Phineas Finn (Palliser, #2)
byAnthony Trollope
5 out of 5 stars
Phineas Finn is delighted when a political fluke gets him elected to represent his little Irish county in Parliament. Everyone says that he is making a mistake, and he’ll never succeed in politics, but Phineas is young and optimistic and full of energy. He quickly learns the ins and outs of political life in London, especially when it comes to befriending influential people… and their daughters. Lady Laura takes Phineas under her wing, and uses her influence with her father to introduce Phineas to all the right people. Madame Goesler is a wealthy widow with the social clout to bring politicians together at her exclusive dinners, and she also advises Phineas on his political affairs. Violet Effingham is a fabulous heiress and Lady Laura’s dearest friend. She is rumored to be engaged to Lady Laura’s brother, Lord Chiltern, but will Phineas win her heart before the engagement can be finalized? And back home in Ireland, poor little Mary Flood-Jones is a simple country girl who has been in love with Phineas since childhood. Between all these romances, Phineas must decide the future of his political life, or break his heart and his career on the rocks of ignominy.
I was fascinated by all the ups and downs of Phineas’ political career and all his romances. It’s so dramatic! Several times, he almost loses his political position, only to be saved at the last second by his influential friends and his own ingenuity. I was worried that I would be bored by all the politics, and there were a few scenes when Phineas has to attend boring cabinet meetings, but for the most part, I was really interested to see how the political climate would affect our hero’s career and his finances and even his emotional stability.
Phineas really has such a good balanced personality. He’s tough when he ought to be, and gentle when he ought to be. He feels things deeply, but has the courage to move forward in spite of the obstacles. I loved him so much! Trollope really is a genius at diving into human nature, so Phineas is not perfect. He makes mistakes and says the wrong thing, and he’s dumb about some things. It just made me love him even more to see him overcome those mistakes and grow and learn.
His romantic relationships with all these different ladies are very complex and tender. He really cares about each of these ladies and admires and respects them. He’s sensitive but also strong – a perfect gentleman at all times. The book covers about 5 years of time, so during that time he grows close to these ladies one after another and gets his heart broken several times. Ultimately, he has to decide whether to marry for love or for money and political advancement.
The ladies themselves are also fascinating! Lady Laura thinks she can be cold and calculated when it comes to marriage and make a good match, but she finds that she is unhappy when she ignores her heart. Violet Effingham is trying to calculate what will make her happy in marriage as well, but finds that her heart leads her astray. Madame Goesler has everything that wealth and society can offer, but she sets her sights on climbing the social ladder through marriage if she can. They are all worried that they will be trapped in an unhappy marriage if they make the wrong choice. It’s brilliant social commentary on the limited choices available to women in the Victorian era, and how they might try to scheme and plan around those social restrictions.
Trollope’s writing style is wonderful! The dialogue is so compelling with many different layers of meaning and emotion between the characters. It really shows the complex relationships between people, and how delicate their social structure really is. I loved diving into the internal thoughts and emotions of all the characters. This whole book is utterly brilliant in every way!
