From the Bookshelf of The Roundtable…

The Prime Minister (Palliser #5)

Anthony Trollope,

Hector Whistler (Illustrator)

Start date: September 1, 2024

Finish date: September 30, 2024

Discussion: Side Reads - Fiction

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 37 topics — 1,357 comments total

Side Reads - Fiction

* Suggest a Fiction Side Read
By Nicole · 95 posts · 115 views

last updated Dec 25, 2023 01:48AM

Shakespeare
By Dawn , Loves a Challenge · 32 posts · 22 views

last updated Apr 26, 2024 10:03AM

showing 6 of 6 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Aug 29, 2017 Genia Lukin rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, other

Sometimes, enough is just enough.

I've read through a plethora of 19th century books. Some bothered me. Some bothered me a great deal. Some bothered me only a little. But for some reason this one bothered me to the point that I was willing to chuck it at the wall and let it go.

I think in part it's Trollope's arch-conservativeness. As far as I can tell, in not a single one of the books I've read does he profess an idea that one could call liberal. That is in apparent and, to me, befuddling, contra Sometimes, enough is just enough.

I've read through a plethora of 19th century books. Some bothered me. Some bothered me a great deal. Some bothered me only a little. But for some reason this one bothered me to the point that I was willing to chuck it at the wall and let it go.

I think in part it's Trollope's arch-conservativeness. As far as I can tell, in not a single one of the books I've read does he profess an idea that one could call liberal. That is in apparent and, to me, befuddling, contrast to his biography and the general admiration bestowed on him by everyone, in his time and after. I suppose it's possible that every single one of his novels is a satire, and the characters he lauds he secretly hates, but I don't see it.

This (apparent) archconservativism expresses itself in the stodgily bourgeois nature of his characters, at least the good ones. If you're not upper-upper-middle class, you're vulgar, shady, loose, or all three. The option of knowing and minding your place in a cap-in-your-hand sort of way is allowed, but that's basically it. Women of character are punished. Women who display character are punished too.

So of course Emily, who dares to display character against her profoundly prejudiced, unreasonable father is punished by falling into the hands and under the sway of a tyrannical, deceitful, money-grabbing, greedy foreigner, probably a Jew. Very probably a Jew. The words dirty foreign dark Portuguese Jew have repeated so often in the novel either spoken by characters or narrated that I was getting seriously uncomfortable. Nobody except Emily even thought of saying "hey, does that matter?" and, of course, Emily has been proven wrong. By the middle of the novel, Emily already thoroughly understood that there is "something" which can only be had in terms of manners, breeding and personal integrity that only the family of an English gentleman can produce.

Whew, seriously?

Not only is our grabby money-starved (probably) Jew all of these things, and a terrible abusive husband, he's also just terrible as a businessman, because Trollope can't really reconcile himself to the idea of what he calls speculation and we sort of tend to call "modern finance". Which I can understand, really, I just wish it were not so universal in his books.

As for the A-plot, the one concerning the actual eponymous Prime Minister, it's barely worth reading, it's so boring.

If this were a one-time event, I would probably tolerate both the perfect Mary Sue daughter who is punished for her rebellion, and the crusty (but somehow completely right and amazing) racist father, and even the greasy (I'm not joking) Jew, but it's not. The other books are all like that, so what am I supposed to think? ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Sep 16, 2024 Lauren rated it really liked it

First, let's get this out of the way. I can't remember reading a single Trollope book that lacks anti-semitism. They all seem to contain at least one problematic and stereotypical Jewish character, and they are all problematic in pretty much the same way. But, at least as I recall, these tend to be minor characters, so you can get mad at Trollope and then move on. The Prime Minister has the distinction of having a (probably) Jewish main character who to top it off is also Portuguese, which I gue ...more

Like · see review

Oct 04, 2024 Lori rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: z-reviewed, fiction, literature, zy-own, britain, 19th-century, pre-1900, zy-calibre, zy-text, rt-book-read

Not my favorite. I just didn't like the main couple (Lopez and Emily). Emily was too one-dimensional and too extreme. With Lopez the problem was more with Trollope. His anti-semitism, racism, and all over xenophobia made it too difficult to read Lopez, who could have been a great character, the totally amoral speculator.

The Duke and Duchess were a nice second couple, but not enough to save the book.

Overall 2 stars, read it if you are reading the Palliser novels, otherwise no. ...more

Like · see review