Victorians! discussion

Hello, dear Vics! Let’s read some Trollope!

A few conversations in the Victorians! threads have centered on Anthony Trollope lately, so it seemed like a good time to do an author-specific read. Please nominate a novel by the prolific Mr. Trollope that you would like to read following Gaskell’s Mary Barton. There are plenty of novels from which to choose!

I would like to eliminate the following books from the poll, most because they have been read too recently…

-The Golden Lion
-Rachel Ray(1863)
-Vicar of Bullhampton (1870)
-Dr. Wortle’s School (1881)

Bear in mind that we have Desperate Remedies by Thomas Hardy scheduled for November 2023, so this read will fall in September and October.

I’ll start by nominating Is He Popenjoy? :)

P. S. I think it’s fine to nominate from the novels that are listed as part of the Barsetshire and Palliser series. Although there are characters in common to the books, the stories pretty much stand alone.

I will nominate my favorite of the Barshetshire Series, The Small House at Allington. Whatever the group choice, I’ll be delighted to read more Trollope.

I will be glad to read along with any of your suggestions, but I don't know enough Trollope to nominate a title myself. I've read Dr. Thorn and Framley Parsonage only recently, so I would rather second anything else. - so my comment is a sort of preemptive dis-second ? ;-)

This is so exciting, I love Trollope!

I will nominate Orley Farm, it’s a stand-alone and is reported to be Trollope’s own favourite of his novels.

So far we have 3 nominations…

Is He Popenjoy?
The Small House at Allington
Orley Farm

I will nominate The Way We Live Now. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

As a bonus there is a well-regarded adaptation starring David Suchet, Matthew Macfadyen, and Cillian Murphy.

I am nominating Phineas Redux because it is the next in the Palliser series and I have it on good authority that it is even better than Phineas Finn!

I was no big fan of the Trollope books I read so far, but I´d give him another chance with Dr. Thorne, as many readers like this one.

Michaela wrote: "I was no big fan of the Trollope books I read so far, but I´d give him another chance with Dr. Thorne, as many readers like this one."

That was my second choice as I enjoyed the Amazon Prime adaptation.

Michaela wrote: "I was no big fan of the Trollope books I read so far, but I´d give him another chance with Dr. Thorne, as many readers like this one."

Dr. Thorne would also be a good choice if you wanted to attract Trollope-newbies. It's part of the Barchester series, but really as good as stand-alone.

So far we have 6 nominations…

Is He Popenjoy?
The Small House at Allington
Orley Farm
The Way We Live Now
Dr. Thorne
Phineas Redux (I think this should be okay without reading Phineas Finn first. I remember some crossover characters, but a very different story.)

Jane wrote: "I am nominating Phineas Redux because it is the next in the Palliser series and I have it on good authority that it is even better than Phineas Finn!"

P. S. I just learned the The Trollope Society is doing a “Big Read” of both Phineas Finn and Phineas Redux right now. Which might be of interest to you: https://trollopesociety.org/calendar/

It has been a week and we have 6 great nominations, so I’m closing this thread. The poll will be up for voting as soon as possible, and will remain open for one week.

The poll is open. :)
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/2...

You can also find it at the bottom of our homepage.

Winner of the Trollope poll is The Way We Live Now.
We are currently reading Mary Barton and are scheduled to finish out 2023 with Desperate Remedies: Thomas Hardy Original Edition.