Doctor Thorne

Description

'You must give up this mad idea, Frank ... there is but one course left open to you. You MUST marry money' Doctor Thorne was considered by Trollope to be the best of his works - a profound examination of the relationship between money and love, as it shifts away from the city of Barchester to a more rural setting. Frank Gresham is bankrupt and in love. Unfortunately, the woman he loves, Mary Thorne, is illegitimate and broke. Frank's overbearing mother is against the match, insisting that Frank marry a wealthy heiress. Meanwhile, Doctor Thorne, Mary's uncle, knows a secret that could change everything - Mary is about to inherit a considerable fortune. But he wants the young lovers to make their decision unburdened by the knowledge. Will Frank succumb to family pressure, or go with his heart? 'The book is a testament to Trollope's belief in decency as a guide to living, and I think we are made all the better for it' Julian Fellows

Anthony Trollope was born on 24 April 1815 and attended both Harrow and Winchester schools. His family were poor and eventually were forced to move to Belgium, where his father died. His mother, Frances Trollope, supported the family through writing. Trollope began a life-long career in the civil service with a position as a clerk in the General Post Office in London - he is also credited with later introducing the pillar box. He published his first novel, The Macdermots of Ballycloran in 1847, but his fourth novel, The Warden (1855) began the series of 'Barsetshire' novels for which he was to become best known. This series of five novels featuring interconnecting characters spanned twenty years of Trollope's career as a novelist, as did the 'Palliser' series. He wrong over 47 novels in total, as well as short stories, biographies, travel books and his own autobiography, which was published posthumously in 1883. Trollope resigned from the Post Office in 1867 and stood for Parliament as a Liberal, though he was not elected. He died on 6 December 1882.

Literary wizardry and hilarious digs... Entertaining twists, flirtations, jiltigs, broken hearts... Wicked! -- Val Hennessy * Daily Mail * Doctor Thorne has the best plot - seduction, murder, families ruined by drink and debt - and, in the eponymous doctor, the most sympathetic and human of all Trollope's heroes * Guardian * One would be hard put to name a more enjoyable Victorian novelist than Anthony Trollope * Washington Post * Why did Freud bother? This is so much better, and truer * Daily Telegraph * There is wonderful comedy in Doctor Thorne... The book is a testament to Trollope's belief in decency as a guide to living, and I think we are made all the better for it. -- Julian Fellowes * Radio Times *