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Title: Can You Forgive Her by Anthony Trollope, Andrew Swarbrick, Kate Flint ISBN: 0-19-283469-X Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: June, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.46 (13 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Magnificent Obsessions
Comment: With "Can You Forgive Her?" Trollope begins his masterful series of Parliamentary novels, but here he is concerned with the politics of love and the demands of society. Alice Vavasor, lovely, intelligent and just a bit prudish, is torn between two men -- the upright if plodding John Gray, and the evasive yet alluring George Vavasor. She has accepted and rejected their proposals of marriage, uncertain of her own worthiness and the worth of her love. Alice's dilemma makes for a sharp exploration of free choice, a woman's role in a constricted society, and self-examination to the point of emotional stalemate. Add to this the predicament, on a grander scale, of Lady Glencora Palliser, Alice's cousin. The energetic, vivacious and utterly charming Glencora is married to Plantagent Palliser, heir to a ducal throne, who is a man who finds passion in Parliamentary proceedings, not people. Glencora is still pining for the beautiful ne'er-do-well, Burgo Fitzgerald, whom she was forced to leave behind in order to marry as she had been groomed to. Glencora feels that her young marriage is a sham. She feels she cannot live a life without ardent love, that the future for her is bleak without a burning, almost tragic, passion. Here, Trollope examines a marriage in its first tentative stages (in the Palliser novels he gives us the most discerning and moving portrait of a marriage in literature), with all of the self-sacrifice, compromise and reluctant devotion that marriage entails. The novel's third subplot, involving Alice's aunt's choice between somewhat unsuitable suitors, provides a comic, yet still subtly touching, foil to the two main stories. Throughout, Trollope brilliantly evokes the power of society on its players, their private tumult, their public displays of decorum or disgrace. One scene in particular, at a fabulous ball, is among the most thrilling in literature, because Trollope manages to convey, amid the throngs of idle partygoers, the despair, the conflicted psychological motivations, the terror and anguish of two star-crossed lovers, Glencora and Burgo, whose passions are so different: hers a naive yet heartfelt romance, his a self-centered quest for an end to financial woe whatever the emotional cost and public scandal. Neither party is self-aware enough to change here, but one eventually learns to, and finds hope by overcoming the hestitation of commitment brought on by misdirected ardor. The only way to grow is through sacrifice, and fearless self-knowledge. The only way truly to live is through doing the next right thing, publicly and privately. Trollope takes us through the agonizing conflicts of his characters, drawn with a depth and nuance matched by few in literature. This is a towering achievement.
Rating: 5
Summary: Anthony Trollope, Where Have you Been?
Comment: This is a great Victorian novel, and the first by Anthony Trollope that I've read. After reading Can You Forgive Her, I was inspired to buy the entire set of Palliser novels; I plan to read and savor each volume in the series over the years. Can You Forgive Her introduces us to Alice Vavasar, her father, cousins, and fiance. Alice struggles with the question of whom she should marry. George is brandy; John is milk and honey. I love that! What a choice! Trollope has a wonderfully amusing style, evoking with great clarity 19th Century life in Victorian England. It's a time so very different from ours in the U.S., and yet, one can learn a great deal about the roots of some American cultural obsessions with love and politics. A hint: if you don't know British parliamentary history, you may want to review a little. However, don't let this deter you from trying out this splendid, enjoyable novel.
Rating: 3
Summary: A suggestion for the title
Comment: A better title for Trollope's novel would be "Can You Finish It?" Frankly, I couldn't. The type is too small, the style is too dense, and it's all much ado about nothing. Hmm. Much ado about nothing. Now there's a good title and a good read.
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Title: Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope, W. J. MacCormack, Bill MacCormack, Hugh Osborne ISBN: 0460874977 Publisher: Everymans Library Pub. Date: 01 December, 1997 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
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Title: The Eustace Diamonds (Oxford World's Classics) by Anthony Trollope, W. J. McCormack, Blair Hughes-Stanton ISBN: 0192834665 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: December, 1998 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
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Title: The Prime Minister (Penguin Classics) by Anthony Trollope, David Skilton ISBN: 014043349X Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: April, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Phineas Redux by Anthony Trollope, John C. Whale, F. S. L. Lyons, T. L. B. Huskinson ISBN: 0192835599 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: September, 2002 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
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Title: The Duke's Children by Anthony Trollope, Hermione Lee, Charles Mozley ISBN: 0192835386 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: January, 1999 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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