“He was not so anxious to prove himself right, as to be so.”
For many years,
the kindly and unambitious Rev. Septimus Harding has been warden of Hiram’s Hospital, a residence for poor men who have nowhere else to go, a place where they may live comfortably, get a small stipend from the estate of Mr. Hiram, and live out their lives in peace. The warden of Hiram’s Hospital has also been living at peace, until John Bold, a young reformer, questions why Mr. Harding, as warden, gets eight hundred pounds a year for accepting the title of warden, which does not require him to do much else. The bedesmen living in the hospital get only shillings, and Bold wonders whether the real intentions of Hiram’s bequest to establish the hospital, more than four hundred years ago, are being honored in the present.
In this first of the Barsetshire Chronicles, published in 1855, Trollope establishes the gently satiric tone and mood which pervade the series. Here he focuses on the church, its clergymen, and their roles in society, showing Rev. Harding to be a man of honor and trust (though a bit too comfortable and unimaginative to ask the hard questions) and contrasting him with Archdeacon Grantly, his son-in-law, who enjoys the power and perks of his position and feels that the world owes him whatever he can get from it. The stultifying church hierarchy sees its role as almost royal, above the fray and dedicated to sustaining itself.
The conflict which arises when John Bold and Tom Towers, an arrogant newspaperman, become allies in the investigation of the warden’s position becomes even stronger when some of the bedesmen are encouraged to demand one hundred pounds a year. Rev. Harding becomes the humiliated subject of editorials, pamphlets, and even a novel showing the “abuses” of his power. Dr. Pessimist Anticant, the pamphleteer, is thought to be a parody of Thomas Carlyle, and the novelist, Mr. Popular Sentiment, is thought to be Charles Dickens. The fact that John Bold, who started it all, is in love with the warden’s daughter creates further complications.
Trollope is a delightful writer whose style is to entertain the reader while raising some thoughtful questions. Though he takes his writing seriously and creates memorable characters behaving, as a rule, like real people, he does not take himself seriously, nor does he feel the need to be a social reformer. His humor and amiability give a freshness to novels like this one, which, despite its age, is amusing and perceptive. His later novels, like The Way We Live Now, are far more complex–but just as much fun.
Also reviewed here: Six additional novels by Trollope. See Authors tab at top of the Home page.
red Trollope’s greatest novel, this satire of British life, written in 1875, leaves no aspect of society unexamined. Through his large cast of characters, who represent many levels of society, Trollope examines the hypocrisies of class, at the same time that he often develops sympathy for these characters who are sometimes caught in crises not of their own making. Filling the novel with realistic details and providing vivid pictures of the various settings in which the characters find themselves, Trollope also creates a series of exceptionally vibrant characters who give life to this long and sometimes cynical portrait of those who move the country.
A paean to the bravery and spirit of Joan of Arc, this novel by Mark Twain is also his most scholarly, having taken twelve years to write. Clearly fascinated by Joan’s “voices” and her sense of mission, Twain delves into her religious passion and her belief that God has chosen her to free France from England and restore the Dauphin to the throne. Often focusing on the arguments and trials in which Joan participates throughout her life, Twain shows her childhood attempt to “save the fairies,” her struggle to become general of France, and ultimately, her defense against heresy and sorcery. Through these, Twain attempts to reconcile her spiritual commitment with the tumultuous temporal world in which she is engaged.
coronation, she is, however, captured by the Burgundians. Sold to the English, she is later surrendered to an Inquisition in Rouen for trial as a heretic and sorceress. The Dauphin fails to intervene, and at age nineteen she is burned at the stake.
As interesting as this book is, historically and thematically, it lacks the unity of some of Twain’s other novels. Joan of Arc is so heroic in stature that one feels little emotional connection to her, and Twain’s dialogue is so wooden that the other characters fail to come alive, except as mouthpieces for background or philosophy. On several occasions, Twain explains the historical background (how the war began, and later the Five Great Deeds of Joan of Arc) though these delay the action. A serious attempt by Twain to depict a character with whom he was obviously fascinated, this novel is full of biographical and historical detail, but Joan remains an enigma.
o richly imagined that he sometimes has to invent new words, French author Boris Vian brings to life the strange world discovered by a wandering traveler, Timortis, a psychiatrist who wants to “psychiatrize.” Timortis has been born an adult and has no memories of his own. An “empty vessel,” he believes that if he can learn everything there is to know about someone, he can bring about a transference of identity and make his own life more complete. He is wandering in search of people who will bare their souls and all their memories.
novel, which Evelyn Waugh himself sometimes referred to as his “magnum opus,” was originally entitled “Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder.” The subtitle is important, as it casts light on the themes–the sacred grace and love from God, especially as interpreted by the Catholic church, vs. the secular or profane love as seen in sex and romantic relationships. The tension between these two views of love–and the concept of “sin”–underlie all the action which takes place during the twenty years of the novel and its flashbacks.
er, occupies the first part of the book. Sebastian, an odd person who carries his teddy bear Aloysius everywhere he goes, tries to escape his upbringing and religious obligations through alcohol. Charles does feel that it is this relationship with Sebastian which first teaches him about the depths of love.
Dealing with religious and secular love, Heaven and Hell, the concepts of sin and judgment, and the guilt and punishments one imposes on oneself, the novel also illustrates the changes in British society after World War II. The role of the aristocracy is less important, the middle class is rising, and in the aftermath of war, all are searching for values. A full novel with characters who actively search for philosophical or religious meaning while they also search for romantic love, Brideshead Revisited is complex and thoughtfully constructed, an intellectual novel filled with personal and family tragedies–and, some would say, their triumphs.