Ralph the Heir

Two Ralphs contend for same women and same land--the actual heir is careless of hearts and money, the bastard is nobler and ultimately happier. One must reflect on the change in values from the time when a gentleman who didn't pay his debts was still socially superior to a tradesman who did.

Published in 1871, this is one of Trollope's later works and show his cynicism towards Victorian mores to be in full flower as he skewers British inheritance laws, the methods for getting elected to Parliament, and the British class system.

It's the story of two Ralph Newtons. One is a handsome dandy about town living off the prospects of his coming inheritance and the other a hard-working , worthy fellow, but unfortunately born on the wrong side of the blanket and, thus, ineligible to inherit.

Of course, Ralph the heir is deeply in debt and is so desperate to extricate himself from his financial burdens that he seriously things about (gasp!) marrying a rich tradesman's daughter.

This is one of Trollope's most amusing books, and although show more it is very long, the pages just seemed to turn themselves. show less

This was tough reading right after Tess of the D’Urbervilles — it’s not the same kind of story, but it has the same slow feel and it was so long! With that said, however, it’s a decent story that I don’t at all regret spending time on, though I do think I might have gotten more out of it if I had something fun to read in between my last one and this one. Basically, this story explores the concepts behind inheritance, property, illegitimacy, and marriage, among others. Some concepts that I didn’t at all expect to be thrown in were dirty election campaigns, which I thought was a lot of fun to read about — it’s vastly different from my own experience as an American citizen, although I’m sure times have changed in England show more and it’s also vastly different over there today.

While I enjoyed reading the story to get a feel for the arguments Trollope makes about inheritance and such, it was a very long novel. It dragged a bit in in the middle, but was overall fairly interesting. It’s certainly not a fun, light read, however. The characters are fashioned more like character studies rather than original fictional people who are super developed and feel like friends and acquaintances; rather, they are carefully crafted to fit into Trollope’s world of proving points about morals, values, and class.

If you’re studying the late 19th century and want to get a better feel for the era and the social problems they experienced then (as perceived by Trollope) — I think this works great as a companion work. But it’s not a light, fluffy read by any means.

Also posted on Purple People Readers. show less

The story of Ralph (the heir) who almost sells his inheritance to his uncle so that his uncle's illegitimate son (also) Ralph can inherit the estate. Also of the Underwood family; Sir Thomas (Ralph's former guardian) who stands for parliament and his daughters and niece, who provide the romantic interests.

Well-constructed with storylines which weave in and out effortlessly, once you have got past the first few chapters in which everyone seems to be called either Ralph or Gregory. I enjoyed the Mary Bonner storyline particularly and Ralph the heir was just the sort of "hero"at which Trollope excels. I could gave done with Gregory's character being fleshed out a little more. Thankfully only the one hunting scene and the political thread show more was humorous and informative show less

I don't think I agree with Trollope's assessment of this as one of his worst novels, but it's definitely not in the top ranks. On the plus side, there's some interest in the political plot (which echoes Trollope's own experience of running unsuccessfully for Parliament), and there are several good character studies; on the minus side, the plot threads never seem to hang together well, and the love stories are frankly uninteresting.