Continuing our review of the Palliser novels by Anthony Trollope, we now turn to the second book in the series, Phineas Finn.
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"I am so glad you have come, Mr.Finn" said Lady Laura
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The first few chapters are scene setting, explaining how Phineas Finn has been elected member for Loughshane, how he is one of six children, the other five being his sisters and how his father has paid for him through university and through his legal training before Phineas is persuaded to stand for parliament. Phineas is both a catholic and a Liberal.Phineas has an admirer in Ireland called Mary Flood Jones, friend of the family, while in London he is smitten by a certain red head called Lady Laura Standish. But as is not unusual with Trollope's heroes, his ambition outstrips his income.
"And yet he could hardly ask her to come and share with him the allowance made to him by his father!"
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Did you ever see such a contrast in your life?
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The novel is set against the background of the turbulent period in British politics leading up to the Second Reform Act in the 1860s. From what I understand the references to the political parties is not historically accurate and the whole structure of the initial part of the novel is built around how Phineas got himself into Government.
We find that Phineas does not win a place in the first Whig Government although we do hear that Plantagenet Palliser is now Chancellor of the Exchequer. While this shouldn’t have been a surprise for Phineas, given that he was only recently elected, it does mean that he isn’t in receipt of a salary (only appointments within the Government were paid positions.) Phineas has told his mentor, Mr Low, that he does not intend to carry on with his legal profession while he is in Parliament, much to Mr Low’s dismay.
We then get to meet Violet Effingham, noted beauty and heiress, and get ourselves into one of these love triangles Trollope specialises in as Lady Laura tries to match her good friend Violet up with her absolute rotter of a brother, the very red Lord Chiltern (red in appearance, not politics.)
So is Lord Chiltern going to be a bigger rogue than George Vavasor- we’ll have to wait and see. For now it’s a firm no from Violet.
At the end of the Parliamentary session Phineas takes himself off to Mr Kennedy’s Scottish estate (Loughlinter) by way of Lady Laura’s estate (Saulsby) where we bump into Lady Glencora. She seems to have matured wonderfully in the brief period since “Can You Forgive Her” and now has very strong views on equality. Phineas also meets Violet Effingham and enjoys a ride through Saulsby Wood with her.
While in Scotland Phineas makes his play for Lady Laura, only to be told she has already accepted a marriage proposal from Mr Kennedy. For Lady Laura this was a purely business like transaction. She knew she couldn't afford to marry Phineas as he certainly couldn't keep her in the style to which she had become accustomed, so chose the super wealthy Kennedy instead.
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Phineas signs for a sum utterly beyond his reach
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Despite his disappointment the trip to Scotland gives Phineas the chance to hobnob with senior members of the Government which hopefully will stand him in good stead in the future. We should also note that just before the trip he had put his name to the back of a bill (in other words underwrote a debt) for two hundred and fifty pounds on behalf of his friend Laurence Fitzgibbon. This will undoubtedly come back to bite Phineas.
Phineas spends the rest of the Autumn and Winter at home in Ireland, explains his financial position to his father (but failing to mention Laurence Fitzgibbon's bill) before returning to London in early February. Phineas hears that his party are to push forward with a Reform Bill. He also calls on the Kennedys where he discusses the relationship between Violet Effingham and Lord Chiltern with Lady Laura. Lady Laura still wants Violet and Lord Chiltern to wed, and misinterprets Phineas' interest in Violet as signifying Phineas had now switched his attention to Violet.
"As regarded himself, he was still in love, - hopelessly in love, with Lady Laura Kennedy!"
We are told that this is not true, as Phineas is "hopelessly in love" with Lady Laura, although he is not happy that Violet should be sacrificed simply to gain the approval of Lady Laura and Lord Chiltern's father, Lord Brentford.
Phineas goes to dinner at the home of radical politician Mr Monk, who Phineas sees as his mentor. Also present at the dinner are Mr Kennedy and Mr Turnbull, who Trollope describes as a thorough radical.
It is not essential to understand the political background to Finn's story, but it does help to appreciate what's going on. I think Trollope expects his audience to appreciate the background, which wasn't unreasonable 160 years ago but which might require a little bit of background reading today.
So back to Finn's story; the Liberal Government is putting forward a Reform Bill, which will increase the size of the electorate but which will not include a secret ballot as a part of its reforms. It has to be remembered that the ballot was a very divisive issue at this time, with politicians prepared to risk their careers on it. Today, when controversial family voting practices are being called out, we see the system still isn’t perfect.
In Parliament Mr Monk presents a separate argument against the ballot on behalf of the Government, which Mr Turnbull intends to argue against. Mr Turnbull is not a member of the Government but presents himself as a man of the people. Phineas intends to make his maiden speech in arguing against the ballot and Mr Turnbull, but crams so many facts into his head that his nerve desserts him and somebody else has to reply to Turnbull's attack on Monk.
Phineas receives an unfortunate visit from the money lender who now has Laurence Fitzgibbon's note for £250, a sum Phineas is unable to pay and which Fitzgibbon clearly has no intention of paying either. They are both hiding behind parliamentary privilege which means that they cannot be arrested for the debt, but Phineas is clearly unhappy that Fitzgibbon has left him embarrassed in this way.
We begin to understand that Lady Laura is not happy in the constraints of her marriage to Kennedy, a situation which is not improved by her increasing realisation that Phineas is beginning to shift his affections from her to Violet Effingham. For her part Violet is steadfast in her refusal to accept Lord Chiltern's advances, although Phineas is put in a difficult position when both Lady Laura and her father, Lord Brentford, encourage Phineas to use his influence with Lord Chiltern and press him to ask again.
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Phineas rides Bonebreaker
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Phineas joins Lord Chiltern for three days hunting around Stamford where Phineas acquits himself well by a) suggesting Chiltern asks Violet again to marry him (even though this is against Finn's interest), b) riding Bonebreaker to Lord Chiltern's approval and c) ensuring Chiltern is well cared for when a serious fall leaves him with broken bones that mean he will miss the rest of the hunting season.
Back in London, the Government present their Reform Bill with Turnbull arguing against it with an angry mob gathered outside Parliament (this sounds quite contemporary and reminded me of some of the Brexit debates). Phineas makes his maiden speech, which he feels has made him look an ass but which Mr Monk assures him went as well as could be expected.
The government do not have sufficient majority to get their bill through and as a result the Prime Minister offers his resignation to the Queen. As neither Whigs nor Tories feel able to form a government, they decide to go back to the country and hold a fresh election.
Phineas is still being pursued for the bill he owes money against and is also beginning to write articles for a small newspaper called The People's Banner, run by the suitably slimy Quintus Slide. But because he won’t support the ballot, largely due to Monk’s influence, the paper doesn’t fully support him.
Walking back from Parliament Mr Kennedy is attacked from behind with a garrotte but luckily for him Phineas is on hand to fend off the attack and have the attackers arrested. It is an ill wind that blows nobody any good and Phineas finds that as a result of his action Lord Brentford (Lady Laura's father and Mr Kennedy's father in law) decides that he will be the Liberal candidate for the "family seat" of Loughton which is near to Saulsby. This was necessary as, back in Ireland, Lord Tulla had made up with his brother and intended to fight the seat of Loughshane, a fight which Phineas' father couldn't really afford and which Phineas seemed very likely to lose.
Trollope has a little dig at Lady Laura, "a strong Radical Reformer", using aristocratic privilege in this way, and while Phineas also realises it is against his principles he also believes it is better for the seat to go to the liberal side of the house rather than the conservative.
Phineas has a visit from Miss Aspasia Fitzgibbon who tells him she has paid off her brother Laurence's debt and that he is not to enter into any further financial dealings with him. While Phineas is left chastened by this whole experience, I'm not really sure what it added to the story.
The election goes ahead and Phineas is returned unopposed as the MP for Loughton. Just prior to the election he visits the Kennedy's at Loughlinter but he is not happy there and finds the days tedious. He walks to the falls overlooking the lake where he encounters Lady Laura who indicates that she is unhappy in her marriage and that she wishes him not to visit Loughlinter again as it upsets her seeing him there.
After his election Phineas has a run in with Quintus Slide who feels Phineas has wronged him by taking the seat at Loughton which Quintus had expressed interest in. Phineas had not taken Slide's ambitions as anything serious and refuses to apologise. Slide for his part writes a derogatory article around Finn's selection, suggesting that it simply went to prove that the "Reform Bill of 1832 required to be supplemented by some more energetic measure."
You'd have to agree he had a point.
We now come to the central turning point of the story. Finn knows he is indebted to Lady Laura and Lord Brentford, who dearly wished that Lord Chiltern would be reconciled with his father and would marry Violet Effingham. They expect Finn to help them achieve this aim. While Finn is happy to do this, he also realises that he has fallen in love with Violet and wishes to woo her himself. He gets round this by writing a complex letter to Lord Chiltern encouraging him to comply with his father's wishes while on the final page indicating that he (Phineas) intends to make a play for Violet as well.
"Was he honest?" asks Trollope; well I suppose so, after a fashion. Whether Lord Chiltern agrees with me we'll have to wait and see.
Phineas knows that Violet will be at Saulsby Castle for one night on her way to join Lady Laura at Loughlinter. While they are out on a ride around the park Phineas and Violet find themselves away from the rest of the party and this gives Phineas the chance to express his feelings for her (it would have to be said that this was in a bit of a round about fashion).
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Phineas and Violet at Saulsby
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Violet rides away from Phineas and they leave Saulsby the next day with Phineas unable to draw "either a word or a look" from Violet.
Phineas returns to Ireland for the winter finding that Mary Flood Jones has been moved away from his influence. He has some good fortune when his Aunt dies and leaves him the princely sum of £3000, the majority of which he intends to invest. While he is in Ireland he receives a letter from Mr Monk in which Monk sets out his arguments for electoral reform.
What he doesn't receive is a letter from Lord Chiltern.
Back in London a new Reform Bill is planned and Lady Laura is in town to watch the debate from the Lady's gallery. Phineas goes to Lord Chiltern's club in order to speak to him, but has to leave him a note saying the two must meet. Lord Chiltern replies that as he is due to go hunting on Tuesday he will see Phineas at his rooms on Wednesday.
The debate goes forward and Phineas receives great acclaim by speaking in favour of it (drawing in part on Mr Monk's letter). His joy is short lived as the next day Lord Chiltern visits him in his rooms. Trollope now describes Chiltern as "half-mad".
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Lord Chiltern demands satisfaction from Phineas
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It appears Chiltern has only just received the letter and asks Phineas to withdraw it which he refuses to do. Chiltern believes Phineas has acted in bad faith and challenges Phineas to a duel. Chiltern suggests they nip across the channel and fight the duel in Belgium. Phineas names Laurence Fitzgibbon as his second.
Phineas keeps an appointment with Lady Laura at her home in Portman Square for a meeting of Liberals, semi social and semi political (Glencora Palliser is described as "that most inveterate politician"). Phineas is rewarded with an ineffable smile from Violet as Volume I closes and Laurence takes Phineas away for his appointment with Lord Chiltern.
Links
Phineas Finn Volume II
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Harveywetdog/Author - David Robinson CEng FIET
David spent approaching 50 years in Her Majesty's Electricity Supply Industry before retiring
He was part of the highly successful design team on the Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station Project before spending 25 years producing safety cases to keep our aging AGR fleet generating for the good of the nation
He is responsible for the Harveywetdog YouTube Channel which he maintains as an outlet for his creative talents
David has twice experienced blood cancer treatment but absolutely refuses to be a victim
All views are of course his own but might be influenced by the medication he's having to take
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