High Victorian society

Press, 19 May 1984, Page 18

High Victorian society

The Prime Minister, by Anthony Trollope. 767 pp. The Duke’s Children, by Anthony Trollope. 633 pp. Both Oxford, 1983. $11.95 each (paperback). (Reviewed by Margaret Quigley)

The two last of the six Palliser novels, which the Oxford has published in a centenary edition to mark Anthony Trollope’s death in 1882, are now to hand. Trollope has never sunk completely out of popular favour and the last decade has seen a considerable increase of interest in his work, not least because of the excellent production of the Barchester Chronicles on television.

Well edited by W. J. McCormack and with fascinating introductions by a wide variety of people, the six novels come in glossy paperback and make a handsome set. They should be read as a series (though a couple of them can stand on their own) for these last two novels assume an affectionate familiarity with the central characters, and in particular, with Plantagenet and Glencora Palliser. “The Prime Minister” shows them at the height of their power, with the Duke of Omnium heading a coalition government and the Duchess

supporting him brilliantly as a social and political hostess. The way their relationship, though far from perfect, survives the strain put on it by the activities of the mysterious Ferdinand Lopez is movingly and realistically portrayed. The opening sentence of the last novel in the series, “The Duke’s Children,” confirms the strength of the relationship. “No one, probably, ever felt himself to be more alone in the world than our old friend, the Duke of Omnium, when the Duchess died.” To the Duke alone therefore, in this volume, falls the worry of their three grown children, especially Lady Mary, determined on what her father feels is an unsuitable marriage. Each of these novels requires time and leisure to persevere through Trollope’s careful chronicling of telling detail, but they amply repay the time spent. The whole series gives a brilliant and rich picture of English society in the high Victorian age.