The Palliser Novels - Book 2
Phineas Finn
“If David Shaw–Parker isn’t the most subtly funny Duke of Omnium ever, let’s give up. The Duke’s self-important basso as he courts Madame Max seems to come out of his shoes, and it’s an amazing surprise, because by the time Omnium really enters the story, Shaw–Parker has created so many varied characters and voices that you can’t imagine he’s still got a trick you haven’t heard. Phineas Finn is a rich comedy of manners and politics. It is also every bit as much a marriage story as anything from Jane Austen but with a young man from the provinces seeking advancement and security in a world where many women have more money and influence than he. This is a deliciously entertaining listen. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award.”
AudioFile
A 2018 Audie Award Finalist for Best Literary Fiction & Classics Narration
Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
Phineas Finn, a handsome young Irishman of twenty-three, comes to England to make his fortune in parliamentary politics. But despite all his aspirations, Finn is haunted by ethical questions as his personal convictions conflict with his duty towards his party. Loyalty versus honor, love versus money, and privacy versus prominence: the eponymous hero faces a variety of dilemmas as he navigates his way through the House of Commons.
The second installment of Trollope’s celebrated Palliser series, Phineas Finn is a delightful and humorous look at the complexity of human relationships and the politics surrounding the Second Reform Bill of the 1860s.
Praise