Doctor Thorne (Chronicles of Barsetshire, #3) in Never too Late to Read Classics

Oct 09, 2020 Sara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics, victorian, 19th-century-literature, gutenberg-download

”I will never hanker after a dead man’s shoes, neither for myself nor for another,” he had said to himself a hundred times, and as often did he accuse himself of doing so.

Dr. Thorne is the third in the Barsetshire series, and, in my judgment, the best. If Charles Dickens is the wizard at showing us the poverty and desperation of the lower class in Victorian England, Anthony Trollope is the master at dissecting the upper classes and the threat of the rising professional and industrial class d ...more

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Feb 17, 2021 Chrissie rated it really liked it

Shelves: audible-uk, series, classics, hf, victorian, 2021-read, england, humor, long, love

Anthony Trollope’s Dr. Thorne is the third in the Chronicles of Barsetshire series. Until I tried Trollope’s books, I didn’t think I could enjoy Victorian novels. Few series work well for me. Once again, this series by Trollope is the exception. I have read three of the series’ five books and will continue.

What is it that makes this book and Trollope special for me?

The prose. It’s witty. It’s humorous. The dialogs are marvelous.

Trollope knows people and writes of them with finesse!

The story is ...more

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Jul 02, 2018 Laura rated it liked it

Shelves: british-literature, fiction-19th-century, victorians, audio-books, read-2018

From BBC radio 4:
Anthony Trollope's Dr Thorne by Michael Symmons Roberts

Episode 1 of 3
When Frank Gresham proposes to Dr Thorne's niece Mary on his twenty first birthday, his parents are horrified. Mary is poor and her parentage is unknown. To save the indebted Greshambury estate Frank must marry for money, not love. A rich heiress is hastily thrust towards him as a more suitable prospect.

Episode 2 of 3
Back from a term at Cambridge, young Frank Gresham is more determined than ever to win the hand ...more

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Sep 09, 2020 Tom Britz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was a gorgeous read. You do not read Anthony Trollope for the surprise twists (there are little to none) nor for the spine-tingling suspense (again zippo) but you do read Trollope for the characters that seem as real as your neighbors and the true to life actions within. Trollope's comic asides (his narrator is in fact as much a character at times as those he is writing about) are at times laugh out loud funny, while at the same time his pathos can be heart warming and wrenching as any othe This was a gorgeous read. You do not read Anthony Trollope for the surprise twists (there are little to none) nor for the spine-tingling suspense (again zippo) but you do read Trollope for the characters that seem as real as your neighbors and the true to life actions within. Trollope's comic asides (his narrator is in fact as much a character at times as those he is writing about) are at times laugh out loud funny, while at the same time his pathos can be heart warming and wrenching as any other author you'd care to name.
This story is about family bloodlines (it is Victorian England) and a family's legacy that has been mortgaged by outstanding debts accrued by unfortunate investments and a political upheaval. Frank Gresham has just turned 21 and has "come of age". His overbearing mother (many times I wanted to drop kick her) knows that he must marry into money, in order to save the family legacy. However enter Dr. Thorne and his lovely niece. Dr. Thorne had a low-life brother that seduced a young woman of low birth, she had no bloodline or name behind her, but she was beautiful. Her brother Roger Scratcherd was a hard working and talented architect, stone worker. When Roger (who has a drinking problem) found out about the scandalous affair involving his beloved sister, Roger goes into a rage and kills Dr. Thorne's brother. Due to the circumstances, which the whole town knows about, Roger gets a light manslaughter charge and goes to prison for a few years.
Meanwhile the sister has a child, a girl, and Dr. Thorne and the girl's boyfriend come up with a plan. The fiance will marry her and move to America as long as she leaves the child behind, he wants Mary (the girl) but he wants a family that is his, and Dr. Thorne arranges for the child to be brought up by another family until she turns 13 at which time she will move in with Dr. Thorne as his niece.
Dr. Thorne is a good friend of the Gresham's so that Mary (the child) is brought up alongside the Gresham's family. This is the dilemna of the novel. Frank turns 21 and is in love with Mary. His family knows nothing about Mary's sordid past (being a bastard child with no bloodline or family) except for Dr. Thorne and the senior Gresham. Frank's family due to their precarious financial stance knows the only way out of their dilemna and save the family's estate is that Frank "must marry money".
Roger Scratcherd after getting out of prison due to his skills working with stone and the building trades goes on to become a millionaire and has his own family. In fact he is awarded a baronetcy.
This is the bare bones that Anthony Trollope polishes and uses to turn out a marvelous piece of art in this novel. There are no surprises, no other murders, just raw emotions and the never ending phrase that Frank "must marry money".
The reader knows basically early on how the story will turn out, but is still swept away and thoroughly enjoys the twists and turns. This truly is a masterpiece of realistic (yet comic) novelistic art. ...more

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Apr 17, 2023 Laura (Reading is a Doing Word) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics-trad-and-modern, 2023-read, trollope

Another Trollope and another installation of the Barsetshire Chronicles that I loved!
It felt like there was a lot, but yet very little going on in the book all at once.
The Gresham family finances are in a state and young Frank Gresham MUST MARRY MONEY! However, he loves Dr Thorne's niece, Mary, who is illegitimate and poor......or is she?!
This sums up the plot. However, in following the trials of Frank and Mary's love, Trollope deals with many other societal questions of the day.
WEALTH/WORTH
Weal ...more

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Jan 27, 2016 Brianna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, 2016-books-completed, comedy, classics, victorian-lit, 19th-century, 2024-reading-challenge

I adored this book the first time around (reading as a standalone), and the second readthrough proved no different except that the story is even better when read in its proper place in the series. Hence the extra Star. However, I do believe the previous volume, Barchester Towers, has been the best of the lot thus far. Trollope is one of the most delightfully ridiculous authors I have ever had the pleasure of reading, and I look forward to continuing the Chronicles. Now on to Framley Parsonage!

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Mar 18, 2017 Karen rated it really liked it

Enjoyed this third in the Barsetshire series.

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Jul 28, 2018 Zuly rated it liked it

Made it to the halfway mark, but couldn't continue. The language is rhythmic and fine, but the action is slow to near non-existent. This is a long way from other Trollope novels such as He Knew He Was Right, and light years from the myriad plots and sub-plots of Dickens. ...more

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