Phineas Redux

It is no good any longer having any opinion upon anything.’ After the death of his wife, the handsome politician Phineas Finn returns from Ireland to the parliamentary fray. In his absence the political and social world has subtly changed, parties and policies no longer fixed and advancement dependent upon scheming and alliances. His private life lays him open to the scandal-mongering press, and the wild accusations of an unhinged rival; but much more than his reputation is at stake when he is accused of murdering a political opponent. Trollope shows a remarkably prescient sense of the importance of intrigue, bribery, and sexual scandal, and the power of the press to make or break a political career. He is equally skilled in portraying the complex nature of Phineas's romantic entanglements with three powerful women: the mysterious Madame Max, the devoted Laura Kennedy, and the irrepressible Lady Glencora (now Duchess of Omnium). The fourth of Trollope's Palliser novels, Phineas Redux is one of his most spellbinding achievements, and the first modern ‘media’ novel.