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siguirimama's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
captainoz's review
3.0
I give this 3.5 stars because I enjoyed reading it, but it only should have been about 350 pages, not 930 pages.
axl_oswaldo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A novel that reminded me of some previous experiences reading other Victorian novels, such as <b>Middlemarch</b>, <b>The Tenant of Wildfell Hall</b>, and <b>North and South</b>. Actually, if I had to describe <b>He Knew He Was Right</b> by using a few words, those words would be: <u>Victorian, Victorian and Victorian</u>.
I'm not going to lie, I truly enjoyed reading this book from cover to cover, not only because Anthony Trollope's prose is genuinely beautiful and quite readable, but also because the main plot made me keep my eyes—should I say 'my ears' since I mostly listened to the audiobook?—on the multiple stories we have here. Almost 1000 pages that, at the end of the day, felt as if I had read only 500 or so pages, basically because it was impossible for me to put the book down.
As I said before, this book is so Victorian, basically what a typical Victorian story is about: marriage, old customs and new customs, social position and status, women's and men's role in society, and so on and so forth; since I am a total sucker for Victorian literature I was a bit skeptical about <b>He Knew He Was Right</b> being a good novel in terms of the content and the writing style—besides, my first experience reading a Trollope novel was regular only—but it turned out to be a great book, where the author really depicted the stories (both main plot and subplots) in a profound and a realistic way. That being said, I must confess there are some subplots that have nothing to do with the main plot—there is no a strong relation between them—and consequently they become boring at times, even disappointing if you are expecting to find something rather meaningful by reading those stories.
I have recently realized that Trollope wrote quite a few novels, and perhaps this one is not Trollope at his best—I would say it was still better than my first pick, <b>Cousin Henry</b>—but I can also tell it is actually a compelling, fascinating and at times intriguing book, which I would recommend to anyone who loves reading a lot of Victorian classics. Now, I'm not quite sure if this would be a good choice to kick off your Trollope journey with, perhaps you should try other shorter books first, and then come back to this one. In my case, I found myself gravitating toward the world Trollope is building in this novel; also, things such as being able to picture the Victorian society—mainly the countryside—throughout his book, finding some characters' relationships well depicted and, of course, a good, enjoyable style of writing – I guess I couldn't have asked for more.
If I had to say something negative about this book that would be the fact that the author is rambling on some topics that are not necessarily important for the sake of our main characters—it is nonetheless rambling stuff I also enjoyed reading—and the ending, that was somewhat abrupt and very, very optimistic (not a big surprise though, you can expect anything when it comes to Victorian endings).
Finally, I'd like to share something else: it is a shame we don't have a lot of Trollope novels in Spanish translation—this novel, for instance, is not translated into Spanish, and I actually found it by spending some time on LibriVox, saving future readings, looking for future favorite narrators, and the like—which makes me think of the amount of books and authors we are missing because of those translations we don't have. It is really a shame to see many Victorian authors on LibriVox who I didn't know before, and whose works don't have a translation in my mother language. Somehow this situation just makes me want to keep reading in my second language in order to improve those reading skills that are so necessary for you to enjoy those stories and authors you care about. It sounds simple, maybe, but it is actually a long yet exciting journey.
By the way, he <b>WAS NOT</b> right. (I let this statement here without any context, so you can tell me in the future whether or not you agree with me, once you pick up and finish this novel of course).
<b>“The reading of poetry together, out of the same book, with brows all close, and arms all mingled, is very sweet. The pouring out of the whole heart in written words, which the writer knows would be held to be ridiculous by any eyes, and any ears, and any sense, but the eyes and ears and sense of the dear one to whom they are sent, is very sweet – but for the girl who has made a shirt for the man that she loves, there has come a moment in the last stitch of it, sweeter than any that stars, haycocks, poetry, or superlative epithets have produced."</b>
I'm not going to lie, I truly enjoyed reading this book from cover to cover, not only because Anthony Trollope's prose is genuinely beautiful and quite readable, but also because the main plot made me keep my eyes—should I say 'my ears' since I mostly listened to the audiobook?—on the multiple stories we have here. Almost 1000 pages that, at the end of the day, felt as if I had read only 500 or so pages, basically because it was impossible for me to put the book down.
As I said before, this book is so Victorian, basically what a typical Victorian story is about: marriage, old customs and new customs, social position and status, women's and men's role in society, and so on and so forth; since I am a total sucker for Victorian literature I was a bit skeptical about <b>He Knew He Was Right</b> being a good novel in terms of the content and the writing style—besides, my first experience reading a Trollope novel was regular only—but it turned out to be a great book, where the author really depicted the stories (both main plot and subplots) in a profound and a realistic way. That being said, I must confess there are some subplots that have nothing to do with the main plot—there is no a strong relation between them—and consequently they become boring at times, even disappointing if you are expecting to find something rather meaningful by reading those stories.
I have recently realized that Trollope wrote quite a few novels, and perhaps this one is not Trollope at his best—I would say it was still better than my first pick, <b>Cousin Henry</b>—but I can also tell it is actually a compelling, fascinating and at times intriguing book, which I would recommend to anyone who loves reading a lot of Victorian classics. Now, I'm not quite sure if this would be a good choice to kick off your Trollope journey with, perhaps you should try other shorter books first, and then come back to this one. In my case, I found myself gravitating toward the world Trollope is building in this novel; also, things such as being able to picture the Victorian society—mainly the countryside—throughout his book, finding some characters' relationships well depicted and, of course, a good, enjoyable style of writing – I guess I couldn't have asked for more.
If I had to say something negative about this book that would be the fact that the author is rambling on some topics that are not necessarily important for the sake of our main characters—it is nonetheless rambling stuff I also enjoyed reading—and the ending, that was somewhat abrupt and very, very optimistic (not a big surprise though, you can expect anything when it comes to Victorian endings).
Finally, I'd like to share something else: it is a shame we don't have a lot of Trollope novels in Spanish translation—this novel, for instance, is not translated into Spanish, and I actually found it by spending some time on LibriVox, saving future readings, looking for future favorite narrators, and the like—which makes me think of the amount of books and authors we are missing because of those translations we don't have. It is really a shame to see many Victorian authors on LibriVox who I didn't know before, and whose works don't have a translation in my mother language. Somehow this situation just makes me want to keep reading in my second language in order to improve those reading skills that are so necessary for you to enjoy those stories and authors you care about. It sounds simple, maybe, but it is actually a long yet exciting journey.
By the way, he <b>WAS NOT</b> right. (I let this statement here without any context, so you can tell me in the future whether or not you agree with me, once you pick up and finish this novel of course).
<b>“The reading of poetry together, out of the same book, with brows all close, and arms all mingled, is very sweet. The pouring out of the whole heart in written words, which the writer knows would be held to be ridiculous by any eyes, and any ears, and any sense, but the eyes and ears and sense of the dear one to whom they are sent, is very sweet – but for the girl who has made a shirt for the man that she loves, there has come a moment in the last stitch of it, sweeter than any that stars, haycocks, poetry, or superlative epithets have produced."</b>
the_naptime_reader's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 Stars
I enjoyed this book a lot. The main plot focuses on the marital trouble of a young couple because of the husband's jealous demands for the wife's obedience. The novel was published in the late 1800's and many have said that it feels like a more modern Othello. The main story was sad and a bit drawn out. I was left thinking some good marriage counseling would set these two straight. This main plot was surrounded by several much more charming stories. Altogether there are five different marriages the reader learns about. Excited to explore more by this author. Loved that I regularly needed my dictionary because of the exposure to all sorts of new vocabulary.
I enjoyed this book a lot. The main plot focuses on the marital trouble of a young couple because of the husband's jealous demands for the wife's obedience. The novel was published in the late 1800's and many have said that it feels like a more modern Othello. The main story was sad and a bit drawn out. I was left thinking some good marriage counseling would set these two straight. This main plot was surrounded by several much more charming stories. Altogether there are five different marriages the reader learns about. Excited to explore more by this author. Loved that I regularly needed my dictionary because of the exposure to all sorts of new vocabulary.
finesilkflower's review
4.0
An Othello-like spiral into jealousy, so carefully detailed that it's hard to pinpoint the line between angry ignorance and mad delusion, is the depressing central storyline of this book, which has such a charming set of funny and loveable B-stories that it's worth it.
gatun's review against another edition
5.0
The first time I encountered Anthony Trollope’s most popular work, He Knew He Was Right, was in a BBC production. My teen aged children and I enjoyed it. I had not read the book that the mini-series was based on. When I was offered the opportunity to review the book narrated by Nigel Patterson, I was happy to finally get a chance at the source.
He Knew He Was Right was written in 1869. It is very important that the listener keep that in mind. It was a very different world, especially for women. The book follows Louis Trevelyan, a wealthy gentleman, who while traveling in one of the Empire’s colonies (it is a fictitious colony)
meets the girl of his dreams, Emily Rowley. Although Emily has been raised outside of England, she does come from a good family as her father is the governor of the colony. Emily and her family travel back to England for the wedding. The first two years of marriage are wonderful complete with a baby boy. Then Louis begins to take exception to an old family friend, a man her father’s age, visiting Emily. He demands she no longer see the man because he suspects infidelity. Emily digs her heels in and refuses to end her harmless friendship. Louis takes it as proof that he wife is not faithful.
There are several subplots to this book, which is over 300 pages in print and 30 hours in audio. The subplots involve other couples including Emily’s sister, Nora. Each couple has their own challenges to overcome, several involving social standing or economic position. While the subplots are interesting, it is Louis and Emily’s story that is the main attraction.
I did have to keep reminding myself of the 1869 publication date because I had a persistent and overwhelming need to slap Louis. Emily never, in deed or word, gives him cause to doubt her but he is so insecure he cannot trust her. It is a combination of Emily’s stubbornness and Louis’s insecurity that cause this to blow up into a major disaster involving both families and dividing friends. That being said, it really is a great book and worth the impulse to slap Louis.
Mr. Patterson does a great job narrating this book. He captures the characters and their emotions. He also handles the language well. Sometimes narrators can allow the more formal language of the 19th century to sound stilted but Mr. Patterson does not. He makes the language flow naturally. I have not had a disappointing listen from Mr. Patterson yet. If you are going to invest in He Knew He Was Right as an audiobook, get the right one with Nigel Patterson as the narrator.
He Knew He Was Right was written in 1869. It is very important that the listener keep that in mind. It was a very different world, especially for women. The book follows Louis Trevelyan, a wealthy gentleman, who while traveling in one of the Empire’s colonies (it is a fictitious colony)
meets the girl of his dreams, Emily Rowley. Although Emily has been raised outside of England, she does come from a good family as her father is the governor of the colony. Emily and her family travel back to England for the wedding. The first two years of marriage are wonderful complete with a baby boy. Then Louis begins to take exception to an old family friend, a man her father’s age, visiting Emily. He demands she no longer see the man because he suspects infidelity. Emily digs her heels in and refuses to end her harmless friendship. Louis takes it as proof that he wife is not faithful.
There are several subplots to this book, which is over 300 pages in print and 30 hours in audio. The subplots involve other couples including Emily’s sister, Nora. Each couple has their own challenges to overcome, several involving social standing or economic position. While the subplots are interesting, it is Louis and Emily’s story that is the main attraction.
I did have to keep reminding myself of the 1869 publication date because I had a persistent and overwhelming need to slap Louis. Emily never, in deed or word, gives him cause to doubt her but he is so insecure he cannot trust her. It is a combination of Emily’s stubbornness and Louis’s insecurity that cause this to blow up into a major disaster involving both families and dividing friends. That being said, it really is a great book and worth the impulse to slap Louis.
Mr. Patterson does a great job narrating this book. He captures the characters and their emotions. He also handles the language well. Sometimes narrators can allow the more formal language of the 19th century to sound stilted but Mr. Patterson does not. He makes the language flow naturally. I have not had a disappointing listen from Mr. Patterson yet. If you are going to invest in He Knew He Was Right as an audiobook, get the right one with Nigel Patterson as the narrator.
rosepoldark's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This book was just amazing. One of my new favourites. I loved the characters so much. Especially Miss Stanbury she was just such a wonderful old lady. Trollope writes such amazing characters who have their faults and you can really believe them and their choices. The Trevelyan plot line was so interesting and the Exeter stories are just wonderful the two stories fit so well and gives the book a good balance. I just loved this book so much and I will read it again and again and again!
manwithanagenda's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
2.0
I had fallen in love with Trollope's writing with his 'Chronicles of Barsetshire', particularly 'Barchester Towers' which had all of the social comedy I wanted from a period novel and a broader portrait of life in England in the mid-19th century. Trollope wore his prejudices proudly and his biases were as informative for me as a historian as any impartial work of the era could have been. As I read further into the series I was impressed further with the depth of his characters, particularly his occasional nuanced characterization of women in his era. There were always one or two at least who were rewarded even for bucking the conventions of society, and even those who were caricatures of female vanity or shrewish are excused by the narrator, because of the narrow confines they as women must inhabit to avoid ridicule.
I was talking about this to a customer, perhaps about a year ago, who asked if I had read 'He Knew He Was Right." I said I hadn't and she said she'd be very interested in hearing what I had to say about it. Well, a year or so later I've finished it and I'm not sure what to say.
The central plot is the deterioration of the marriage of Louis and Emily Trevelyon. They are a happy, prosperous couple with a healthy young boy when Louis has a seed of doubt about Emily being visited so often by an old friend of her father's, a man with a lingering rakish reputation despite his age. Louis tries to maneuver Emily away from this acquaintance, and even orders it to stop, but her resistance to the suggestion and scorn at the order - obeying it only to the letter - leads to open distrust and eventual separation.
This disagreement and refusal to compromise ruins both of their lives and almost certainly the life of their son. Houses are given up, scandal is spread through London and wherever either Trevelyon or his wife go. Emily's stubborness rests much on her pride and her Victorian refusal to even touch on the subject of impropriety in conversation until its too late. Trevelyon's insistence becomes more and more adamant and leads to madness. Tied into this mess are Emily's sister Nora, who must make her own decisions about love in the shadow of the terrible example of her sister and brother-in-law, and their whole family who must endeavor to fix this situation or make the best of it.
Nora's two beaus are Charles Glascock and Hugh Stanpole, the former the heir to a peerage and grand estate, the latter a gentleman who makes comparatively thin means writing for a radical newspaper. Each of these gentlemen connect the Trevelyon's marriage plot to happier plots involving young ladies making happy marriages. Hugh's sister Dorothy in going to live with a wealthy maiden aunt inhabits practically her own novel full of botched proposals, village gossip, and just desserts.
There is a lot going on in this lengthy book and it is full of the period detail and social commentary I adore from Trollope, but plot-wise it runs out steam about halfway through. The rift between the Trevelyons is intractable and ends up covering the same ground repeatedly. The marriage plots of Nora and Dorothy are finalized so quickly there is little to do but wait for the wedding, which, on the page, isn't as compelling as you'd like. Other marriages and character arcs are also wrapped up while the reader still has hundreds of pages to go to hear the same loops of conversations and social necessities pass by.
It frankly baffled me. Trollope has never stinted on words in the novels I've read, but there was never this feeling that much of it was so...unnecessary. In doing some reading I found a reference to the novel in Trollope's 'Autobiography' that shows that Trollope was disappointed in the novel:
"I do not know that in any literary effort I ever fell more completely short of my own intention than in this story. It was my purpose to create sympathy for the unfortunate man who, while endeavouring to do his duty to all around him, should be led constantly astray by his unwillingness to submit his own judgment to the opinion of others. The man is made to be unfortunate enough, and the evil which he does is apparent. So far I did not fail, but the sympathy has not been created yet. I look upon the story as being nearly altogether bad. It is in part redeemed by certain scenes in the house and vicinity of an old maid in Exeter. But a novel which in its main parts is bad cannot, in truth, be redeemed by the vitality of subordinate characters."
I appreciate his honesty there. I would go further than saying it is only sympathy for Trevelyon that is lacking. This novel tries to tackle a heavy issue and doesn't quite manage it. Trollope didn't have the vocabulary to dismantle the toxic masculinity that led Trevelyon to becoming unhinged in the way he did. There are some other commentaries about women that I read as thin satire, but was still distasteful to read. Without the fun or interest of other subplots to shore up the devastating weight of the central arc, I would have been unable to finish this novel if I hadn't read 80% in airport terminals last week. I will read more Trollope, but I don't think I can recommend this one to anyone except diehard fans.
I was talking about this to a customer, perhaps about a year ago, who asked if I had read 'He Knew He Was Right." I said I hadn't and she said she'd be very interested in hearing what I had to say about it. Well, a year or so later I've finished it and I'm not sure what to say.
The central plot is the deterioration of the marriage of Louis and Emily Trevelyon. They are a happy, prosperous couple with a healthy young boy when Louis has a seed of doubt about Emily being visited so often by an old friend of her father's, a man with a lingering rakish reputation despite his age. Louis tries to maneuver Emily away from this acquaintance, and even orders it to stop, but her resistance to the suggestion and scorn at the order - obeying it only to the letter - leads to open distrust and eventual separation.
This disagreement and refusal to compromise ruins both of their lives and almost certainly the life of their son. Houses are given up, scandal is spread through London and wherever either Trevelyon or his wife go. Emily's stubborness rests much on her pride and her Victorian refusal to even touch on the subject of impropriety in conversation until its too late. Trevelyon's insistence becomes more and more adamant and leads to madness. Tied into this mess are Emily's sister Nora, who must make her own decisions about love in the shadow of the terrible example of her sister and brother-in-law, and their whole family who must endeavor to fix this situation or make the best of it.
Nora's two beaus are Charles Glascock and Hugh Stanpole, the former the heir to a peerage and grand estate, the latter a gentleman who makes comparatively thin means writing for a radical newspaper. Each of these gentlemen connect the Trevelyon's marriage plot to happier plots involving young ladies making happy marriages. Hugh's sister Dorothy in going to live with a wealthy maiden aunt inhabits practically her own novel full of botched proposals, village gossip, and just desserts.
There is a lot going on in this lengthy book and it is full of the period detail and social commentary I adore from Trollope, but plot-wise it runs out steam about halfway through. The rift between the Trevelyons is intractable and ends up covering the same ground repeatedly. The marriage plots of Nora and Dorothy are finalized so quickly there is little to do but wait for the wedding, which, on the page, isn't as compelling as you'd like. Other marriages and character arcs are also wrapped up while the reader still has hundreds of pages to go to hear the same loops of conversations and social necessities pass by.
It frankly baffled me. Trollope has never stinted on words in the novels I've read, but there was never this feeling that much of it was so...unnecessary. In doing some reading I found a reference to the novel in Trollope's 'Autobiography' that shows that Trollope was disappointed in the novel:
"I do not know that in any literary effort I ever fell more completely short of my own intention than in this story. It was my purpose to create sympathy for the unfortunate man who, while endeavouring to do his duty to all around him, should be led constantly astray by his unwillingness to submit his own judgment to the opinion of others. The man is made to be unfortunate enough, and the evil which he does is apparent. So far I did not fail, but the sympathy has not been created yet. I look upon the story as being nearly altogether bad. It is in part redeemed by certain scenes in the house and vicinity of an old maid in Exeter. But a novel which in its main parts is bad cannot, in truth, be redeemed by the vitality of subordinate characters."
I appreciate his honesty there. I would go further than saying it is only sympathy for Trevelyon that is lacking. This novel tries to tackle a heavy issue and doesn't quite manage it. Trollope didn't have the vocabulary to dismantle the toxic masculinity that led Trevelyon to becoming unhinged in the way he did. There are some other commentaries about women that I read as thin satire, but was still distasteful to read. Without the fun or interest of other subplots to shore up the devastating weight of the central arc, I would have been unable to finish this novel if I hadn't read 80% in airport terminals last week. I will read more Trollope, but I don't think I can recommend this one to anyone except diehard fans.