian) who stands for parliament and his daughters and niece, who provide the romantic interests.
Well-constructed with storylines which weave in and out effortlessly, once you have got past the first few chapters in which everyone seems to be called either Ralph or Gregory. I enjoyed the Mary Bonner storyline particularly and Ralph the heir was just the sort of "hero" at which Trollope excels. I could gave done with Gregory's character being fleshed out a little more. Thankfully only the one hunting scene and the political thread was humorous and informative.
Well-constructed with storylines which weave in and out effortlessly, once you have got past the first few chapters in which everyone seems to be called either Ralph or Gregory. I enjoyed the Mary Bonner storyline particularly and Ralph the heir was just the sort of "hero" at which Trollope excels. I could gave done with Gregory's character being fleshed out a little more. Thankfully only the one hunting scene and the political thread was humorous and informative.
September 7, 2009
My 24th Trollope. Yes, the plots can be formulaic. Yes, you can tell which young man will wind up with which young lady right from the start. This one is darker than most. The pairings of the three main couples doesn't have the exhuberance of the mating of Frank Gresham and Mary Thorne in Doctor Thorne . There is a bit more cold-eyed practicality in the match-ups by all concerned.
There is also a chilling assessment of Sir Thomas Underwood's inability to start, much less complete, what he deems his life work: a Life of Bacon.
Typical Trollope, but dark.
God, I love this man!
There is also a chilling assessment of Sir Thomas Underwood's inability to start, much less complete, what he deems his life work: a Life of Bacon.
Typical Trollope, but dark.
God, I love this man!
March 5, 2014
In reading quite a bit of Trollope, I would rank this as somewhat in the middle. A decent story of love, suitors, societal rankings, and inheritances that appear so much in a Trollope novel. No spoilers - here the main character is a procrastinator and spender above his means, who hedges various marital chances against money, for lack of a better description.
In classic Trollopian fashion there is great dialogue and most works out in the end, with a perhaps a disappointment.
If you like Trollope then I recommend this novel, if you have never read him then I recommend first the Chronicles of Barset first.
Enjoy
In classic Trollopian fashion there is great dialogue and most works out in the end, with a perhaps a disappointment.
If you like Trollope then I recommend this novel, if you have never read him then I recommend first the Chronicles of Barset first.
Enjoy
December 18, 2011
Trollope thought this was his worst novel, but I can't agree. (The character of Lily Dale, towards the end of the Barsetshire novels, frustrates me beyond belief, and thus any part of a book with her in it becomes his worst even if this rest of the book is terrific.) Sir Thomas Underwood is a marvellous character, as is Ontario Moggs, and the Percycross election is pretty fabulous. The love plots are somewhat by the numbers, but contain a number of young women who know their own minds and have a great deal of self-respect.
September 14, 2008
I was a little dismayed to read, after starting this book, that Trollope considered it his worst! But so far, I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I'm starting to see character traits popping up again that I recognize from other books (surely there's more to describe about a young, working-class girl than that she's passionate about dancing?), but this is yet another wonderful exploration of the stubborn, loving, funny, idiosyncratic nature of human beings.
March 3, 2013
It's easy to understand why Trollope himself was not pleased with this book: the storylines are disjointed, the title character unlikable and the women less spirited than the usual Trollopian heroines. The election chapters are fun to read (Trollope writing about his own experiences when he stood for Parliament?), but don't make up for some heavy going in the remaining chapters. This book can only be recommended for the true Trollope afficionado (I'm one of them), but the others beware.
February 24, 2015
It was a fun read ... a bit lugubrious at times, but it lived up to the quality of characterizations Trollope was so famous for creating!
May 8, 2019
That’s a real classic story! Can’t be compared with any modern authors.
Had a great time while was reading this book!
Had a great time while was reading this book!
February 8, 2012
Another wonderful Trollope. I've said it before, but the feeling has never yet lessened: how did Trollope manage to write about "normal, everyday life" and make it so good to read about?
The one thing that could fascinate, or infuriate, the modern reader about this book is the inheritance laws as they were then (in fact, until 1959!!!). I'll not bother to go into detail for time's sake as well as spoiler issues, but it was a really interesting set-up they had there.
The themes etc. may not be on par with some of Trollope's other work here, but it was still a delightful, fast-paced, satisfying read. And there was food for thought, quite a bit. Fatherhood, sisterhood, brotherhood, greed, self-abnegation, life's work, listening to your children, quite a bit of interesting talk on politics (and some boring talk on politics too;)...
Some favorites:
-She was a stout, round-faced, healthy, meaningless woman, in whom ill-humour would not have developed itself unless idleness,--that root of all evil,--had fallen in her way. (vol 1, 65)
-His conscience had been pricking him all his life, but it hardly pricked him sharp enough to produce consequences. (vol 1, 213)
-Ontario frowned and expressed an opinion that all elections ought to be made absolutely free to the candidates. 'And everybody ought to go to 'eaven, Mr. Moggs,' said the leading member of the deputation, 'but everybody don't, 'cause things ain't as they ought to be.' There was no answer to be made to this. (vol 1, 250)
-'I went there determined to keep my hands clean.'
'When we put our hands in other people's business, the won't come out clean.'...(vol 2, 123)
-The Griffenbottoms never do anything in politics. They are men of whom in the lump it may be surmised that they take up this or that side in politics, not from any instructed conviction, nor from adherence either through reason or prejudice to this or that set of political theories,--but simply because on this side or on that there is an opening. That gradually they do grow into some shape of conviction from the moulds in which they are made to live, must be believed of them; but not convictions as to the political needs of the people. (vol 2, 142)
-Let her father be as indiscreet as he might, he could not greatly lower her as long as she herself was prudent. (vol 2, 198)
-As for beauty in a man;--what did it signify? He was honest. As for awkwardness;--what did it matter? He was clever. And in regard to being a gentleman; she rather thought that she liked him better because he wasn't exactly what some people call a gentleman. (vol 2, 248)
-It is a fair question whether they do not answer better than those which have less of chance,—or less of heaven,—in their manufacture. If it be needful that a man and woman take five years to learn whether they will suit each other as husband and wife, and that then, at the end of the five years, they find that they will not suit, the freshness of the flower would be gone before it could be worn in the button-hole. There are some leaps which you must take in the dark, if you mean to jump at all. We can all understand well that a wise man should stand on the brink and hesitate; but we can understand also that a very wise man should declare to himself that with no possible amount of hesitation could certainty be achieved. Let him take the jump or not take it,—but let him not presume to think that he can so jump as to land himself in certain bliss. It is clearly God's intention that men and women should live together, and therefore let the leap in the dark be made. (vol 2, 329)
And this last is really long, but it is Trollope speaking about the novel writers art, and I really liked what he had to say.
-And with the same grey horses shall the happy bride and bridegroom be bowled out of our sight also. The writer of this story feels that some apology is due to his readers for having endeavoured to entertain them so long with the adventures of one of whom it certainly cannot be said that he was fit to be delineated as a hero. It is thought by many critics that in the pictures of imaginary life which novelists produce for the amusement, and possibly for the instruction of their readers, none should be put upon the canvas but the very good, who by their noble thoughts and deeds may lead others to nobility, or the very bad, who by their declared wickedness will make iniquity hideous. How can it be worth one's while, such critics will say,—the writer here speaks of all critical readers, and not of professional critics,—how can it be worth our while to waste our imaginations, our sympathies, and our time upon such a one as Ralph, the heir of the Newton property? The writer, acknowledging the force of these objections, and confessing that his young heroes of romance are but seldom heroic, makes his apology as follows.
The reader of a novel,—who has doubtless taken the volume up simply for amusement, and who would probably lay it down did he suspect that instruction, like a snake in the grass, like physic beneath the sugar, was to be imposed upon him,—requires from his author chiefly this, that he shall be amused by a narrative in which elevated sentiment prevails, and gratified by being made to feel that the elevated sentiments described are exactly his own. When the heroine is nobly true to her lover, to her friend, or to her duty, through all persecution, the girl who reads declares to herself that she also would have been a Jeannie Deans had Fate and Fortune given her an Effie as a sister. The bald-headed old lawyer,—for bald-headed old lawyers do read novels,—who interests himself in the high-minded, self-devoting chivalry of a Colonel Newcombe, believes he would have acted as did the Colonel had he been so tried. What youth in his imagination cannot be as brave, and as loving, though as hopeless in his love, as Harry Esmond? Alas, no one will wish to be as was Ralph Newton! But for one Harry Esmond, there are fifty Ralph Newtons,—five hundred and fifty of them; and the very youth whose bosom glows with admiration as he reads of Harry,—who exults in the idea that as Harry did, so would he have done,—lives as Ralph lived, is less noble, less persistent, less of a man even than was Ralph Newton.
It is the test of a novel writer's art that he conceals his snake-in-the-grass; but the reader may be sure that it is always there. No man or woman with a conscience,—no man or woman with intellect sufficient to produce amusement, can go on from year to year spinning stories without the desire of teaching; with no ambition of influencing readers for their good. Gentle readers, the physic is always beneath the sugar, hidden or unhidden. In writing novels we novelists preach to you from our pulpits, and are keenly anxious that our sermons shall not be inefficacious. Inefficacious they are not, unless they be too badly preached to obtain attention. Injurious they will be unless the lessons taught be good lessons.
What a world this would be if every man were a Harry Esmond, or every woman a Jeannie Deans! But then again, what a world if every woman were a Beckie Sharp and every man a Varney or a Barry Lyndon! Of Varneys and Harry Esmonds there are very few. Human nature, such as it is, does not often produce them. The portraits of such virtues and such vices serve no doubt to emulate and to deter. But are no other portraits necessary? Should we not be taught to see the men and women among whom we really live,—men and women such as we are ourselves,—in order that we should know what are the exact failings which oppress ourselves, and thus learn to hate, and if possible to avoid in life the faults of character which in life are hardly visible, but which in portraiture of life can be made to be so transparent.
Ralph Newton did nothing, gentle reader, which would have caused thee greatly to grieve for him, nothing certainly which would have caused thee to repudiate him, had he been thy brother. And gentlest, sweetest reader, had he come to thee as thy lover, with sufficient protest of love, and with all his history written in his hand, would that have caused thee to reject his suit? Had he been thy neighbour, thou well-to-do reader, with a house in the country, would he not have been welcome to thy table? Wouldst thou have avoided him at his club, thou reader from the West-end? Has he not settled himself respectably, thou grey-haired, novel-reading paterfamilias, thou materfamilias, with daughters of thine own to be married? In life would he have been held to have disgraced himself,—except in the very moment in which he seemed to be in danger? Nevertheless, the faults of a Ralph Newton, and not the vices of a Varney or a Barry Lyndon are the evils against which men should in these days be taught to guard themselves;—which women also should be made to hate. Such is the writer's apology for his very indifferent hero, Ralph the Heir.(vol 2, 337-339)
The one thing that could fascinate, or infuriate, the modern reader about this book is the inheritance laws as they were then (in fact, until 1959!!!). I'll not bother to go into detail for time's sake as well as spoiler issues, but it was a really interesting set-up they had there.
The themes etc. may not be on par with some of Trollope's other work here, but it was still a delightful, fast-paced, satisfying read. And there was food for thought, quite a bit. Fatherhood, sisterhood, brotherhood, greed, self-abnegation, life's work, listening to your children, quite a bit of interesting talk on politics (and some boring talk on politics too;)...
Some favorites:
-She was a stout, round-faced, healthy, meaningless woman, in whom ill-humour would not have developed itself unless idleness,--that root of all evil,--had fallen in her way. (vol 1, 65)
-His conscience had been pricking him all his life, but it hardly pricked him sharp enough to produce consequences. (vol 1, 213)
-Ontario frowned and expressed an opinion that all elections ought to be made absolutely free to the candidates. 'And everybody ought to go to 'eaven, Mr. Moggs,' said the leading member of the deputation, 'but everybody don't, 'cause things ain't as they ought to be.' There was no answer to be made to this. (vol 1, 250)
-'I went there determined to keep my hands clean.'
'When we put our hands in other people's business, the won't come out clean.'...(vol 2, 123)
-The Griffenbottoms never do anything in politics. They are men of whom in the lump it may be surmised that they take up this or that side in politics, not from any instructed conviction, nor from adherence either through reason or prejudice to this or that set of political theories,--but simply because on this side or on that there is an opening. That gradually they do grow into some shape of conviction from the moulds in which they are made to live, must be believed of them; but not convictions as to the political needs of the people. (vol 2, 142)
-Let her father be as indiscreet as he might, he could not greatly lower her as long as she herself was prudent. (vol 2, 198)
-As for beauty in a man;--what did it signify? He was honest. As for awkwardness;--what did it matter? He was clever. And in regard to being a gentleman; she rather thought that she liked him better because he wasn't exactly what some people call a gentleman. (vol 2, 248)
-It is a fair question whether they do not answer better than those which have less of chance,—or less of heaven,—in their manufacture. If it be needful that a man and woman take five years to learn whether they will suit each other as husband and wife, and that then, at the end of the five years, they find that they will not suit, the freshness of the flower would be gone before it could be worn in the button-hole. There are some leaps which you must take in the dark, if you mean to jump at all. We can all understand well that a wise man should stand on the brink and hesitate; but we can understand also that a very wise man should declare to himself that with no possible amount of hesitation could certainty be achieved. Let him take the jump or not take it,—but let him not presume to think that he can so jump as to land himself in certain bliss. It is clearly God's intention that men and women should live together, and therefore let the leap in the dark be made. (vol 2, 329)
And this last is really long, but it is Trollope speaking about the novel writers art, and I really liked what he had to say.
-And with the same grey horses shall the happy bride and bridegroom be bowled out of our sight also. The writer of this story feels that some apology is due to his readers for having endeavoured to entertain them so long with the adventures of one of whom it certainly cannot be said that he was fit to be delineated as a hero. It is thought by many critics that in the pictures of imaginary life which novelists produce for the amusement, and possibly for the instruction of their readers, none should be put upon the canvas but the very good, who by their noble thoughts and deeds may lead others to nobility, or the very bad, who by their declared wickedness will make iniquity hideous. How can it be worth one's while, such critics will say,—the writer here speaks of all critical readers, and not of professional critics,—how can it be worth our while to waste our imaginations, our sympathies, and our time upon such a one as Ralph, the heir of the Newton property? The writer, acknowledging the force of these objections, and confessing that his young heroes of romance are but seldom heroic, makes his apology as follows.
The reader of a novel,—who has doubtless taken the volume up simply for amusement, and who would probably lay it down did he suspect that instruction, like a snake in the grass, like physic beneath the sugar, was to be imposed upon him,—requires from his author chiefly this, that he shall be amused by a narrative in which elevated sentiment prevails, and gratified by being made to feel that the elevated sentiments described are exactly his own. When the heroine is nobly true to her lover, to her friend, or to her duty, through all persecution, the girl who reads declares to herself that she also would have been a Jeannie Deans had Fate and Fortune given her an Effie as a sister. The bald-headed old lawyer,—for bald-headed old lawyers do read novels,—who interests himself in the high-minded, self-devoting chivalry of a Colonel Newcombe, believes he would have acted as did the Colonel had he been so tried. What youth in his imagination cannot be as brave, and as loving, though as hopeless in his love, as Harry Esmond? Alas, no one will wish to be as was Ralph Newton! But for one Harry Esmond, there are fifty Ralph Newtons,—five hundred and fifty of them; and the very youth whose bosom glows with admiration as he reads of Harry,—who exults in the idea that as Harry did, so would he have done,—lives as Ralph lived, is less noble, less persistent, less of a man even than was Ralph Newton.
It is the test of a novel writer's art that he conceals his snake-in-the-grass; but the reader may be sure that it is always there. No man or woman with a conscience,—no man or woman with intellect sufficient to produce amusement, can go on from year to year spinning stories without the desire of teaching; with no ambition of influencing readers for their good. Gentle readers, the physic is always beneath the sugar, hidden or unhidden. In writing novels we novelists preach to you from our pulpits, and are keenly anxious that our sermons shall not be inefficacious. Inefficacious they are not, unless they be too badly preached to obtain attention. Injurious they will be unless the lessons taught be good lessons.
What a world this would be if every man were a Harry Esmond, or every woman a Jeannie Deans! But then again, what a world if every woman were a Beckie Sharp and every man a Varney or a Barry Lyndon! Of Varneys and Harry Esmonds there are very few. Human nature, such as it is, does not often produce them. The portraits of such virtues and such vices serve no doubt to emulate and to deter. But are no other portraits necessary? Should we not be taught to see the men and women among whom we really live,—men and women such as we are ourselves,—in order that we should know what are the exact failings which oppress ourselves, and thus learn to hate, and if possible to avoid in life the faults of character which in life are hardly visible, but which in portraiture of life can be made to be so transparent.
Ralph Newton did nothing, gentle reader, which would have caused thee greatly to grieve for him, nothing certainly which would have caused thee to repudiate him, had he been thy brother. And gentlest, sweetest reader, had he come to thee as thy lover, with sufficient protest of love, and with all his history written in his hand, would that have caused thee to reject his suit? Had he been thy neighbour, thou well-to-do reader, with a house in the country, would he not have been welcome to thy table? Wouldst thou have avoided him at his club, thou reader from the West-end? Has he not settled himself respectably, thou grey-haired, novel-reading paterfamilias, thou materfamilias, with daughters of thine own to be married? In life would he have been held to have disgraced himself,—except in the very moment in which he seemed to be in danger? Nevertheless, the faults of a Ralph Newton, and not the vices of a Varney or a Barry Lyndon are the evils against which men should in these days be taught to guard themselves;—which women also should be made to hate. Such is the writer's apology for his very indifferent hero, Ralph the Heir.(vol 2, 337-339)
March 13, 2023
Ralph the Heir offers most of the elements familiar to Trollope readers: young ladies seeking husbands, their concerned parents, a spendthrift young man, a clergyman, a Parliamentary campaign, scenes of hunting, a landed estate, and of course an inheritance, as well as (thank heaven) a lighter sprinkling of racism and antisemitism than mars some of Trollope’s books. To Trollope’s credit, while he doesn’t challenge his culture’s views on illegitimacy or social class, three of the most admirable characters are a “bastard,” a young woman with no money, and a breeches maker’s daughter who, despite her fortune, is not an appropriate match for Ralph the heir.
The eponymous Ralph Newton, an idle spendthrift, is the former ward of Sir Thomas Underwood, a father with two daughters and an orphaned niece; a man like Sir Thomas, we are told, “hardly wishes his daughter to fall in love with his ward, whether his ward be prudent or imprudent in his manner of life.” Guess what happens?
Ralph the heir, who is far from the most lovable protagonist, does what he can to risk his inheritance by amassing outrageous debts, and just to keep things confusing, the current property holder, his estranged uncle, has an illegitimate son, also named Ralph Newton, always identified as “Ralph who was not the heir.” Uncle Gregory Newton (there's also a brother/cousin/nephew named Gregory) tries his best to disinherit Ralph the heir in favor of Ralph who is not the heir. Not telling whether Uncle Gregory succeeds.
The book offers the kinds of pleasures fans of Victorian novels seek. It has amusing moments, a number of plot twists, a few lovely moments of proto-feminist rebellion, and some interesting comments on the appropriateness of “adventures of one of whom it certainly cannot be said that he was fit to be delineated a hero.” I forgive Trollope his unheroic protagonist. I only wish there had been fewer characters named Ralph.
Using for prompt #2, features an inheritance, in the 52 Book challenge, 2023.
The eponymous Ralph Newton, an idle spendthrift, is the former ward of Sir Thomas Underwood, a father with two daughters and an orphaned niece; a man like Sir Thomas, we are told, “hardly wishes his daughter to fall in love with his ward, whether his ward be prudent or imprudent in his manner of life.” Guess what happens?
Ralph the heir, who is far from the most lovable protagonist, does what he can to risk his inheritance by amassing outrageous debts, and just to keep things confusing, the current property holder, his estranged uncle, has an illegitimate son, also named Ralph Newton, always identified as “Ralph who was not the heir.” Uncle Gregory Newton (there's also a brother/cousin/nephew named Gregory) tries his best to disinherit Ralph the heir in favor of Ralph who is not the heir. Not telling whether Uncle Gregory succeeds.
The book offers the kinds of pleasures fans of Victorian novels seek. It has amusing moments, a number of plot twists, a few lovely moments of proto-feminist rebellion, and some interesting comments on the appropriateness of “adventures of one of whom it certainly cannot be said that he was fit to be delineated a hero.” I forgive Trollope his unheroic protagonist. I only wish there had been fewer characters named Ralph.
Using for prompt #2, features an inheritance, in the 52 Book challenge, 2023.
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