Doctor Thorne Review
Doctor Thorne is the third novel in the six set Barsetshire Novels. These delightful fictional masterpieces deal with life in the clerical world of Barset. Trollope completed this work on the way home from a postal inspection tour of Egypt in 1858. This novel is a little over 500 pages making it one of the "shorter" works of the series.
The plot is simple. Doctor Thorne is the guardian of the beautiful Mary who is the illegitimate daughter of his deceased brother Henry. Mary is in love with Frank Gresham who comes from a local gentry family. Frank's family has fallen on hard times so his parents demand he marry a rich woman. The Greshams are related to the super rich De Courcey family who reside on an estate in Barsetshire. This side of the family is also against Frank's marrying Mary Thorne. Frank is tempted to fall in love with the wealthy and eccentric Miss Dunstable. She will, however, marry Dr. Thorne in a later novel in the series.
As in all Trollope novels there are other characters. Mr. Oriel weds Beatrice who is one of Frank's sisters. Oriel is a clergyman and the couple are happy.Roger Scatchard is the man who killed Henry Thorne. Henry had fathered a child with Roger's sister named Mary. Mary's mother marries a man and moves to the United States. She never returns home to England. Scatcherd served six months in prison for the violent crime but then became a wealthy engineer. He dies an alcoholic as does his son Louis Phillipe Scatcherd. Trollope probably based the character of Roger Scatcherd on that of builder Sir Morton Peto or of railway millionaire George King.
Mary inherits the Scatcherd fortune with Louis Phillipe dies of alcoholism. When Frank's mother learn of this she gives her approval to his wedding of the now affluent Mary. All ends well for the Greshams.
The first name of Dr. Thorne is Thomas. This may be a reference to Trollope's brother Thomas who suggested the plot of the story to his novelist writing brother.
Humorous scenes abound in the descriptions of the money loving De Courceys, a rural election and the rivalry existing between Dr. Thorne and local doctors such as the immortal Dr. Fillgrave.
Anthony Trollope (1815-1882) is less heralded in America than his fellow Victorians Dickens, Thackery or Eliot but his characters are a realistic portrait of how real men and women of the middle and upper classes lived in Victorian Great Britain.
I discovered the wonders of Trollope over forty years ago and have found him to be a wise, witty and wonderful companion throughout life. Dr. Thorne is a good first Trollope novel for readers not familiar with his voluminous work. Excellent and recommended!
Doctor Thorne Overview
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Customer Reviews
Too many errors - -
I love this book, but there were numerous errors in the text which made it almost illegible. I had to buy a different version.
Blood or money - Mary E. Sibley - Carneys Point, NJ USA
John Newbold Gresham is the Member from Barsetshire, a Tory. When he dies, his son, Francis Gresham, is chosen in his place. He has married Lady Arabella DeCourcy, a Whig family, and so after the dissolution of Parliament, he fails to maintain his seat.
There are many children, mostly girls, except for the eldest, another Frank. By 1854 the son has been educated at Harrow and is attending Cambridge. Dr. Thorne lives at Greshamsbury with his niece, Mary Thorne. Mary is educated with Lady Arabella's daughters, Augusta and Beatrice Gresham. She studies French, German, and music. The squire of Greshamsbury struggles with debt and poverty. Dr. Thorne arranges his loans for him with Sir Roger Scratcherd.
Augusta accepts Mr. Moffat's offer of marriage. (This later comes to nothing.) Mary makes the DeCourcy cousins angry with her as Augusta's wedding is planned. Lady Amelia, his aunt, declares that Frank must marry money, (to save his patrimony). Nearly simultaneously Mary Thorne learns enough of her dubious beginnings to understand that she is duty-bound to discourage Frank's romantic leanings in her direction.
As things develop, Mary is banned from visiting Gresham family members, and her uncle, in sympathy, decides to limit his involvement with the family to professional matters. Much of the plot is in the nature of a Cinderella or Romeo and Juliet story. I do not mean that Trollope needed models for his plots, just that in cases of matrimony, the issues of money and blood arose often.
This is a smashing book.
A month in the country... - David Cady - Jersey City, NJ USA
...which is what this lovely, gentle book feels like. Smaller in scope than its predecessor (the sprawling, boisterous "Barchester Towers"), "Doctor Thorne" is more of a character study; the story of a simple man facing difficult decisions. Not that it's in any way devoid of Trollope's incisive social insights or intuitive humor. If you're a fan of this particular writer, or the English comedy of manners in general, this will be an enjoyable read.
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