Tag Archives: Palliser series

November’s Autumn September Prompt

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The September prompt over at November’s Autumn is which piece of music reflects the classic book which you read? I have to admit that I was flummoxed, but just for a wee minute, then it came to me – any music which is played at the Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

I read Phineas Finn, Phineas Redux and The Prime Minister recently, all books from Anthony Trollope’s Palliser series, mainly set in the the atmosphere of power and arrogance of Westminster but occasionally taking forays into the countryside and to Scotland, exactly as they do every year at the last night of the proms.

Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March – Land of Hope and Glory – is a perfect accompaniment to the Victorian splendour of Westminster and the ‘promenaders’ with their hooters and whizbangs mirror the character of Lady Glencora with her cheek and disrespect for authority.

Rule Britannia of course is a must and the mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly certainly enjoyed herself here.

The Sailor’s Hornpipe ia always more than a wee bit of mayhem as the promenaders (the eccentrics bobbing up and down, they have no seats, hence the name) join in as much as possible. I believe there were some nasty comments on You Tube about this behaviour. Maybe you have to be a Brit to appreciate the humour of it all. Anthony Trollope enjoyed poking fun at the establishment, politics and even himself.

I think all of the Palliser books feature Scotland, just as the Proms do as they traditionally end with Auld Land Syne. Years ago a very funny Scottish conductor tried to teach them how to do it properly but he was wasting his breath because they never do. Apart from anything else, like pronunciation being wrong – it’s never ‘Zine’ as some people say, you shouldn’t cross your arms until the second verse; so just at the end.

These pieces of music definitely give you a flavour of Victorian Britain, Empire, humour and downright eccentricity, just as Trollope’s books do.

Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope

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This book is sometimes known by the title The Irish Member. I thought it was about time that I got back to reading the rest of the Palliser series. I had to make a mad dash for the radio off button one night a few weeks ago when I was in the kitchen late on. Whilst I was doing the dishes I suddenly realised that it was a Palliser book which was being serialised on Radio 4 Extra – or whatever they’re calling it this week! You can probably still listen to it on the iPlayer if you don’t want to read the book.

I found Phineas Finn to be a wee bit dry at the beginning and I could understand why some people have a bit of a problem with Trollope. I think that it was because I only had time to read about 20 or 30 pages at a time and for me anyway I find his writing much more enjoyable when I can spend a lot of time reading big chunks of about 80 or 100 pages at one go.

It is of course the story of Phineas Finn, a handsome young Irishman who stands for parliament really because he was in the right place at the right time. At the time it’s set (1860s) we didn’t have universal suffrage, not even for the men, so each MP was voted in by the small amount of men who were eligible to vote in the area, mainly wealthy property owners.

Phineas does indeed have the luck of the Irish and his parliamentary career comes on in leaps and bounds, mainly because he has the ability to be affable and really listens to people so other men take a liking to him. He gets into the right social circles and hobnobs with influential men and so his political career advances very quickly.

He doesn’t have so much luck where romance is concerned and this is partly due to the fact that he isn’t exactly constant and he tends to be easily distracted by whichever woman he is with at the time.

I’m looking forward to reading The Eustace Diamonds which is the next one in the series.

I remember that when John Major became our Prime Minister, about 20 years ago he said that Trollope was his favourite author and I think he got a lot of help in his career from reading the political books. Like everybody else I’ve puzzled over how a man who was so bad at counting that he was sacked from his job as a bus conductor could have risen to be our Prime Minister. I think he must have modelled himself on Phineas Finn.

Anyway, if you enjoy the classics and a political setting then you should give the Palliser series a go. My copy is an Oxford World’s Classic paperback and it has great notes in the back. Luckily I studied this period when I was at school so I knew a lot about what was going on in Britain at the time but I still learned from the notes. For instance: Did you know that John Stuart Mill the philosopher and economist and son of the Scottish philosopher James Mill, had written an essay called The Subjection of Women in 1869. He was an MP from 1865 and advocated votes for women. Amazingly ahead of the times!