The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion

Comments for section 4 - Second Period Chapters 5-7, Second Narrative Chapters 1-3, Third Narrative Chapters 1-3

The odious Miss Clack has taken the leaving of tracts to a new extreme, leaving them all over the house and snooping at the same time. She is intent on following Rachel to Bath and is generally a really annoying character. But she does have some interesting information to share with the reader.

I started toying with the idea of suspecting the lawyer at this point, just because he was there from the beginning, and was intent on finding out what everyone else knew. I wondered if maybe he had known something about the family and Rachel had stolen the diamond for him to keep it quiet. But then Rachel is very friendly with him and trusts him, so it can't be him.

Miss Clack's reaction when Godfrey kisses her hand. "Ecstasy of self-forgetfulness" indeed!

Godfrey isn't as good as he seemed to be. I guess no one is perfect. Still, i was a bit disappointed that he appears to have wanted to marry Rachel for money.

Mr. Bruff seems to have a high opinion of his own social standing. Was this normal with lawyers? He sees meeting Mr. Luker (lucre?) as an "unprofessional sacrifice." But then moneylenders didn't have a very high standing at all.

I didn't realize solicitors were known for lending money as well. Maybe Bruff was all the more eager to make a distinction between himself and Luker, seeing that they shared that part of their profession.

I thought it was interesting that people said "down to Yorkshire" when Yorkshire is in the north.

I like the names that Trollope has chosen for some of his characters, which really match their personality-Clack, Bruff and Luker.
Godfrey seems a little too smooth with all his charity ladies, and their hero- worship must really inflate his ego.

I live in the southern part of Ontariq, yet we say down east for the Maritume provinces even though they are further north. We say out west for anything west of us.

Miss Clack is one of my all time favorite characters! She's just so cluelessly self-righteously awful. (But also kinda sad.) Her part has been recorded by Davina Porter and the voice she uses is just perfect.

My favorite track is "Satan Under the Tea Table." :D
Collins must have had such a good time writing this novel!

Lori wrote: "I started toying with the idea of suspecting the lawyer at this point, just because he was there from the beginning, and was intent on finding out what everyone else knew. I wondered if maybe he ha..."

Ha! I caught the Luker/lucre allusion too! Makes me wonder if that is where the phrase "filthy lucre" comes from.

I am so incredibly relieved in the change of narrators! It was hard for me to push through Miss Clack. Perhaps it is because I have known people like that and found them more than a little annoying.