The Macdermots of Ballycloran Anthony Trollope 9781523220403 Books
Download As PDF : The Macdermots of Ballycloran Anthony Trollope 9781523220403 Books
In mid-19th century England, an era full of celebrated novelists, Anthony Trollope was one of the most popular and critically acclaimed of them all. Even today, his Chronicles of Barsetshire series is widely read, as are his other novels, many of which deal with criticisms of English culture at the time, from its politics to its customs and norms.
The Macdermots of Ballycloran Anthony Trollope 9781523220403 Books
I have enjoyed reading the novels of Anthony Trollope so much that I decided to go to the beginning and read the first novel Trollope wrote, The Macdermots of Ballycloran. The west of Ireland in the year 1844 is the setting for this novel. Some readers of this review will note that everything would change in Ireland one year later with the coming of The Great Famine. In 1844 the population in Ireland was over eight million people, with many living on small plots of land and subsisting mostly on potatoes. Almost half of those people would be dead or have left Ireland at the end of The Famine. Thady Macdermot, the hero of the novel, was a local landowner who lived in poverty with his father and sister at Ballycloran, a rundown country estate. Thady was a good man who did not evict his tenants when they could not pay the rent. He was widely respected by the local people.His sister Feemy loved a Protestant policeman named Myles Ussher, who was as much hated by the poor as Thady was loved. Ussher was diligent in arresting and jailing makers of illegal whiskey. Plots to kill him were numerous. Unfortunately, Ussher used Feemy for his own pleasure and ultimately planned to abandon her. The local priest, Father John, warned Feemy about Ussher, but to no avail. Thady was certain Feemy was being used and hated Ussher for his treatment of his sister.
Everything mentioned in this plot summary occurs early in the novel. What happens to Thady, Feemy, and Ussher makes for an interesting story that Trollope tells well. This is the 22nd novel of Anthony Trollope that I have read. I expected that The Macdermots... would show some signs of being a first novel, and it does. Trollope digresses too much and too often from his plot. Also, the dialogue is not as crisp and clean as it would become in later novels. Lastly, and most importantly, it is difficult to identify with the characters in this novel. Later, Trollope would become one of the great masters of character development in English literature.
With these criticisms noted, I still can recommend this novel to those readers who love Trollope. The first time reader would be better advised to begin with something like Barchester Towers, written ten years later. Those ten years were enough to make Trollope one of the great masters of the English novel.
Product details
|
Tags : The Macdermots of Ballycloran [Anthony Trollope] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>In mid-19th century England, an era full of celebrated novelists, Anthony Trollope was one of the most popular and critically acclaimed of them all.</b> Even today,Anthony Trollope,The Macdermots of Ballycloran,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1523220406,FICTION Classics
People also read other books :
- CogAT Practice Test Levels A and B Bright Kids NYC 9781935858263 Books
- Democratic Playbook Bruce R McMaster Books
- Redeeming Vows (Audible Audio Edition) Catherine Bybee David Monteath Audible Studios Books
- Other People Kids eBook Troy Anthony
The Macdermots of Ballycloran Anthony Trollope 9781523220403 Books Reviews
Several years (and novels) before Trollope struck gold with THE WARDEN and the Barsetshire novels, he debuted with this account of a poverty stricken Irish landlord and his attempts to hold on to his estate and navigate the violent and seamy world or pre-famine Ireland. Thady Macdermot is the son of an Irish landowner who begins the novel trying to get payment from his various tenants and stave off a persistent creditor, while his mostly insane father increasingly accuses him of trying to sabotage his ownership of their estate, and his unsupervised young sister carries on a sexual liaison with a local police officer. As the story unfolds, we are introduced to several of the local tenants, who all have it in for this officer because of his constant raids on their illegal alcohol production, and are trying to enlist Thady's hesitant aid in "ridding the country of him." Meanwhile, a parish priest, Father John, is actively working to keep Thady on the righteous path, and trying also to figure out how to separate Thady's sister, Feemy, from the illicit affair she has fallen into. Eventually the many conflicts erupt into an act of murder, and the final third of the novel follows the trial of the guilty party, including an in-depth analysis of the legal ramifications, as Trollope so loved to unfold.
Down to its final grim death, the novel is one of squalor and depression. It is, however, to the author's great credit that even in dealing with such dark subject matter, he is able to infuse scenes of humor and liveliness throughout. If this is an impoverished people, they are still filled with life, and endeavor to live those lives and take joy in whatever they can. Be it a horse race, or the betting party preceding it - be it a local wedding - or just sitting on the porch imbibing illegal moonshine, these are characters as real as you and I. Trollope's great strength has always been in creating relatable characters with realistic dialogue, and his debut shows this was a natural talent!
His descriptions of the land, its people, its homes, and its lifestyles come alive, aided by his many years spent living among them. It is noted that Trollope has not here written an English novel about the Irish, but has in fact written an Irish novel. As such, readers of his tamer and more socially acceptable novels may be shocked by the language, sexual themes, and violence on display here (including murders, hangings, and one shocking and graphically described hobbling). These are not English dames and gentlemen working within social norms to achieve love or prosperity ... these are people of the earth, sweating, fighting, and scheming to survive each day - yet described with passion and affection.
The Worlds Classic edition features three deleted chapters, which help to elaborate on the legalities of the court case, and add a coda to the lives of the various characters. I found these interesting, but also felt they were wisely cut, particularly the final chapter - ending with the death, while tragic, has much more dramatic punch than tacking on a bunch of "here's what happened to this guy" narration.
The edition also features an introductory essay that explores a little more in-depth the larger political ramifications of the novel, detailing how the characters of Feemy and her policeman lover, Ussher, echo the plight between England and Ireland of the day - of course I cannot go into depth here without giving much away, but suffice to say the parallels are quite interesting.
In the end, have no doubt, this is a tragic novel - but Trollope's mastery of the Irish dialect and characterizations, as well as his trademark wit, make this vastly readable - quote an astonishing debut, even if the English readers of his day didn't appreciate it.
This novel is so dark and sad. It is beautifully written but there is none of Trollope's humor or levity to lighten the story. However it still does ring true all these many years later. Sad that this is true. Don't think many people would enjoy the length of this very dark book.
I believe this is the first of Trollopes novels. It is a closeup look of the awful conditions among the poor Irish in the isolated fens and is a story with an unhappy ending. However, it also has some of Trollopes best characterizations and is definitely master writing.
I have enjoyed reading the novels of Anthony Trollope so much that I decided to go to the beginning and read the first novel Trollope wrote, The Macdermots of Ballycloran. The west of Ireland in the year 1844 is the setting for this novel. Some readers of this review will note that everything would change in Ireland one year later with the coming of The Great Famine. In 1844 the population in Ireland was over eight million people, with many living on small plots of land and subsisting mostly on potatoes. Almost half of those people would be dead or have left Ireland at the end of The Famine. Thady Macdermot, the hero of the novel, was a local landowner who lived in poverty with his father and sister at Ballycloran, a rundown country estate. Thady was a good man who did not evict his tenants when they could not pay the rent. He was widely respected by the local people.
His sister Feemy loved a Protestant policeman named Myles Ussher, who was as much hated by the poor as Thady was loved. Ussher was diligent in arresting and jailing makers of illegal whiskey. Plots to kill him were numerous. Unfortunately, Ussher used Feemy for his own pleasure and ultimately planned to abandon her. The local priest, Father John, warned Feemy about Ussher, but to no avail. Thady was certain Feemy was being used and hated Ussher for his treatment of his sister.
Everything mentioned in this plot summary occurs early in the novel. What happens to Thady, Feemy, and Ussher makes for an interesting story that Trollope tells well. This is the 22nd novel of Anthony Trollope that I have read. I expected that The Macdermots... would show some signs of being a first novel, and it does. Trollope digresses too much and too often from his plot. Also, the dialogue is not as crisp and clean as it would become in later novels. Lastly, and most importantly, it is difficult to identify with the characters in this novel. Later, Trollope would become one of the great masters of character development in English literature.
With these criticisms noted, I still can recommend this novel to those readers who love Trollope. The first time reader would be better advised to begin with something like Barchester Towers, written ten years later. Those ten years were enough to make Trollope one of the great masters of the English novel.
0 Response to "[LVG]≫ Read Free The Macdermots of Ballycloran Anthony Trollope 9781523220403 Books"
Post a Comment