Can You Forgive Her? Audiobook By Anthony Trollope cover art

Can You Forgive Her?

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Can You Forgive Her?

By: Anthony Trollope
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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Can You Forgive Her? is the first of the six Palliser novels. Here Trollope examines parliamentary election and marriage, politics and privacy. As he dissects the Victorian upper class, issues and people shed their pretenses under his patient, ironic probe.

Alice Vavasor cannot decide whether to marry her ambitious but violent cousin George or the upright and gentlemanly John Grey—and so finds herself accepting and rejecting each of them in turn. She is increasingly confused about her own feelings and unable to forgive herself for such vacillation—a situation contrasted with that of her friend Lady Glencora, forced by “sagacious heads” to marry the rising politician Plantagenet Palliser in order to prevent her true love, the worthless Burgo Fitzgerald, from wasting her vast fortune. In asking his readers to pardon Alice for her transgression of the Victorian moral code, Trollope created a telling and wide-ranging account of the social world of his day.

Public Domain (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Anthologies & Short Stories Classics Fairy Tales Fantasy Fiction Mystery Magic Witty

Critic reviews

Praise for Barchester Towers: “Obviously, [Vance] relishes impersonating the dramatis personae." ( AudioFile)
Rich Character Development • Compelling Storyline • Insightful Social Commentary • Humorous Passages • Engaging Subplots
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George was infuriating! But Trollope has a way of getting to the heart of his characters, such that most aren’t wholly good or bad.

The typically engaging use of language

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I first read this 40 years ago and still love it and pretty much everything Trollope wrote. I think Vance’s reading is one of the best I’ve ever listened to. But do the English really say dew-enna for duenna?

Stunning performance

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I listened to this twice. First time I felt impatient at the slow story line and incomprehensible in this day and age actions of female primary characters. Second time, years later, pandemic listening, the story slowly and delightfully unfolded. I accepted foibles and savored the sly humor.

Charming

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What did you love best about Can You Forgive Her??

The character of Alice Vavosar was so realistic and a truly wonderful person, that you really cared about what happens to her.

What other book might you compare Can You Forgive Her? to and why?

I suppose the Elizabeth Gaskell books about small town life are similar but this deals mainly with the upper classes and politics. The women are very similar.

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

He does both men and women's voices wonderfully. His Mr. Grey and Mr. Palliser voices were my favorites.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Mr. Grey again asks Alice to be his, tells her he will never give up on her and she finally relents. You want this to happen so badly at this point that you feel like cheering, however if you are listening long into the night when this comes up, I advise against it, as your partner may get upset with you!

A bit dated, but engaging tale of Victorian women

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The narration could not have been better. Yes, a long tail, but told well. I forgave them all.

Troll up at his best

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Good book to fall asleep to. love the narrator with his diction.
if you like Trollope. sure!

Very british

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Sometimes the reserve that women were expected to have in the Victorian is maddening! But I do enjoy Trollope….

The reader is wonderful

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Would you listen to Can You Forgive Her? again? Why?

Took a while for me to warm to the pace and style of the story. I shall definitely be listening to more.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lady Glencora. She just didn't squeeze herself into the mould and she was so sweet.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The narrator's rendering of the feminine became a little tiresome, perhaps two narrator's would have been great.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I enjoyed laughing now and then and enjoyed letting it roll over me.

sedately delightful

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Another wonderful book by Anthony Trollope. Great characters and story lines. I became quite bored around chapter 13. Stuck it out for a few chapters and glad I did. Simon Vance is good, except his male characters sound like pompes a_____s. Timothy West does a better job with Trollope's work. Highly recommend.

I Forgive Her

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This is a long, long book, and the first in a series, though I understand that they mostly stand alone so you don't really have to read them in order. It centers around three women: one married, one single, and one widowed, and for each of them, the central question is the same - do I go with Mr. Dull and Dependable or do I go with Mr. Good Looks Who Will Spend All My Money and Ruin Me?

It might have been a more exciting book if Trollope was a more radical author, but I'm not spoiling too much to say that Trollope was actually a very conservative author. Everyone ultimately Does the Right Thing in a very Victorian way, but not before flirting with impropriety enough to raise the question asked by the title: Can You Forgive Her?

Besides jilted suitors and gentleman wastrels, there is a bit of Parliamentary politics in this book which I believe assumes greater importance in the future volumes.

Anthony Trollope had the gift of narrative and character development, so if your only exposure to Victorian social drama is Charles Dickens, then give Trollope a try. That said, I would probably start with The Way We Live Now, which I thought was a better book with a more engaging story.

Simon Vance is one of my favorite audiobook readers, and he delivers great Victorian performances equally well with his readings of James Bond novels.

Very Very Victorian

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