The Struggles of Brown, Jones, and Robinson

George Robinson, the junior partner in the failed firm of Brown, Jones, and Robinson, offers an account of the company's rise and fall. Readers know from the outset that the firm is doomed to failure. George reveals perhaps more than he intended to in the story of their struggles. The senior partner, the widower Brown, has the capital and two daughters, one of them married to Jones and the other the object of George's affections. George's rival for Maryanne Brown's hand is the butcher, Brisket, if only Brisket can see his way. George has a tendency to view himself and his circumstances through the lens of Shakespearean tragedies, thus giving away his overestimation of his knowledge and abilities. While this isn't the best of Trollope's show more work, it's worth reading for the social and cultural insight it provides into corporate finance and the fledgling advertising industry. show less

Amusing with occasional moments of high comedy, but too repetitious to be A-list Trollope. The will she-won't she scenes between Maryanne and Robinson wear thin. Worthwhile not just for AT completists. Some very trenchant and prescient comments on demand for ruinous bargain prices being the catalyst for far-reaching economic woes. Shades of today's garment industry!

Stuck with this as I am aiming to read all of Trollope's fiction, but it was hard-going. Brown, Jones and Robinson form a partnership in a haberdasher's shop, using capital Brown has inherited from his wife. Robinson, whose viewpoint we are given (albeit "edited") blows most of the money on extravagant and false advertising and the rest is lost through poor management. Robinson's views on the importance of advertising and building a business on credit (as opposed to capital) are the subject of extended (188 pages) satire and it gets old quickly. There are some nice lines, and I liked the Goose debating club scenes, but I wish Trollope had written an essay rather than a novella about it. There were no characters to identify with, except show more perhaps for Mr Poppins, the faint voice of reason, and the "romantic" sub-plot was also sad and pathetic. It was also very poorly plotted - I struggled at times to remember which of Maryanne's suitors was currently in favour. I've read it and I need never do so again. show less

A few good, funny moments of satire, but mostly a skippable Trollope, I found.