Author Description
'though A Great Many Men And Not A Few Women Knew Ferdinand Lopez Very Well, None Of Them Knew Whence He Had Come' Despite His Mysterious Antecedents, Ferdinand Lopez Aspires To Join The Ranks Of British Society. An Unscrupulous Financial Speculator, He Determines To Marry Into Respectability And Wealth, Much Against The Wishes Of His Prospective Father-in-law. One Of The Nineteenth Century's Most Memorable Outsiders, Lopez's Story Is Set Against That Of The Ultimate Insider, Plantagenet Palliser, Duke Of Omnium. Omnium Reluctantly Accepts The Highest Office Of State; Now, At Last, He Is 'the Greatest Man In The Greatest Country In The World'. But His Government Is A Fragile Coalition And His Wife's Enthusiastic Assumption Of The Role Of Political Hostess Becomes A Source Of Embarrassment. Their Troubled Relationship And That Of Lopez And Emily Wharton Is A Conjunction That Generates One Of Trollope's Most Complex And Substantial Novels. Part Of The Palliser Series, The Prime Minister 's Tale Of Personal And Political Life In The 1870s Has Acquired A New Topicality In The Early Twenty-first Century. About The Series: For Over 100 Years Oxford World's Classics Has Made Available The Widest Range Of Literature From Around The Globe. Each Affordable Volume Reflects Oxford's Commitment To Scholarship, Providing The Most Accurate Text Plus A Wealth Of Other Valuable Features, Including Expert Introductions By Leading Authorities, Helpful Notes To Clarify The Text, Up-to-date Bibliographies For Further Study, And Much More.
Menrva's Summary
THE PULSE
The arrival of the enigmatic Ferdinand Lopez into London society triggers a series of social and political collisions that threaten the stability of both private households and the highest levels of government. As Lopez maneuvers to secure wealth and status through marriage, he finds himself in direct opposition to the established social order and the protective instincts of Emily Wharton's family. Simultaneously, Plantagenet Palliser, the newly appointed Prime Minister, struggles to maintain a fragile political coalition while navigating the public and private pressures exerted by his wife's social ambitions. The narrative employs a third-person omniscient perspective to examine the intersection of personal integrity and public duty within the rigid structures of 1870s British society.
INSIDE THE PAGES
- Dual-plot structure contrasting the rise of an outsider with the burdens of an insider
- Detailed exploration of Victorian political coalition dynamics
- Examination of financial speculation and social climbing
- Complex character studies of the Duke and Duchess of Omnium
- Focus on the constraints of marriage and social expectations
- Realistic dialogue reflecting class-based social hierarchies
- Satirical commentary on the nature of political power
- Paced development of moral dilemmas and personal reputation
THE COLLECTIVE ECHO
Readers and critics frequently highlight the novel's meticulous examination of the intersection between private morality and public political life. Discussion often centers on the stark contrast between the ambitious, unscrupulous Ferdinand Lopez and the principled, yet often detached, Plantagenet Palliser. Many observers note that the pacing is deliberate, favoring deep character analysis over rapid plot progression. The effectiveness of the atmosphere in capturing the specific social anxieties of the 1870s is a common point of praise among scholars. Readers often find the exploration of the Duchess of Omnium's role as a political hostess to be a particularly compelling aspect of the narrative's social critique.
Page Count:
704
Publication Date:
2011-01-01
ISBN-10:
0191618411
ISBN-13:
9780191618413
Fiction
Historical
Social Satire
Classic Literature
Political fiction
Victorian
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