The Vicar of Bullhampton

Description

The novel’s title implies that the book will be about a vicar, but in fact this is one of Anthony Trollope’s most eventful and most exciting novels, a story that captivates the reader’s attention from the first page to the very last.

The novel has multiple story lines. One of them is the story of Mary Lowther, a woman who comes to visit her friend, the vicar’s wife. During her stay in Bullhampton, she meets the local squire, Harry Gilmore who proposes to her, but Mary refuses. Later, after she goes home, she falls in love with another man that she cannot marry. The other story line is that of Carry Brattle, seduced by a man and eventually forced to become a prostitute, while the third story line is about the vicar himself and his conflict with a local nobleman.

The Vicar of Bullhampton is not only one of Trollope’s best novels, but also one of the best pieces of the mid-Victorian era. The author’s sharp spirit of observation, his insight of the lower classes just as much as of the higher classes, his sensitivity to the ethical implications of life’s conflicts and the realistic approach towards the events and situations described make the novel an excellent read for anyone. Trollope himself considered the story of Carry Brattle to be the at the center of the entire novel, with the fallen woman being the most complex character of the entire book and giving the author the opportunity the general social attitude towards these women.

The other major themes covered are courtship and love, the difficulties of choosing between passion and a decent, but loveless marriage and the book is also considered to be by many Trollope’s most religious books. The complexity of the themes, paired with Trollope’s wonderful talent as a storyteller, makes this novel a wonderful book, a text that provides a wonderful experience to readers of any age.
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