Framley Parsonage

By: Anthony Trollope

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Mark Robarts, a young vicar, is newly arrived in the village of Framley. With ambitions to further his career, he seeks connections in the county's high society. He is soon preyed upon by a local member of parliament to guarantee a substantial loan, which Mark, in a moment of weakness, agrees to, even though he knows the man is a notorious debtor; it brings Mark to the brink of ruin.

Meanwhile, Mark's sister, Lucy, is deeply in love with Lord Lufton, the son of the lofty Lady Lufton. Lord Lufton has proposed, but Lady Lufton is against the marriage, preferring that her son choose the coldly beautiful Griselda Grantly.

The novel concludes with four happy marriages, including one involving Doctor Thorne, the hero of the preceding book in the Chronicles of Barsetshire series.

(P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"One of the great English Victorian novelists....A sharp but sympathetic observer of Victorian social and political life." (Daniel S. Burt, The Biography Book)

Terrific volume in a wonderful series

Trollope is not the dry boring author I for years thought he was. This performance was amazing and I can't recommend this book or Simon Vance's wonderful narration highly enough. Wonderful love stories, terrific characterization, it never gets boring even tho it's around 650 pp long. Do yourself a favor and read the entire series. The first, "The Warden", is just a bit dry but it is also v short. The second book is almost a continuation of the first, but more lively and a terrific read and they get better as the six-volume series progresses.

I also recommend Katie at Books and Things on YouTube, who has read every Dickens, Austen, Hardy, Gaskell and more, and has a video about every one of those novels and every novel in this series and much more.

Favorite Trollope

This Trollope novel was greatly enhanced by Simon Vances narration. He brings out the subtleties of all the characters. Loved everything about it.

Another Chapter

Framley Parsonage, the penultimate book in the Barsetshire Chronicles, covers familiar territory and brings back a number of characters from earlier novels: Dr. Thorne, his niece Mary (now Mary Gresham), Miss Dunstable (whom I was particularly glad to meet again), the Grantleys and the Arabins, for starters. Of course, new characters also appear, primarily the Ludlows and the Robartses, and the setting shifts between rural towns and London.

While I enjoyed this novel, I need a Trollope break before going on to the final installment. I feel a bit overloaded with snobbish mothers who come between their sons and the worthy but common young women they love, male golddiggers trolling for wives, and cads who bring their friends to financial ruin.

A triumph!

Simon Vance reads flawlessly, evoking each of the many characters through subtle accents and various inflections. You could not ask for better. And the story is, as Trollope's always are, full of the human circus and all its foibles. Is it possible to tire of Trollope? I haven't yet. Poignant and laugh aloud funny, with endlessly recognizable characters, full of pride, love, greed, hope, asininity, clearsightedness, you name it. You're included. Everyone gets their just rewards, or punishment, and all the fun is getting there. One of the best.

Enjoyed the narrator's voice

Simon Vance's narration was easy to listen to. I will look for other narrations by him. I also really enjoy Anthony Trollope's novels. My favorite is Lady Eustace's Diamonds.