Ralph the Heir
Gelesen von Arnold
Anthony Trollope
(4,478 Sterne; 67 Bewertungen)
As usual, Trollope creates a nice variety of characters of different English classes, sentiments and positions. The primary themes are the inheritance of property, extravagance or reason in the spending of assets, the mating of young people, and the electoral practices of the time. The election chapters are based on Trollope's own experiences when he ran for Parliament.
There are, of course, many subplots which allow Trollope to express, through dialog, his opinions about greed, snobbery, work ethics and dandyism. Trollope probably regretted the duplicative naming of his characters after a while; we have two Gregory Newtons, uncle (and present Squire of Newton) and one of his nephews. Then there are several Ralphs: the (deceased) father, Ralph his son (the heir), and Ralph (not the heir) the son of the uncle Gregory! As they appear, Trollope has to interject "not the heir", or "the other Ralph". Ralph the heir is an extravagant, easy living young man who has spent himself into debt, and is faced with having to either sell his right to the family property, or marrying a wealthy tradesman's (a breeches maker cutely named Mr. Neefit) daughter.
Four young women are major characters, and these are sought by the two Ralphs, young Gregory, and a bootmaker, Ontario Moggs (don't you love the names?). These include the fairly sedate daughters of the family lawyer, a ravishing West Indian beauty come to live with them, and the tradesman's daughter. There are the classic novel "misunderstandings" from errors in communication; while the reader knows the real circumstances, the characters can't resolve issues apparently standing in the way of love or friendship. This is one of the few novels in which the reader can applaud such a misunderstanding, keeping the undeserving heir from unmerited success in his wooing. ( Arnold Banner) (23 hr 24 min)
Chapters
Bewertungen
Trollope at his best
Margaret87
(5 Sterne)
Engrossing, full of interesting people we come to care about, pace, gentle but frequent humour (making me smile almost all the time & often bursting out laughing), and such variety of place, situation, attitude. The icing on the cake is Arnold's reading. His voice is mellow, he understands what he's reading and conveys it to the listener, he gives us time to think about what's going on but never drags anything out. (I didn't even really wince at Berkshire being pronounced "Burkshire" instead of "Barkshire".) Many thanks, Arnold. Trollope seems to have been equally interested in both men & women, and some sympathy for the difficulties of marriagable young women having to just wait for things to happen to her. But the appalling double standards of the time still come through and I get the feeling Trollope didn't always see them as such. The good or plain looks of men & women are treated differently – the physical inferiority of Ontario & Gregory the parson don't really matter, while the plainess of women condemns them to become "old maids" (e.g. Ontario's sister).
one of my favorite readers
Ms. Elizabeth
(3 Sterne)
I'm not a fan of Trollop but I do like this reader. If he would only read books with happy endings and not so depressing. I choose books that get me away from realities of life. This book and most of Trollop's books repeat problems and feelings too many times. Then gives too many evasive details at points, ie election. Get past all that, one can enjoy the rest of the sad story where the bad guy doesnt really loose things but relationships and the good guys loose everything but each other.
Disappointing...
Judy
(2,5 Sterne)
Good story but I never cared for any character and too much time spent on elections, which added little to the story. Reader was ok, but read slowly - to my liking - and his female voices sounded like five year old girls... I'm sorry, I appreciate the time and effort needed to read, especially a Trollope novel, but...
WHY NOT?
AVID READER
(5 Sterne)
Several have expressed disappointment with this novel. It is certainly not the greatest of TROLLOPE; but it is his great gift that even his lesser works have the power to maintain the interest of the reader. Arnold did a fine narration!
Too much of a muchness
Eleanor Jeffers
(3 Sterne)
A plethora of Ralphs, a surfeit of Gregorys & too large a helping of politics! Not even Trollope's brilliant writing can save this mare's nest!
Susan Lewis
(5 Sterne)
Satirical .....so funny.....beautifully read by a honeyed American voice which this Brit did not expect to be so thoroughly pleasing. Thank you.
ms
Christine Zaf
(5 Sterne)
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I enjoy Anthony Trollope's books. There is wisdom in this book and it was well read.
fun story - wonderful reader!
(5 Sterne)
really appreciate Arnold's style - nice cadence, minimal embellishment, no fake British accents - bravo!