It's been such a pleasure continuing my first reading of Trollope's Barsetshire series. While “Barchester Towers” greatly expanded on the characters and dilemmas first met in “The Warden”, the two books seemed to neatly follow on from each other. So it was interesting to find “Doctor Thorne” takes a broader view of the geographical region and introduces entirely original dramas and a host of vibrant new personalities while only occasionally still featuring small appearances from previously met characters such as the Bishop and Mrs Proudie.
The primary story of this third book involves the dilemma of Frank Gresham, the son of a gentry family that is in dire financial difficulty. It's repeatedly impressed upon him that he must marry for money but Frank falls for Mary Thorne, a young woman with no money who was born out of wedlock. Mary has been raised by her morally upstanding uncle Doctor Thorne who is the only one that knows the scandalous history of her true parentage. The other main plot points of this novel concern a lineage of alcoholism in the Scatcherd family who've achieved substantial wealth from patriarch Sir Roger Scatcherd's success building railways across the country. The story also follows his troubled campaign to be elected to Parliament.
These aspects result in a compelling portrait of mid-19th century England whose society was rapidly changing with the advent of industrial growth and the prospect of marriage between different classes. Many families of high social ranking found they needed the help of new money to maintain their privileged lifestyle and Trollope teases out the uncomfortable tension and hypocrisy that results from this. I think I've got a good feel of Trollope's sensibility and style of writing now which mixes lively social commentary with touches of delicious satire. This creates some truly funny, touching and memorable scenes as his vibrant characters get into squabbles, engage in romantic trysts and form supportive bonds with each other.
It's pointed that Trollope named the novel Doctor Thorne when it could be argued the real hero of the story is Frank. There are long chapters which follow this young man's uneasy introduction into society where he meets a suitably-wealthy potential wife, attends a hilariously impersonal Duke's dinner at a castle and takes violent revenge upon his sister's ex-fiance. Yet, Doctor Thorne hovers behind the story as the only one with special knowledge regarding his niece's true origins, the beneficiary of the Scatcherd's will and the medical condition of several characters. The plot really hinges upon what he chooses to reveal and how he chooses to act. I often felt frustrated with his character until later on in the novel when it's remarked that because of his values he believes we must take serious responsibility for our actions despite what we may think or feel. It struck me then how Trollope is meaningfully considering the position we're all put in when choosing how to conduct ourselves and what it means to be a good person. So for this reason and because of his involvement in the central plot, Doctor Thorne is really the person with the most agency and binds the novel together.
Trollope himself playfully speculates within the narrative about the title of the novel and when Doctor Thorne is absent for a number of chapters he humorously reintroduces him. A distinct aspect of Trollope's writing is the way he speaks directly to the reader and self-consciously discusses the plot or how he'll tell the story. A later section of the book is wonderfully told through an exchange of letters between women discussing a marriage prospect. Trollope discusses reverting to this epistolary form of narrative and we discover later on why it was so important to have these women writing in their own voices because there were biased motives behind the advice which was given. This is a delightfully clever and effective form of storytelling.
It also frequently and unashamedly presents the author's own affection towards some characters and prejudice against others. Trollope is scathing in his descriptions and the storylines he creates for characters such as Mr Moffat, a suitor for one of the Gresham girls with high political and social aspirations. Trollope is also entertainingly critical of privileged families and their properties describing them in disparaging terms. Characters the author feels great fondness for such as Mary Thorne and Lady Scatcherd are described in much warmer terms. He also presents such a compelling and dynamic portrait of Martha Dunstable, a wealthy heiress who multiple gentlemen in the novel scheme to capture as a wife. Yet she is extremely aware of their motives for courting her and hilariously dismisses or confronts them. This makes her my favourite character that I've encountered in Trollope's novels so far. However, Trollope seldom wholly portrays his characters as heroes or villains and depicts most of them as dynamic and complex. For instance, Frank's naivety is evident but he's also a young, idealistic man so his fumbling and misadventures are understandable and this made him quite an endearing character.
Something I've noticed about Trollope's novels is that he can get a bit repetitious in some chapters. Later on in the story we get some conversations insisting on Frank's need to marry for money even though this was made abundantly clear already. I think the author unintentionally tests the reader's patience when repeatedly discussing the conflicts his plots revolve around as a similar thing happened in the previous novels when debating about who would be the warden of Hiram's Hospital. Perhaps this is just a side effect of the deliberate narrative style that Trollope chose and it's his way of keeping his plots ticking along to their heavily foreshadowed conclusions to allow space for his wonderful characterisations, dramatic scenes and social commentary. It's a small quibble to make about his books which overall I find such a comfort and entertaining joy to read. So I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the Barsetshire series as well as more of Trollope's books. It's also been great participating in the Trollope Society's fortnightly bookclub meetings focusing on this novel as getting the engaged perspectives of other readers and Trollope fans has really enhanced my experience and understanding of the book.
