Phineas Finn [with Biographical Introduction]
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Product Description
Product Description
'To become a member of the British Parliament!...He almost thought that he could die happy' Phineas Finn, the handsome Irishman, is equally successful at scaling the political ladder and gaining the affection of influential women. As he makes his precarious way in parliament he discovers how far principles must be sacrificed to the common cause, and how essential money is to political progress. Set during the turbulent passage of the second Reform Act of 1867, the novel paints a vivid picture of the compromises and tactics of daily political life. Loss of independence is felt just as keenly by Lady Laura and Violet Effingham, whose choice of marriage partner will determine their future freedom as much as their happiness. With politics and the personal so closely entwined, Phineas faces an act of conscience that will have a profound effect on his life. The second novel in Trollope's Palliser series, Phineas Finn's engaging plot embraces matters as diverse as reform, the position of women, the Irish question, and the conflict between integrity and ambition.
About the Author
Anthony Trollope is the author of many titles, including BARCHESTER TOWERS.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The second novel in the Palliser's series, Phineas Finn follows the story of an Irish Member of the British Houses of Parliament from humble beginnings as the son of a doctor through the aristocratic and political salons of the mid-19th century.
Finn is something of a ladies man but Trollope writes him beautifully as someone who seems to blunder accidentally into good fortune and an interest in several women without the faintest trace of self-knowledge. He is unassuming, charming, deliciously shallow and, we are told, handsome to look at. Men and women alike are taken in by him.
Trollope as always slowly builds the many strands of his story from the start. But as you read on through, the narrative gathers pace until it is bowling hypnotically along with its own momentum. After the first 200 pages it becomes unputdownable as events and personalities unfold sometimes as you thought they would, and other times ending in surprise.
My favourite charcter became Lord Chiltern. He grew on me every time he appeared. He's a plain-speaking, unsophisticated man who has gained a reputation for being violent and difficult but gradually I began to wonder how much was truth and how much hearsay. He is the anti-thesis of the charming but deceptive Phineas Finn. Chiltern is disliked while Finn is admired and favoured by the same people and so Trollope makes his point that what you see isn't always what you get.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This, the second novel in Trollope's Palliser-novels, is as good as one has grown to expect from such an immaculate novelist as Trollope.
Phineas is a penniless Irishman (his father being a modest country doctor) who, against all expectations (including his own) is elected to the British Parliament. This not only introduces him to the political world of the day (which Trollope describes with great acumen and at times sarcasm) but also to London society, where Phineas soon becomes a favorite. But before long Phineas is faced with two dilemmas. In his political life he has to decide whether, having become a government employee, it is his duty to always vote as the government does or to follow his own judgement (perhaps at the cost of his job). In his private life he is torn between staying true to his Irish childhood-love and (since she is penniless too) forsaking his dreams of a grand political career, or to dump her for one of the London heiresses...
The whole story is masterly told by Trollope whose style, once you've been introduced to it, is ever so charming and really like no other. I've been charmed and seduced by every single novel of his I've read so far and this one is no exception. Thoroughly recommended!
Phineas is a penniless Irishman (his father being a modest country doctor) who, against all expectations (including his own) is elected to the British Parliament. This not only introduces him to the political world of the day (which Trollope describes with great acumen and at times sarcasm) but also to London society, where Phineas soon becomes a favorite. But before long Phineas is faced with two dilemmas. In his political life he has to decide whether, having become a government employee, it is his duty to always vote as the government does or to follow his own judgement (perhaps at the cost of his job). In his private life he is torn between staying true to his Irish childhood-love and (since she is penniless too) forsaking his dreams of a grand political career, or to dump her for one of the London heiresses...
The whole story is masterly told by Trollope whose style, once you've been introduced to it, is ever so charming and really like no other. I've been charmed and seduced by every single novel of his I've read so far and this one is no exception. Thoroughly recommended!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The best known of the six "Palliser" novels, "Phineas Finn" is an entertaining account of a young man's progress through the London society of the 1860s. If that sounds dull, think again: this is a book full of brilliantly observed relationships, sexual politics, Westminster politics and many wise epithets, eg 'It has been the great fault of our politicians that they have all wanted to do something.' Palliser writes clearly and brightly, with wonderful irony, carefully measured humour and none of the self-consciousness which weighs so heavily on some Dickens novels. I've so far read the first four of the Palliser novels, starting with the little-known but outstanding "Can You Forgive Her?" and found them all excellent. If you fancy something entertaining with a bit of literary substance, you can't do better.
Upside: revelatory. Downside: quite long.
Upside: revelatory. Downside: quite long.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
You have to love a Trollope...
Phineas Finn, being the second novel of Trollope's Palliser series, has much to live up to by comparison with earlier Trollope works such as the Barset novels, which contain some... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Stracs
Deeper grooves
Despite being the eponymous hero of the novel, Phineas Finn serves as a curious device for Trollope to explore timeless themes of power, place, vocation and love. Read more
Published on 2 Jan 2010 by Robert Cordner
Excellent and under-rated Trollope novel
Phineas Phinn is one of Trollope's best characters - attractive, charming, ambitious and passionate, he starts the book as a young man falling into fortune, but matures throughout... Read more
Published on 29 July 2006 by Roman Clodia
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