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The Claverings: Classic Literary Fiction
405 pages, Paperback
Published October 21, 2023
About the author
Anthony Trollope
2,615 books1,817 followersAnthony Trollope became one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of Trollope's best-loved works, known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire; he also wrote penetrating novels on political, social, and gender issues and conflicts of his day.
Trollope has always been a popular novelist. Noted fans have included Sir Alec Guinness (who never travelled without a Trollope novel), former British Prime Ministers Harold Macmillan and Sir John Major, economist John Kenneth Galbraith, American novelists Sue Grafton and Dominick Dunne and soap opera writer Harding Lemay. Trollope's literary reputation dipped somewhat during the last years of his life, but he regained the esteem of critics by the mid-twentieth century.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_...
Trollope has always been a popular novelist. Noted fans have included Sir Alec Guinness (who never travelled without a Trollope novel), former British Prime Ministers Harold Macmillan and Sir John Major, economist John Kenneth Galbraith, American novelists Sue Grafton and Dominick Dunne and soap opera writer Harding Lemay. Trollope's literary reputation dipped somewhat during the last years of his life, but he regained the esteem of critics by the mid-twentieth century.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_...
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 5, 2026
The novel itself is a delightful, often funny (but not comedic) collection of characters with plenty of foibles to make them psychologically very real and very engaging. (I did, however, have to keep a running list, especially with the names and titles and tangled relationships between all of them.) No one character emerges to the forefront, certainly not Feckless Harry (torn between two women and not really deserving of either) or the so conventional as to be mule-ish Florence, although my favorite outside of the wacky, scheming countess was Julia. I would have liked more of Julia--she's a wonderful character, such a product of her times and the confines of women's lives and choices while at the same time holding a rather brazen spirit, or at least I thought so, flying in the face of those who turn their backs on her. (I couldn't stop thinking of Julia as a more affluent and outspoken version of Hester Prynne of
without the gravitas of Hester's situation.) I took a great liking to the minor character of Mr Saul--I thought he was very heroic in a small, Hardy-esque way, and if you can forgive Trollope the whiff of cringe caricature, Countess Sophia is a grand schemer, I just loved her. I almost didn't want this entire journey to come to an end, although end it did, and it did just kind of ....end. That was a bit disappointing, but apparently Trollope is more concerned with the journey than the end. We shall see...this is only my third Trollope novel, and I hardly even remember the first one, which I have to re-read. Highly recommended for Victorian novel fans, but likely other readers would find this a bit trying.
I do want to thank Ginger Classics for producing the public domain versions of these texts in a paperback of decent quality for a relatively affordable price. There are some typos from the scans, as often happens, and the margins are maddeningly small (for those of us who like to scribble in the margins), but at least we can get a fresh copy of these old, out of print works.
without the gravitas of Hester's situation.) I took a great liking to the minor character of Mr Saul--I thought he was very heroic in a small, Hardy-esque way, and if you can forgive Trollope the whiff of cringe caricature, Countess Sophia is a grand schemer, I just loved her. I almost didn't want this entire journey to come to an end, although end it did, and it did just kind of ....end. That was a bit disappointing, but apparently Trollope is more concerned with the journey than the end. We shall see...this is only my third Trollope novel, and I hardly even remember the first one, which I have to re-read. Highly recommended for Victorian novel fans, but likely other readers would find this a bit trying.I do want to thank Ginger Classics for producing the public domain versions of these texts in a paperback of decent quality for a relatively affordable price. There are some typos from the scans, as often happens, and the margins are maddeningly small (for those of us who like to scribble in the margins), but at least we can get a fresh copy of these old, out of print works.
Displaying 1 of 1 review