Pallisers Annotated

In Which We Summarize Mom’s annotations on the Palliser Series by Anthony Trollope. 

On the title page she notes how many times she has read it:

The annotations for Can You Forgive Her were focused on underlining every time Trollope uses “it does not signify.” She also commented on this description of George Vavasor’s work habits:

“... when he was at his desk he did not whittle his ruler, or pick his teeth, or clip his nails.”

Mom’s annotation was “obviously not a State Employee.”

Phineas Finn is completely unblemished. There are no notes of previous readings. There are two mysterious check marks on page 163, apropos of nothing. They do not not signify.

The Eustace Diamonds and The Duke’s Children are similarly unsullied. 

Phineas Redux is the one book in the series Mom did not have, but my eBay replacement copy just arrived. I will have to note this on the title page for anyone who might get the series as a whole in the future.

The Prime Minister (read twice) has an additional note on the title page: “In this book we are taught the meaning of the word vulgar by Mr. T.” I find this odd, given that if I remember, The Eustace Diamonds had a vulgar heroine. Mom has numerous annotations in this one: comparing Mr. Brock to Eisenhower and Phineas Fin to Nixon, noting where Mr. Wharton class-trashes other characters (including Lady Eustace, told you), and when Anthony Trollope restates his theme Mom writes “Tony does tend to beat a dead horse.”

But then there is this:

In response to Trollope detailing the “perils” of having a daughter, because one must either be too indulgent or a tyrant, Mom writes, “The man says it in a nutshell.” Of course, I don’t remember Mom being either a tyrant or a pushover, so I would say I have the estimable Mr. Trollope to thank for that.

Comments

[Arlene]

Trollope's description of Vavasor's work ethic reflected his own. Apparently, he woke up early every morning so he could get in a few hours of writing time before he went off to his real job. He aimed for a certain number of words every morning. In other words, he was a "pot boiler" sort of writer and that kind of ruined his reputation when that became known--public thought novels should be driven by inspiration, rather than discipline.

Your mother's note on "The Prime Minister" may refer to the vulgarity of the political machinations. "The Prime Minister" and "The Duke's Children" are my favorites of the Palliser novels. I really must read them again, but I have so many other books in line first.

[TheQueen]

Arlene - I think it was a comment on lady Eustace and on Fernando Lopez, Emily’s crass husband.