Doctor Thorne

What It's About

The third novel in Trollope's Chronicles of Barsetshire, Doctor Thorne moves the series away from cathedral politics and into the country, to the village of Greshamsbury. Frank Gresham, heir to a once-grand but heavily mortgaged estate, is expected to marry money and save his family's fortunes. Instead he loves Mary Thorne, the doctor's niece, a girl with no fortune and no known family beyond her uncle. Only Doctor Thorne knows the truth of her birth, and the secret he holds could change everything for both of them.

Key Concepts

The novel is built around the collision of love and money in Victorian England: the pressure to marry well, the stigma of illegitimacy, and the question of whether a person's worth is decided by blood or by character. Trollope also weaves in a satirical subplot about a fiercely contested local election, and touches on the ruin that drink can bring to a self-made man's fortune and family.

About the Author

Anthony Trollope (1815-1882) was an English novelist of the Victorian era. He spent much of his career as a civil servant with the Post Office - he's credited with introducing the pillar box to Britain - while writing prolifically in his spare time, rising early each morning to produce a steady quota of pages before work. He became one of the most popular and respected novelists of his day, known for his shrewd, affectionate observation of English society.