141-589: Phineas Finn is a novel by Anthony Trollope and the name of its leading character. The novel was first published as a monthly serial from 1867 to 1868 and issued in book form in 1869. It is the second of the " Palliser " series of novels. Its sequel, Phineas Redux , is the fourth novel in the series. It deals with British politics of the 1860s, including voting reform, secret ballot , rotten boroughs , and Irish tenant-right , as well as Finn's romances with women of fortune, which would secure his financial future. Volume I: In Killaloe, County Clare , Phineas Finn
282-703: A united Ireland as well as Scottish and Welsh independence , and has been critical of devolution . Historically, the party supported the continuance and maintenance of the British Empire . The party has taken various approaches towards the European Union (EU), with eurosceptic and, to a decreasing extent, pro-European factions within it. Historically, the party took a socially conservative approach. In defence policy, it supports an independent nuclear weapons programme and commitment to NATO membership. For much of modern British political history,
423-531: A Trollope novel; the former British prime ministers Harold Macmillan and Sir John Major ; the first Canadian prime minister, John A. Macdonald ; the economist John Kenneth Galbraith ; the merchant banker Siegmund Warburg , who said that "reading Anthony Trollope surpassed a university education"; the English judge Lord Denning ; the American novelists Sue Grafton , Dominick Dunne , and Timothy Hallinan ;
564-664: A bazaar in Cincinnati , which proved unsuccessful. Thomas Trollope joined them for a short time before returning to the farm at Harrow, but Anthony stayed in England throughout. His mother returned in 1831 and rapidly made a name for herself as a writer, soon earning a good income. His father's affairs, however, went from bad to worse. He gave up his legal practice entirely and failed to make enough income from farming to pay rent to his landlord, Lord Northwick . In 1834, he fled to Belgium to avoid arrest for debt. The whole family moved to
705-700: A campaign. Beverley had a long history of vote-buying and of intimidation by employers and others. Every election since 1857 had been followed by an election petition alleging corruption, and it was estimated that 300 of the 1,100 voters in 1868 would sell their votes. The task of a Liberal candidate was not to win the election, but to give the Conservative candidates an opportunity to display overt corruption, which could then be used to disqualify them. Trollope described his period of campaigning in Beverley as "the most wretched fortnight of my manhood". He spent
846-557: A civil servant, however, he was ineligible for such a position. His resignation from the Post Office removed this disability, and he almost immediately began seeking a seat for which he might stand. In 1868, he agreed to stand as a Liberal candidate in the borough of Beverley , in the East Riding of Yorkshire . Party leaders apparently took advantage of Trollope's eagerness to stand, and of his willingness to spend money on
987-609: A coalition with the Liberal Democrats —the first postwar coalition government . Cameron's premiership was marked by the ongoing effects of the 2007–2008 financial crisis ; these involved a large deficit in government finances that his government sought to reduce through controversial austerity measures . In September 2014, the Unionist side, championed by Labour as well as by the Conservative Party and
1128-465: A coalition government. Labour won the October 1974 election with an overall majority of three seats. Loss of power weakened Heath's control over the party and Margaret Thatcher deposed him in the 1975 leadership election . Thatcher led her party to victory at the 1979 general election with a manifesto which concentrated on the party's philosophy. As Prime Minister, Thatcher focused on rejecting
1269-682: A daily writing quota, and admitted that he wrote for money, he confirmed his critics' worst fears. Writers were expected to wait for inspiration, not to follow a schedule. Julian Hawthorne , an American writer, critic and friend of Trollope, while praising him as a man, calling him "a credit to England and to human nature, and ... [deserving] to be numbered among the darlings of mankind", also said that "he has done great harm to English fictitious literature by his novels". Henry James also expressed mixed opinions of Trollope. The young James wrote some scathing reviews of Trollope's novels ( The Belton Estate , for instance, he called "a stupid book, without
1410-533: A day-boy to reduce his education costs. With no money or friends at these two high-ranked elite public schools , Trollope was bullied a great deal, enduring miserable experiences. At the age of 12, he fantasised about suicide. He also sought refuge in daydreams, constructing elaborate imaginary worlds. In 1827, his mother, Frances Trollope , moved to America, to the Nashoba Commune , along with Trollope's three younger siblings. After that failed, she opened
1551-527: A following by the mid-20th century. Anthony Trollope was the son of barrister Thomas Anthony Trollope and the novelist and travel writer Frances Milton Trollope . Though a clever and well-educated man and a Fellow of New College, Oxford , Thomas Trollope failed at the Bar due to his bad temper. Ventures into farming proved unprofitable, and his expectations of inheritance were dashed when an elderly, childless uncle remarried and fathered children. Thomas Trollope
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#17327725550011692-718: A harshly anti-American travel book about the U.S. (titled the Domestic Manners of the Americans ) and feeling markedly more sympathetic to the United States, Trollope resolved to write a work which would "add to the good feeling which should exist between two nations which ought to love each other." During his time in America, Trollope remained a steadfast supporter of the Union , being a committed abolitionist who
1833-493: A house near Bruges , where they lived entirely on Frances's earnings. In Belgium, Anthony was offered a commission in an Austrian cavalry regiment. To accept it, he needed to learn French and German; he had a year in which to do so. To acquire these languages without expense to himself and his family, he became an usher (assistant master) in a school in Brussels, making him the tutor of 30 boys. After six weeks there, however, he
1974-471: A leadership challenge in 1995 by Redwood, but Redwood received 89 votes, further undermining Major's influence. The Conservative government was increasingly accused in the media of " sleaze ". Their support reached its lowest ebb in late 1994. Over the next two years the Conservatives gained some credit for the strong economic recovery and fall in unemployment. But an effective opposition campaign by
2115-438: A man who suspects her and retreats to her father's. Kennedy will not relinquish his rights as a husband. So, Lady Laura flees to Dresden . Finn follows his party's support for a Reform Act , even though it means his own seat will be abolished. He finds Lord Tulla is indifferent to Loughshane again, and wins the seat back. He returns to Ireland with Mr. Monk, who is on a speaking tour in support of Irish tenant farmers. Finn gives
2256-436: A measure of prosperity. He took up fox hunting , which he would pursue enthusiastically for the next three decades. As a post-office surveyor, he interacted with local Irish people, whose company he found pleasant: "The Irish people did not murder me, nor did they even break my head. I soon found them to be good-humoured, clever—the working classes very much more intelligent than those of England—economical and hospitable." At
2397-428: A narrow victory at the 1951 general election , despite losing the popular vote, Churchill was back in power. Apart from rationing, which was ended in 1954, most of the welfare state enacted by Labour were accepted by the Conservatives and became part of the "post-war consensus" that was satirised as Butskellism and that lasted until the 1970s. The Conservatives were conciliatory towards unions, but they did privatise
2538-473: A near peer of the "indelible" George Vavasor in Can You Forgive Her? , and felt that Mr. Kennedy "is as wonderful a picture as Mr. Trollope has yet drawn." The Saturday Review panned the novel primarily because of its portrayal of Mr. Turnbull, whom it deemed to be a thinly disguised version of John Bright . Dismissing most of the author's characters as forgettable, it lamented, "It is only
2679-513: A net gain of one seat for the Conservative Party and returned a mostly unscathed Labour Party back to government. This all occurred months after the fuel protests of September 2000 had seen the Conservatives briefly take a narrow lead over Labour in the opinion polls. In 2001, Iain Duncan Smith was elected leader of the party. Although Duncan Smith was a strong Eurosceptic , during his tenure, Europe ceased to be an issue of division in
2820-528: A novel dealing with English clerical life as had Barchester Towers . Trollope then devised the plot of Framley Parsonage , setting it near Barchester so that he could make use of characters from the Barsetshire novels. Framley Parsonage proved enormously popular, establishing Trollope's reputation with the novel-reading public and amply justifying the high price that Smith had paid for it. The early connection to Cornhill also brought Trollope into
2961-499: A number of times. Conleth Hill voiced Phineas Finn, with Ben Miles and Sophie Thompson as the Pallisers. David Troughton narrated. A new six-part adaptation by Mike Harris under the title The Pallisers began on BBC Radio 4 on 10 November 2019. In this version, Phineas is voiced by Edward MacLiam . Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope ( / ˈ t r ɒ l ə p / TROL -əp ; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882)
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#17327725550013102-571: A political comeback that won them the 1951 general election . In 1947, the party published its Industrial Charter which marked its acceptance of the " post-war consensus " on the mixed economy and labour rights . David Maxwell Fyfe chaired a committee into Conservative Party organisation that resulted in the Maxwell Fyfe Report (1948–49). The report required the party to do more fundraising, by forbidding constituency associations from demanding large donations from candidates, with
3243-695: A position in the Post Office as Surveyor to the Eastern District, comprising Essex , Suffolk, Norfolk , Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire , and most of Hertfordshire . Later in that year he moved to Waltham Cross , about 12 miles (19 km) from London in Hertfordshire, where he lived until 1871. In late 1859, Trollope learned of preparations for the release of the Cornhill Magazine , to be published by George Murray Smith and edited by William Makepeace Thackeray . He wrote to
3384-449: A project as Middlemarch without the precedent set by Trollope in his own novels of the fictional—yet thoroughly alive—county of Barsetshire. Other contemporaries of Trollope praised his understanding of the quotidian world of institutions, official life, and daily business; he is one of the few novelists who find the office a creative environment. W. H. Auden wrote of Trollope: "Of all novelists in any country, Trollope best understands
3525-420: A single thought or idea in it ... a sort of mental pabulum"). He also made it clear that he disliked Trollope's narrative method; Trollope's cheerful interpolations into his novels about how his storylines could take any twist their author wanted did not appeal to James's sense of artistic integrity. However, James thoroughly appreciated Trollope's attention to realistic detail, as he wrote in an essay shortly after
3666-429: A sizable discount. The new owners were more likely to vote Conservative, as Thatcher had hoped. Thatcher led the Conservatives to two further electoral victories in 1983 and 1987 . She was deeply unpopular in certain sections of society due to high unemployment and her response to the miners' strike . Unemployment had doubled between 1979 and 1982, largely due to Thatcher's monetarist battle against inflation. At
3807-625: A speech at their stop in Dublin where he supports a vote on Monk's tenant-right bill. While in Ireland, he proposes to Mary Flood Jones, a friend of his sister who has loved him since she was a teenager. Because Monk's bill is not the official policy of the party, Finn is at odds with the leadership. He is despondent that he must resign. Madame Goesler offers to marry him and support his career with her fortune. Though tempted, Finn returns to Mary in Ireland. His party rewards Finn's previous service with
3948-560: A tailor fell into the hands of a moneylender and grew to more than £200; the lender regularly visited Trollope at his workplace to demand payments. Trollope hated his job, but saw no alternative and lived in constant fear of dismissal. In 1841, an opportunity to escape arose. A postal surveyor clerk in central Ireland, reported as incompetent, needed replacement. The position was not regarded as desirable, but Trollope, in debt and in trouble at work, volunteered for it; and his supervisor, William Maberly , eager to be rid of him, appointed him to
4089-505: A total of £400 on his campaign. The election was held on 17 November 1868 ; the novelist finished last of four candidates, with the victory going to the two Conservatives. A petition was filed , and a Royal Commission investigated the circumstances of the election; its findings of extensive and widespread corruption drew nationwide attention, and led to the disfranchisement of the borough in 1870. The fictional Percycross election in Ralph
4230-633: A wide acquaintance, which included Lowell , Holmes , Emerson , Agassiz , Hawthorne , Longfellow , Bret Harte , Artemus Ward , Joaquin Miller , Mark Twain , Henry James , William Dean Howells , James T. Fields , Charles Norton , John Lothrop Motley , and Richard Henry Dana Jr. " Trollope wrote a travel book focusing on his experiences in the US during the American Civil War titled North America (1862). Aware that his mother had published
4371-529: A writer, especially since Ireland was experiencing the Great Famine during his time there. However, these critics (who have been accused of bigoted opinions against Ireland) failed or refused to acknowledge both Trollope's true attachment to the country and the country's capacity as a rich literary field. Trollope published four novels about Ireland. Two were written during the Great Famine, while
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4512-518: A year and two days "descending mines, mixing with shearers and rouseabouts, riding his horse into the loneliness of the bush, touring lunatic asylums, and exploring coast and plain by steamer and stagecoach". He visited the penal colony of Port Arthur and its cemetery, Isle of the Dead . Despite this, the Australian press was uneasy, fearing he would misrepresent Australia in his writings. This fear
4653-652: A £1,000/year sinecure as a poor-law inspector in Cork . In October 1867, the very month that Phineas Finn began its serial run, Trollope resigned his position in the General Post Office . His salary was now dwarfed by his royalties. When the 14th instalment of the novel was being published, in November 1868, Trollope ran as a Liberal in the Parliamentary election for Beverley . He finished last, and
4794-609: Is commonly identified as John Russell , who was serving as Prime Minister when Trollope was drafting the novel. Mr. Daubeny was supposed to be Disraeli. Mr. Gresham was William Gladstone . Lord Chiltern was assumed to be Spencer Cavendish . Partially because Madame Max Goesler and Phineas marry in Redux , her character is often surmised as a gloss on Frances, Dowager Countess Waldegrave , who made Chichester Fortescue her fourth husband. Trollope wrote Phineas Finn from 17 November 1866 to 15 May 1867. His 800-page quarto manuscript
4935-741: Is incensed by what he sees as a betrayal and challenges Finn to a duel. Volume II: Chiltern and Finn duel in Blankenberg . Finn does not aim at Chiltern, but Chiltern wounds him. A wealthy widow, Madame Max Goesler, begins to socialise in Parliamentary circles. She becomes Finn's confidante. He is appointed Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies , with a salary of £2,000 a year. Lady Laura's marriage grows more difficult as Kennedy cannot ignore her interest in Finn. Kennedy even suggests their relationship may be improper. Lady Laura refuses to live with
5076-613: Is owned by Beinecke Library at Yale . The novel was serialized in St. Paul's Magazine from October 1867 to May 1869. Each of the 20 installments included a captioned illustration by John Everett Millais: 1867 1868 1869 Virtue & Company published it in two volumes with Millais' illustrations in March 1869. Harper & Brothers brought out an American edition in July of that same year. James Virtue paid Trollope £3,200 for
5217-485: Is the only son of a successful doctor who can afford to send him to London to study law. His friend Laurence Fitzgibbon stirs Finn's appetite for politics. Loughshane, a pocket borough in Ireland, is controlled by Tory Lord Tulla. He declines to oppose Finn's attempt to win the borough for the Whigs . Finn is elected to Parliament without a salary. He decides to make a go of politics on his father's small allowance. Within
5358-536: Is to home, the more Irish he is and the more liberal. Voting Reform is the chief political tension of the novel, and Trollope largely dramatises the actual events behind the Second Reform Act . The bill was designed by Liberal Prime Minister Earl Russell to increase the voting population by 40% and resolve issues such as rotten boroughs, which had not been fully addressed by the Reform Act 1832 . It
5499-550: The Quarterly Review in 1830. The name immediately caught on and was formally adopted under the aegis of Robert Peel around 1834. Peel is acknowledged as the founder of the Conservative Party, which he created with the announcement of the Tamworth Manifesto . The term "Conservative Party" rather than Tory was the dominant usage by 1845. The widening of the electoral franchise in the 19th century forced
5640-432: The 2005 general election , the Conservative Party increased their total vote share and—more significantly—their number of parliamentary seats, reducing Labour's majority. The day following the election, Howard resigned. David Cameron won the 2005 leadership election . He then announced his intention to reform and realign the Conservatives. For most of 2006 and the first half of 2007, polls showed leads over Labour for
5781-592: The Community Charge (known by its opponents as the poll tax ) in 1989 is often cited as contributing to her political downfall. Internal party tensions led to a leadership challenge by the Conservative MP Michael Heseltine and she resigned on 28 November 1990. John Major won the party leadership election on 27 November 1990, and his appointment led to an almost immediate boost in Conservative Party fortunes. The election
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5922-716: The Conservative Party and colloquially known as the Tories , is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom , along with the Labour Party . Following defeat by Labour in the 2024 general election , it is currently the second largest political party by the number of votes cast and number of seats in the House of Commons , followed by the Liberal Democrats . As the second largest party, it has
6063-884: The House of Commons on 3 September 2019. Later that same day, 21 Conservative MPs had the Conservative whip withdrawn after voting with the Opposition to grant the House of Commons control over its order paper. Johnson would later halt the Withdrawal Agreement Bill , calling for a general election. The 2019 general election resulted in the Conservatives winning a majority, the Party's largest since 1987 . The party won several constituencies, particularly in formerly traditional Labour seats . On 20 December 2019, MPs passed an agreement for withdrawing from
6204-597: The Liberals were mostly against the war until the invasion of Belgium, Conservative leaders were strongly in favour of aiding France and stopping Germany. The Liberal party was in full control of the government until its mismanagement of the war effort under the Shell Crisis badly hurt its reputation. An all-party coalition government was formed in May 1915. In late 1916 Liberal David Lloyd George became prime minister but
6345-488: The Telegraph said, "The author of Vivian Grey did something utterly indefensible when he introduced public men as characters in his tales. That is an entirely unfair use of the story-teller’s art…no novelist, is warranted in using gossip or reports—true tales or lying legends—which he has heard in the confidence of private life". Trollope wrote a letter the day the Telegraph's review appeared and insisted that his novel
6486-458: The cost of living crisis , including price caps on energy bills and government help to pay them. Truss's mini-budget on 23 September faced severe criticism and markets reacted poorly; the pound fell to a record low of 1.03 against the dollar, and UK government gilt yields rose to 4.3 per cent, prompting the Bank of England to trigger an emergency bond-buying programme. After condemnation from
6627-450: The "roughness ... Spartan simplicity and the dirtiness of the Boer's way of life [merely] resulted from his preference for living in rural isolation, far from any town." In the completed work, which Trollope simply titled South Africa (1877), he described the mining town of Kimberly as being "one of the most interesting places on the face of the earth." In 1880, Trollope moved to
6768-413: The 1780s. They were known as "Independent Whigs", " Friends of Mr Pitt ", or "Pittites" and never used terms such as "Tory" or "Conservative". From about 1812, the name "Tory" was commonly used for a new party that, according to historian Robert Blake, "are the ancestors of Conservatism". Blake adds that Pitt's successors after 1812 "were not in any sense standard-bearers of 'true Toryism'". The term Tory
6909-581: The 1940s, Trollopians made further attempts to resurrect his reputation; he enjoyed a critical renaissance in the 1960s, and again in the 1990s. Some critics today have a particular interest in Trollope's portrayal of women—he caused remark even in his own day for his deep insight and sensitivity to the inner conflicts caused by the position of women in Victorian society. In the early 1990s, interest in Trollope increased. A Trollope Society flourishes in
7050-428: The 1950s and early 1960s. The Suez Crisis of 1956 was a humiliating defeat for Prime Minister Eden, but his successor, Macmillan, minimised the damage and focused attention on domestic issues and prosperity. Following controversy over the selections of Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home via a process of consultation known as the 'Magic Circle', a formal election process was created and the first leadership election
7191-578: The 20th century made it one of the most successful political parties in the Western world . The most recent period of Conservative government was marked by extraordinary political turmoil. Some writers trace the party's origins to the Tory Party , which it soon replaced. Other historians point to a faction, rooted in the 18th century Whig Party , that coalesced around William Pitt the Younger in
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#17327725550017332-438: The Barsetshire series, many other well-developed characters populated each novel and in one, The Eustace Diamonds , the Pallisers play only a small role. Trollope's popularity and critical success diminished in his later years, but he continued to write prolifically, and some of his later novels have acquired a good reputation. In particular, critics, who concur that the book was not popular when published, generally acknowledge
7473-473: The Conservative Party , including allegations against its policies, fringes, and structure, was often in the public eye. These include allegations against senior politicians such as Boris Johnson , Michael Gove , Theresa May , and Zac Goldsmith . During the period of the Cameron and Johnson governments, a number of Conservative MPs have been accused or convicted of sexual misconduct, with cases including
7614-533: The Conservative Party to popularise its approach under Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby and Benjamin Disraeli , who carried through their own expansion of the franchise with the Reform Act of 1867 . The party was initially opposed to further expansion of the electorate but eventually allowed passage of Gladstone's 1884 Reform Act . In 1886, the party formed an alliance with Spencer Cavendish and Joseph Chamberlain 's new Liberal Unionist Party and, under
7755-551: The Conservative whip at Westminster, essentially forming the Irish wing of the party until 1922. In Britain, the Conservative party was known as the Unionist Party because of its opposition to home rule. Under Bonar Law 's leadership in 1911–1914, the Party morale improved, the "radical right" wing was contained, and the party machinery strengthened. It made some progress toward developing constructive social policies. While
7896-803: The Conservatives. Polls became more volatile in summer 2007 with the accession of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister. The Conservatives gained control of the London mayoralty for the first time in 2008 after Boris Johnson defeated the Labour incumbent, Ken Livingstone . In May 2010 the Conservative Party came to government, first under a coalition with the Liberal Democrats and later as a series of majority and minority governments. During this period there were five Conservative Prime Ministers: David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak. The initial period of this time, primarily under
8037-546: The ERM, a day thereafter referred to as Black Wednesday . Soon after, approximately one million householders faced repossession of their homes during a recession that saw a sharp rise in unemployment, taking it close to 3 million people. The party subsequently lost much of its reputation for good financial stewardship. The end of the recession was declared in April 1993. From 1994 to 1997, Major privatised British Rail . The party
8178-477: The EU referendum vote, and through the premierships of May, Boris Johnson, and their successors, the party shifted right on the political spectrum. In July 2019 Boris Johnson became Leader of the party. He became Prime Minister the next day. Johnson had made withdrawal from the EU by 31 October "with no ifs, buts or maybes" a key pledge during his campaign for party leadership . Johnson lost his working majority in
8319-553: The EU. On 24 June 2016, Cameron announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister, after he failed to convince the British public to stay in the European Union . On 11 July 2016, Theresa May became the leader of the Conservative Party. May promised social reform and a more centrist political outlook for the Conservative Party and its government. May's early cabinet appointments were interpreted as an effort to reunite
8460-898: The EU; the United Kingdom formally left on 31 January 2020. Johnson presided over the UK's response to the COVID-19 pandemic . From late 2021 onwards, Johnson received huge public backlash for the Partygate scandal, in which staff and senior members of government were pictured holding gatherings during lockdown contrary to Government guidance. The Metropolitan Police eventually fined Johnson for breaking lockdown rules in April 2022. In July 2022, Johnson admitted to appointing Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip while being aware of allegations of sexual assault against him. This, along with Partygate and increasing criticisms on Johnson's handling of
8601-670: The Heir and the Tankerville election in Phineas Redux are closely based on the Beverley campaign. After the defeat at Beverley, Trollope concentrated entirely on his literary career. While continuing to produce novels rapidly, he also edited the St Paul's Magazine , which published several of his novels in serial form. "Between 1859 and 1875, Trollope visited the United States five times. Among American literary men he developed
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#17327725550018742-408: The Irish for their actions during the famine, were representative of the dismissal by English readers of any work written about the Irish. In 1851, Trollope was sent to England, charged with investigating and reorganising rural mail delivery in south-western England and south Wales . The two-year mission took him over much of Great Britain, often on horseback. Trollope describes this time as "two of
8883-416: The Irish question, socialism, electoral reform, and the issue of intervention in the economy. The fresh emphasis on anti-Socialism was its response to the growing strength of the Labour Party. When electoral reform was an issue, it worked to protect their base in rural England. It aggressively sought female voters in the 1920s, often relying on patriotic themes. In 1922, Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin led
9024-427: The Labour Party culminated in a landslide defeat for the Conservatives in 1997 , their worst defeat since the 1906 general election . The 1997 election left the Conservative Party as an England-only party, with all Scottish and Welsh seats having been lost, and not a single new seat having been gained anywhere. Major resigned as party leader and was succeeded by William Hague . The 2001 general election resulted in
9165-413: The Liberal Democrats, won in the Scottish Independence referendum by 55% No to 45% Yes on the question "Should Scotland be an independent country". At the 2015 general election , the Conservatives formed a majority government under Cameron. After speculation of a referendum on the UK's EU membership throughout his premiership, a vote was announced for June 2016 in which Cameron campaigned to remain in
9306-414: The Liberal Party and the Labour Party ( National Labour and National Liberals ). In May 1940 a more balanced coalition was formed —the National Government —which, under the leadership of Winston Churchill , saw the United Kingdom through the Second World War. However, the party lost the 1945 general election in a landslide to the resurgent Labour Party. The concept of the "property-owning democracy"
9447-418: The Liberals soon split and the Conservatives dominated the government, especially after their landslide in the 1918 election . The Liberal party never recovered, but Labour gained strength after 1920. Nigel Keohane finds that the Conservatives were bitterly divided before 1914 but the war pulled the party together, allowing it to emphasise patriotism as it found new leadership and worked out its positions on
9588-412: The Liberals the ultimate reforming party. Phineas Finn was seen as a roman à clef . Initial reviews immediately speculated on the real identities of Trollope's characters, and scholars have continued the guessing game. Despite Trollope's public insistence that he was not parodying politicians, he admitted cannibalising their affects in his private writings. Phineas Finn is viewed as a composite of
9729-418: The London circle of artists, writers, and intellectuals, not least among whom were Smith and Thackeray. By the mid-1860s, Trollope had reached a fairly senior position within the Post Office hierarchy, despite ongoing differences with Rowland Hill , who was at that time Chief Secretary to the Postmaster General . Postal history credits Trollope with introducing the pillar box (the ubiquitous mail-box) in
9870-508: The Tories, and Finn cannot retain his seat. He happens to save Mr. Kennedy from a garrotting . Lady Laura convinces her father to let Finn stand for the family borough of Loughton, since her brother is uninterested in representing it. Chiltern and Finn become close friends. Chiltern's family has long intended for him to marry Violet Effingham, a wealthy orphan who lives with her aunt. Violet has refused Chiltern's proposals countless times. Finn becomes enraptured by Violet and pursues her. Chiltern
10011-507: The Unionists worked hard at grassroots organizing. Two general elections were held in 1910, in January and in December . The two main parties were now almost dead equal in seats, but the Liberals kept control with a coalition with the Irish Parliamentary Party . In 1912, the Liberal Unionists merged with the Conservative Party. In Ireland, the Irish Unionist Alliance had been formed in 1891 which merged Unionists who were opposed to Irish Home Rule into one political movement. Its MPs took
10152-512: The United Kingdom exhibited a wide urban–rural political divide ; the Conservative Party's voting and financial support base has historically consisted primarily of homeowners , business owners , farmers , real estate developers and middle class voters, especially in rural and suburban areas of England . Since the EU referendum in 2016, the Conservatives targeted working class voters from traditional Labour strongholds. The Conservatives' domination of British politics throughout
10293-607: The United Kingdom, as does its sister society in the United States. In 2011, the University of Kansas 's Department of English, in collaboration with the Hall Center for the Humanities and in partnership with The Fortnightly Review , began awarding an annual Trollope Prize. The Prize was established to focus attention on Trollope's work and career. Notable fans have included Alec Guinness , who never travelled without
10434-474: The United Kingdom. He was earning a substantial income from his novels. He had overcome the awkwardness of his youth, made good friends in literary circles, and hunted enthusiastically. In 1865, Trollope was among the founders of the liberal Fortnightly Review . When Hill left the Post Office in 1864, Trollope's brother-in-law, John Tilley , who was then Under-Secretary to the Postmaster General,
10575-437: The breakup of the coalition, and the Conservatives governed until 1923, when a minority Labour government led by Ramsay MacDonald came to power. The Conservatives regained power in 1924 but were defeated in 1929 as a minority Labour government took office. In 1931, following the collapse of the Labour minority government, it entered another coalition, which was dominated by the Conservatives with some support from factions of both
10716-603: The construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway , the War Office's procurement process, disestablishment of the Irish Church , and corrupt electoral practices such as treating . The novel sends up the vacuity of politics by showing Liberals and Conservatives voting against their own stated positions when they see a tactical advantage in doing so. Several policy tensions are structural to the plot of
10857-400: The consumption of pornography in parliament, rape, groping, and sexual harassment. In 2017, a list of 36 sitting Conservative MPs accused of inappropriate sexual behaviour was leaked. The list is believed to have been compiled by party staff. Following accusations of multiple cases of rape against an unnamed Tory MP in 2023 and allegations of a cover-up, Baroness Warsi , who has served as
10998-596: The contemplation of Mr. Bright that acts upon Mr. Trollope as a red rag upon a bull," and they excoriate the practice of violating the confidence of a politician's "after-dinner conversations and habits". The review concludes that Phineas Finn's only utility will be so a "future historian may refer to it to discover what was the material of which Mr. Bright’s waistcoats were made." The Daily Telegraph attacked Trollope for his unflattering portrayal of politicians, particularly John Bright. Comparing his practice, and that of Benjamin Disraeli , to witches tormenting wax figures,
11139-408: The cost-of-living crisis, provoked a government crisis following a loss in confidence and nearly 60 resignations from government officials, eventually leading to Johnson announcing his resignation on 7 July. Boris Johnson's successor as leader was confirmed as Liz Truss on 5 September, following a leadership election . In a strategy labelled Trussonomics she introduced policies in response to
11280-561: The disparity between the privileged background of his parents and their comparatively meagre means. Born in London, Anthony attended the Harrow School as a day pupil for three years, beginning at age seven, without paying fees because his father's farm, acquired for that purpose, lay in the neighbourhood. After a spell at a private school at Sunbury , he followed his father and two older brothers to Winchester College , where he remained for three years. He then returned to Harrow as
11421-451: The events of Phineas Finn , with Donal McCann portraying Phineas. Michael Hardwick abridged the six novels into a 400-page book to capitalise on the series, although The Eustace Diamonds and The Duke's Children are not fully covered by the abridgement. BBC Radio 4 commissioned a "Classic Serial" dramatisation of The Pallisers in 2004. It was adapted by Martyn Wade and directed by Cherry Cookson. BBC Radio 4 Extra has rebroadcast it
11562-570: The fact that the latter instalment was published as the fourth in the series, after The Eustace Diamonds . Phineas' saga begins Trollope's political project in earnest. In order to enable him to shift the focus of the cycle more towards Parliament, Trollope was given permission by the Speaker of the House of Commons to observe proceedings for several months. Trollope covers a wide range of current political issues in Phineas Finn , such as
11703-656: The fictional county of "Barsetshire" (often collectively referred to as the Chronicles of Barsetshire ), dealing primarily with the clergy and landed gentry. Barchester Towers (1857) has probably become the best-known of these. Trollope's other major series, the Palliser novels , which overlap with the Barsetshire novels, concerned itself with politics, with the wealthy, industrious Plantagenet Palliser (later Duke of Omnium) and his delightfully spontaneous, even richer wife Lady Glencora featured prominently. However, as with
11844-524: The floor and formally joined the Liberal Party (he rejoined the Conservatives in 1925). In December, Balfour lost control of his party, as the defections multiplied. He was replaced by Liberal Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman who called an election in January 1906 , which produced a massive Liberal victory. Liberal Prime Minister H. H. Asquith enacted a great deal of reform legislation, but
11985-592: The formal parliamentary role of the Official Opposition . The party sits on the right-wing to centre-right of the political spectrum. It encompasses various ideological factions including one-nation conservatives , Thatcherites , and traditionalist conservatives . There have been twenty Conservative prime ministers . The party traditionally holds the annual Conservative Party Conference during party conference season , at which senior Conservative figures promote party policy. The Conservative Party
12126-455: The happiest years of my life". In the course of it, he visited Salisbury Cathedral ; and there, according to his autobiography, he conceived the plot of The Warden , which became the first of the six Barsetshire novels . His postal work delayed the beginning of writing for a year; the novel was published in 1855, in an edition of 1,000 copies, with Trollope receiving half of the profits: £9 8s. 8d. in 1855, and £10 15s. 1d. in 1856. Although
12267-450: The intention of broadening the diversity of MPs. In practice, it may have had the effect of lending more power to constituency parties and making candidates more uniform. Winston Churchill , the party leader, brought in a Party chairman to modernise the party: Frederick Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton rebuilt the local organisations with an emphasis on membership, money, and a unified national propaganda appeal on critical issues. With
12408-545: The issues of "the land question in Ireland", which they felt exceeded the familiarity of average Irishmen themselves. They found the novel such a sympathetic portrait of Ireland that they urged, "some Irish constituency should do itself the honour of gratifying Mr. Trollope's unaccountable desire to enter Parliament. In 1974 the BBC2 adapted the Palliser novels as a twenty-six part serial The Pallisers . Episodes 7–12 dramatize
12549-404: The last century. David Cameron sought to modernise the Conservatives after his election as leader in 2005, and the party governed from 2010 to 2024 under five prime ministers, latterly Rishi Sunak . The party has generally adopted liberal economic policies favouring free markets since the 1980s, although historically it advocated for protectionism . The party is British unionist , opposing
12690-702: The late 1870s, Trollope furthered his travel writing career by visiting southern Africa , including the Cape Colony and the Boer Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal . Admitting that he initially assumed that the Afrikaners had "retrograded from civilization, and had become savage, barbarous, and unkindly", Trollope wrote at length on Boer cultural habits, claiming that
12831-471: The late 1940s but was too great a challenge to the post-war consensus to win Conservative endorsement. Thatcher favoured the idea because it would lead to a "property-owning democracy", an important idea that had emerged in the 1920s. Some local Conservative-run councils enacted profitable local sales schemes during the late 1960s. By the 1970s, many working-class people could afford to buy homes, and eagerly adopted Thatcher's invitation to purchase their homes at
12972-406: The latter, offering to provide short stories for the new magazine. Thackeray and Smith both responded: the former urging Trollope to contribute, the latter offering £1,000 for a novel, provided that a substantial part of it could be available to the printer within six weeks. Trollope offered Smith Castle Richmond , which he was then writing; but Smith declined to accept an Irish story, and suggested
13113-723: The mild liberalism of the post-war consensus that tolerated or encouraged nationalisation, strong labour unions, heavy regulation, and high taxes. She did not challenge the National Health Service , and supported the Cold War policies of the consensus, but otherwise tried to dismantle and delegitimise it. She built a right-wing political ideology that became known as Thatcherism , based on social and economic ideas from British and American intellectuals such as Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman . Thatcher believed that too much socially democratic-oriented government policy
13254-456: The most eloquent, of the writers who have helped the heart of man to know itself. ... A race is fortunate when it has a good deal of the sort of imagination—of imaginative feeling—that had fallen to the share of Anthony Trollope; and in this possession our English race is not poor. Writers such as William Thackeray , George Eliot and Wilkie Collins admired and befriended Trollope, and Eliot noted that she could not have embarked on so ambitious
13395-437: The novel's copyright. That figure matched what he was paid for his next book, He Knew He Was Right . Trollope's advances declined steadily afterwards. Phineas Finn did not sell enough copies to make a profit. The Spectator favorably reviewed the book version of Phineas Finn in 1869. It found the title character to be frustratingly drawn by Trollope without enough of an inner life. However, it did praise Lord Chiltern as
13536-441: The novel. Trollope regretted making Ireland Phineas' home. It created narrative issues he could not tidily resolve, and he felt it made English readers less sympathetic towards his protagonist. Phineas is supposed to be a Liberal, but his opposition to Home Rule is antithetical to the politics of the 1860–70s. Yet his downfall comes when he adopts Mr. Monk's Liberal position on tenant rights, during their Irish tour. The closer he
13677-408: The novelist's death: His [Trollope's] great, his inestimable merit was a complete appreciation of the usual. ... [H]e felt all daily and immediate things as well as saw them; felt them in a simple, direct, salubrious way, with their sadness, their gladness, their charm, their comicality, all their obvious and measurable meanings. ... Trollope will remain one of the most trustworthy, though not one of
13818-494: The numerous long train trips around Ireland he had to take to carry out his postal duties. Setting firm goals about how much he would write each day, he eventually became one of the most prolific writers of all time. He wrote his earliest novels while working as a Post Office inspector, occasionally dipping into the " lost-letter " box for ideas. Significantly, many of his earliest novels have Ireland as their setting—natural enough given that he wrote them or thought them up while he
13959-474: The party as it united behind calls for a referendum on the proposed European Union Constitution . However, before he could lead the party into a general election, Duncan Smith lost the vote on a motion of no confidence by MPs. This was despite the Conservative support equalling that of Labour in the months leading up to his departure from the leadership. Michael Howard then stood for the leadership unopposed on 6 November 2003. Under Howard's leadership in
14100-546: The party in the wake of the UK's vote to leave the European Union . She began the process of withdrawing the UK from the European Union in March 2017. In April 2017, the Cabinet agreed to hold a general election on 8 June. In a shock result, the election resulted in a hung parliament , with the Conservative Party needing a confidence and supply arrangement with the DUP to support a minority government. May's Premiership
14241-427: The party's co-chairman under David Cameron, stated that the Conservative Party has had a problem handling complaints of sexual misconducts against members appropriately. The 2010 election resulted in a hung parliament with the Conservatives having the most seats but short of an overall majority. Following the resignation of Gordon Brown , Cameron was named Prime Minister, and the Conservatives entered government in
14382-660: The party. Heath had come to power in June 1970 and the last possible date for the next general election was not until mid-1975. However a general election was held in February 1974 in a bid to win public support during a national emergency caused by the miners' strike. Heath's attempt to win a second term at this "snap" election failed, as a deadlock result left no party with an overall majority . Heath resigned within days, after failing to gain Liberal Party support to form
14523-705: The poet Edward Fitzgerald ; the artist Edward Gorey , who kept a complete set of his books; the American author Robert Caro ; the playwright David Mamet ; the soap opera writer Harding Lemay ; the screenwriter and novelist Julian Fellowes ; liberal political philosopher Anthony de Jasay and theologian Stanley Hauerwas . Literary allusions in Trollope's novels have been identified and traced by Professor James A. Means, in two articles that appeared in The Victorian Newsletter (vols. 78 and 82) in 1990 and 1992 respectively. Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative and Unionist Party , commonly
14664-582: The position. Trollope's new work consisted largely of inspection tours in Connaught , and he based himself in Banagher , King's County. Although he had arrived with a bad reference from London, his new supervisor resolved to judge him on his merits, and within a year, by Trollope's account, he earned a reputation as a valuable public servant. His salary and travel allowance went much further in Ireland than they had in London, and he found himself enjoying
14805-458: The premiership of David Cameron, was marked by the ongoing effects of the 2007–2008 financial crisis and the implementation of austerity measures in response. From 2015 the predominant political event was the Brexit referendum and the process to implement the decision to leave the trade bloc. The Conservatives' time in office was marked by several controversies. The presence of Islamophobia in
14946-561: The profits were not large, the book received notices in the press, and brought Trollope to the attention of the novel-reading public. He immediately began work on Barchester Towers , the second Barsetshire novel; upon its publication in 1857, he received an advance payment of £100 (about £12,000 in 2023 consumer pounds) against his share of the profits. Like The Warden , Barchester Towers did not obtain large sales, but it helped to establish Trollope's reputation. In his autobiography, Trollope writes, "It achieved no great reputation, but it
15087-505: The public, the Labour Party and her own party, Truss reversed some aspects of the mini-budget, including the abolition of the top rate of income tax. Following a government crisis Truss announced her resignation as prime minister on 20 October after 44 days in office, the shortest premiership in British history. Truss also oversaw the worst polling the Conservatives had ever received, with Labour polling as high as 36 per cent above
15228-458: The recovering British economy, saw the Conservatives returning quickly to the top of the opinion polls and winning the 1983 general election with a landslide majority, due to a split opposition vote. By the time of the general election in June 1987, the economy was stronger, with lower inflation and falling unemployment and Thatcher secured her third successive electoral victory. The introduction of
15369-409: The right wing of the Conservative Party itself for its tolerance of socialist policies and reluctance to curb the legal powers of labour unions. The Conservatives were re-elected in 1955 and 1959 with larger majorities. Conservative Prime Ministers Churchill, Anthony Eden , Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home promoted relatively liberal trade regulations and less state involvement throughout
15510-432: The role of money. Compared with him, even Balzac is too romantic." As trends in the world of the novel moved increasingly towards subjectivity and artistic experimentation, Trollope's standing with critics suffered. But Lord David Cecil noted in 1934 that "Trollope is still very much alive ... and among fastidious readers." He noted that Trollope was "conspicuously free from the most characteristic Victorian faults". In
15651-534: The seat was held by the Conservative Party although the general election returned the Liberal Party to a parliamentary majority. Ironically, the Beverley election was set aside and the seat voided because of bribery, touching on some of the central issues of Trollope's novel. Phineas Finn is the second instalment of Trollope's hexalogy known as The Palliser Novels , often referred to as his political or Parliamentary novels. The author considered Phineas Finn and Phineas Redux to be two halves of one novel, despite
15792-518: The social circle of his fellow MPs, he falls in love with Lady Laura Standish, the wealthy daughter of a prominent Whig politician. Just before he can propose to her, Lady Laura reveals she has accepted Robert Kennedy. She confides the marriage is necessary to settle the debts of her brother Oswald, Lord Chiltern. Lady Laura mentors Phineas and helps him advance through the party. He makes a disastrous maiden speech , but he gets on well with his peers, particularly reformer Joshua Monk. Tulla reconciles with
15933-533: The statesmen Robert Gascoyne-Cecil and Arthur Balfour , held power for all but three of the following twenty years before suffering a heavy defeat in 1906 when it split over the issue of free trade . Young Winston Churchill denounced Chamberlain's attack on free trade, and helped organise the opposition inside the Unionist/Conservative Party. Nevertheless, Balfour, as party leader, introduced protectionist legislation. Churchill crossed
16074-443: The steel and road haulage industries in 1953. During the Conservatives' thirteen-year tenure in office, pensions went up by 49% in real terms, sickness and unemployment benefits by 76% in real terms, and supplementary benefits by 46% in real terms. However, family allowances fell by 15% in real terms. "Thirteen Wasted Years" was a popular slogan attacking the Conservative record, primarily from Labour. In addition, there were attacks by
16215-574: The sweeping satire The Way We Live Now (1875) as his masterpiece. In all, Trollope wrote 47 novels, 42 short stories, and five travel books, as well as nonfiction books titled Thackeray (1879) and Lord Palmerston (1882). After his death, Trollope's An Autobiography appeared and was a bestseller in London. Trollope's downfall in the eyes of the critics stemmed largely from this volume. Even during his writing career, reviewers tended increasingly to shake their heads over his prodigious output, but when Trollope revealed that he strictly adhered to
16356-719: The third deals with the famine as a theme ( The Macdermots of Ballycloran , The Kellys and the O'Kellys , and Castle Richmond , respectively). The Macdermots of Ballycloran was written while he was staying in the village of Drumsna , County Leitrim . The Kellys and the O'Kellys (1848) is a humorous comparison of the romantic pursuits of the landed gentry (Francis O'Kelly, Lord Ballindine) and his Catholic tenant (Martin Kelly). Two short stories deal with Ireland ("The O'Conors of Castle Conor, County Mayo" and "Father Giles of Ballymoy" ). Some critics argue that these works seek to unify an Irish and British identity, instead of viewing
16497-555: The time of the 1979 general election , inflation had been at 9% or under for the previous year, then increased to over 20% in the first two years of the Thatcher ministry, but it had fallen again to 5.8% by the start of 1983. The period of unpopularity of the Conservatives in the early 1980s coincided with a crisis in the Labour Party, which then formed the main opposition. Victory in the Falklands War in June 1982, along with
16638-589: The towns of Bendigo and Ballarat , and the Aboriginal population . What most angered the Australian papers, though, were his comments "accusing Australians of being braggarts". Trollope returned to Australia in 1875 to help his son close down his failed farming business. He found that the resentment created by his accusations of bragging remained. Even when he died in 1882, Australian papers still "smouldered", referring yet again to these accusations, and refusing to fully praise or recognize his achievements. In
16779-483: The traits and personalities of various figures, including his author. One common suggestion for the inspiration for the character is John Pope Hennessy , a Roman Catholic from Cork , who was elected as an Irish Nationalist Conservative MP for King's County in 1859. Since the publication of the book, conjectures have pointed to a wide range of people including John Sadleir , Chichester Fortescue , William Gregory , Colonel King-Harman , and Isaac Butt . Mr. Mildmay
16920-474: The two as distinct. Even as an Englishman in Ireland, Trollope was still able to attain what he saw as essential to being an "Irish writer": possessed, obsessed, and "mauled" by Ireland. The reception of the Irish works left much to be desired. Henry Colburn wrote to Trollope, "It is evident that readers do not like novels on Irish subjects as well as on others." In particular, magazines such as The New Monthly Magazine , which included reviews that attacked
17061-723: The village of South Harting in West Sussex. He spent some time in Ireland in the early 1880s researching his last, unfinished, novel, The Landleaguers . It is said that he was extremely distressed by the violence of the Land War . Trollope died in Marylebone , London, in 1882 and is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery , near the grave of his contemporary, Wilkie Collins . Trollope's first major success came with The Warden (1855)—the first of six novels set in
17202-446: The watering place of Dún Laoghaire , Trollope met Rose Heseltine (1821–1917), the daughter of a Rotherham bank manager. They became engaged when he had been in Ireland for just a year, but Trollope's debts and her lack of a fortune prevented them from marrying until 1844. Soon after they wed, Trollope was transferred to another postal district in the south of Ireland, and the family moved to Clonmel . Their first son, Henry Merivale,
17343-430: Was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era . Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire , which revolves around the imaginary county of Barsetshire . He also wrote novels on political, social, and gender issues, and other topical matters. Trollope's literary reputation dipped during the last years of his life, but he regained somewhat of
17484-559: Was an insult that entered English politics during the Exclusion Bill crisis of 1678–1681, which derived from the Middle Irish word tóraidhe (modern Irish : tóraí ) meaning outlaw or robber , which in turn derived from the Irish word tóir , meaning pursuit , since outlaws were "pursued men". The term " Conservative " was suggested as a title for the party in an article by J. Wilson Croker published in
17625-422: Was appointed to the vacant position. Trollope applied for Tilley's old post, but was passed over in favour of a subordinate, Frank Ives Scudamore . In the autumn of 1867, Trollope resigned his position at the Post Office, having by that time saved enough to generate an income equal to the pension he would lose by leaving before the age of 60. Trollope had long dreamt of taking a seat in the House of Commons . As
17766-420: Was based on rather negative writings about America by his mother, Fanny, and by Charles Dickens . On his return, Trollope published a book, Australia and New Zealand (1873). It contained both positive and negative comments. On the positive side, it found a comparative absence of class consciousness, and praised aspects of Perth , Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney . However, he was negative about Adelaide's river,
17907-417: Was born in 1846, and their second, Frederick James Anthony, in 1847. Though Trollope had decided to become a novelist, he had accomplished very little writing during his first three years in Ireland. At the time of his marriage, he had only written the first of three volumes of his first novel, The Macdermots of Ballycloran . Within a year of his marriage, he finished that work. Trollope began writing on
18048-417: Was coined by Noel Skelton in 1923 and became a core principle of the party. While serving in Opposition during the late 1940s, the Conservative Party exploited and incited growing public anger at food rationing , scarcity, controls, austerity , and government bureaucracy. It used the dissatisfaction with the socialist and egalitarian policies of the Labour Party to rally middle-class supporters and build
18189-502: Was defeated in June 1866, just five months before Trollope began writing Phineas Finn . That led to the resignation of Russell's government and the rise of the Conservative Disraeli, who produced his own version of the bill. Disraeli's Act ended up doubling the voting population and led to the Liberal Party returning to power in the election of 1868. Trollope changes very little in this sequence of events, aside from making
18330-525: Was dominated by Brexit as she carried out negotiations with the European Union, adhering to the Chequers Plan , which resulted in her draft Brexit withdrawal agreement . May survived two votes of no confidence in December 2018 and January 2019, but after versions of her draft withdrawal agreement were rejected by Parliament three times , May announced her resignation on 24 May 2019. Subsequent to
18471-496: Was founded in 1834 from the Tory Party and was one of two dominant political parties in the 19th century, along with the Liberal Party . Under Benjamin Disraeli , it played a preeminent role in politics at the height of the British Empire . In 1912, the Liberal Unionist Party merged with the party to form the Conservative and Unionist Party. Rivalry with the Labour Party has shaped modern British politics for
18612-523: Was held in 1965, won by Edward Heath. Edward Heath 's 1970–74 government was known for taking the UK into the EEC , although the right-wing of the party objected to his failure to control the trade unions at a time when a declining British industry saw many strikes, as well as the 1973–75 recession . Since accession to the EEC, which developed into the EU, British membership has been a source of heated debate within
18753-547: Was held on 9 April 1992 and the Conservatives won a fourth successive electoral victory, contrary to predictions from opinion polls. The Conservatives became the first party to attract 14 million votes in a general election. On 16 September 1992, the Government suspended Britain's membership of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), after the pound fell lower than its minimum level in
18894-475: Was leading to a long-term decline in the British economy. As a result, her government pursued a programme of economic liberalism , adopting a free-market approach to public services based on the sale of publicly owned industries and utilities, as well as a reduction in trade union power. One of Thatcher's largest and most successful policies assisted council house tenants in public housing to purchase their homes at favourable rates. The "Right to Buy" had emerged in
19035-400: Was living and working in Ireland, but unlikely to enjoy warm critical reception, given the contemporary English attitude towards Ireland. Critics have pointed out that Trollope's view of Ireland separates him from many of the other Victorian novelists. Other critics claimed that Ireland did not influence Trollope as much as his experience in England, and that the society in Ireland harmed him as
19176-584: Was not drawn from life. He protested that he only meant to depict a "turbulent demagogue" in Mr. Turnbull. "I intended neither portrait or caricature, and most assuredly I have produced neither." The Dublin Review had high praise for the novel and Trollope's writing in general, "He holds a place, not only unrivalled, but undisputed, as the realistic portrayer of the middle classes of English society." Their review praised his knowledge of "the machinery of Parliament" and
19317-435: Was offered a clerkship in the General Post Office , obtained through a family friend. Accepting this post, he returned to London in the autumn of 1834. Thomas Trollope died the following year. According to Trollope, "the first seven years of my official life were neither creditable to myself nor useful to the public service." At the Post Office, he acquired a reputation for unpunctuality and insubordination. A debt of £12 to
19458-401: Was one of the novels which novel readers were called upon to read." For the following novel, The Three Clerks , he was able to sell the copyright for a lump sum of £250; he preferred this to waiting for a share of future profits. Although Trollope had been happy and comfortable in Ireland, he felt that as an author, he should live within easy reach of London. In 1859, he sought and obtained
19599-590: Was opposed to the system of slavery as it existed in the South . In 1871, Trollope made his first trip to Australia , arriving in Melbourne on 28 July 1871 on the SS Great Britain , with his wife and their cook. The trip was made to visit their younger son, Frederick, who was a sheep farmer near Grenfell, New South Wales . He wrote his novel Lady Anna during the voyage. In Australia, he spent
19740-516: Was plagued by internal division and infighting, mainly over the UK's role in the European Union . The party's Eurosceptic wing, represented by MPs such as John Redwood , opposed further EU integration, whilst the party's pro-European wing, represented by those such as Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke , was broadly supportive. The issue of the creation of a single European currency also inflamed tensions. Major survived
19881-416: Was the son of Rev. (Thomas) Anthony Trollope, rector of Cottered , Hertfordshire, himself the sixth son of Sir Thomas Trollope, 4th Baronet . The baronetcy later came to descendants of Anthony Trollope's second son, Frederic. As a son of landed gentry , Thomas Trollope wanted his sons raised as gentlemen who would attend Oxford or Cambridge . Anthony Trollope suffered much misery in his boyhood, owing to
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