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The Prime Minister

Name: The Prime Minister
Author: Anthony Trollope
ISBN: 9780140433494

by Anthony Trollope, David Skilton (Editor), David Skilton

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Overview

Can a morally scrupulous English gentleman make an effective Prime Minister? This is one of the enduringly fascinating problems posed in The Prime Minister (1876). And as Plantaganet Palliser, Duke of Omnium, overenthusiastically supported by Lady Glencora, presides over the Coalition government, Trollope reaches into the highest echelons of the English establishment, depicting political realities rather than ideology, portraying social, sexual and domestic politics as well as the public variety. The world of the novel is perplexed and dominated by the handsome impostor Ferdinand Lopez. Even the Duke and Duchess are not immune to his malign influence, as Lopez pursues Emily Wharton for her charm and her fortune, and plots to win membership of that most exclusive of English clubs, the Houses of Parliament.

Synopsis

For myself,' said Lopez, 'I can conceive no vainer object of ambition than a seat in the British Parliament. What does any man gain by it? The few are successful work very hard for little pay and no thanks,--or nearly equally hard for no pay and as little thanks. The many who fail sit idly for hours, undergoing the weary task of listening to platitudes, and enjoy in return the now absolutely valueless privilege of having MP written on their letters.'

About the Author, Anthony Trollope

Anthony Trollope (1815-1882) was born in London to a bankrupt barrister father and a mother who, as a well-known writer, supported the family. Trollope enjoyed considerable acclaim both as a novelist and as a senior civil servant in the Post Office. He published more than forty novels and many short stories that are regarded by some as among the greatest of nineteenth-century fiction.