The Prime Minister

The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope

Ferdinand Lopez, a man of unknown and carefully concealed parentage, presents himself in London society as a self-assured, immaculately dressed gentleman engaged in foreign loans on the Stock Exchange, though no one truly knows the state of his finances. He extracts a promissory note for £750 from his uneasy city acquaintance Sexty Parker, then dines with his close friend Everett Wharton, discussing politics and revealing his intention to seek the hand of Everett's sister, Emily Wharton. Lopez calls on Emily's father, the formidable barrister Abel Wharton, and openly declares his suit; Wharton objects chiefly to Lopez's Portuguese parentage and lack of known family, refusing his consent, though he is unsettled by Lopez's composure and by hints of his own daughter's affections. Questioning his son Everett and his sister-in-law Mrs. Roby, Wharton learns that Emily already favors Lopez. Confronted by her father, Emily admits her love but promises obedience, agreeing not to see Lopez without permission, while pressing her father to reconsider. Wharton, torn between paternal authority and his daughter's evident unhappiness, makes inquiries about Lopez's means without firm result. Meanwhile, a political crisis unfolds: after the collapse of confidence in both Mr. Gresham and Mr. Daubeny, the Duke of Omnium is summoned to form a coalition ministry, reluctantly accepting the burden with the support of the elder Duke of St. Bungay despite deep self-doubt about his fitness to lead. His wife, the Duchess, reacts with fierce ambition, resolving to secure her husband's power through lavish entertaining, though he refuses her request to become Mistress of the Robes. The ministry is assembled amid jostling for office among figures like Rattler, Roby, and Sir Orlando Drought, and Phineas Finn is appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland. The Duchess's receptions become the center of fashionable and political life, drawing figures such as Lopez, who ingratiates himself with her and the Duke. The Coalition survives early tests, including a budget dispute over Brewers' Licences championed by Mr. Monk, though its stability remains uncertain amid parliamentary skepticism. Mrs. Roby continues secretly to facilitate meetings between Emily and Lopez despite Wharton's wishes, provoking his anger when he learns of a dinner engineered to throw the couple together. Wharton, increasingly worn down, resolves to remove Emily from London, planning a visit to their relative Sir Alured Wharton at Wharton Hall in Herefordshire and even considering prolonged residence abroad in Dresden. Sir Alured, informed of the situation, is dismayed at the prospect of a Portuguese suitor for the family and gently opposes the Dresden plan, preferring the visit to Wharton Hall be simply advanced. Emily, though grieved, pledges continued obedience while making clear her feelings remain fixed. Learning of the planned departure, Lopez resolves to see Wharton once more and, prompted by Mrs. Roby's advice, sets about arranging his financial affairs so as to present himself candidly if questioned—turning again to the anxious and already burdened Sexty Parker for further cooperation in a new speculative scheme.

By Anthony Trollope · First published 1876 · Genre: Political Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Romance · 60 chapters · 331,065 words

First lines

It is certainly of service to a man to know who were his grandfathers and who were his grandmothers if he entertain an ambition to move in the upper circles of society, and also of service to be able to speak of them as of persons who were themselves somebodies in their time. No doubt we all entertain great respect for those who by their own energies have raised themselves in the world; and when we hear that the son of a washerwoman has become Lord Chancellor or Archbishop of Canterbury we do, theoretically and abstractedly, feel a higher reverence for such self-made magnate than for one who has been as it were born into forensic or ecclesiastical purple. But not the less must the offspring of the washerwoman have had very much trouble on the subject of his birth, unless he has been, when young as well as when old, a very great man indeed.

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politics · government · Victorian · satire · society · class · power · corruption · ambition · leadership · election · morality

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