Orley Farm by Anthony Trollope
published 1861-1862
It was a pleasant sight to see, the long, broad, well-filled breakfast table, with all that company round it. There were some eighteen or twenty gathered now at the table, among whom the judge sat pre-eminent, looming large in an arm-chair and having a double space allotted to him;—some eighteen or twenty, children included.
comments: Last year in the Clothes in Books Christmas scenes
series, I looked at The Small House at Allington, a later book by
Trollope, which had a tremendous
description of a very boring Christmas. Around that time (but not in the comments to
that post) Marty told me to read Orley Farm, as having plenty of Christmas
content. Well, she was not exaggerating – look at this succession of chapter
titles a quarter of the way in:
CHRISTMAS IN HARLEY STREET
CHRISTMAS AT NONINGSBY
CHRISTMAS AT GROBY PARK
CHRISTMAS IN GREAT ST. HELENS
--and these are very different events indeed.
(Note – no-one is having much Christmas at Orley Farm itself.)
Noningsby would definitely be the one to attend – a very
jolly houseparty at the home of Judge Staveley, with a variety of guests to mix
it up, and a good collection of children and young people.
One of the guests (rather cheekily) complains to Madeline, the
daughter of the house:
“The peculiar conviviality of the day is so ponderous! Its roast-beefiness oppresses one so thoroughly from the first moment of one's waking, to the last ineffectual effort at a bit of fried pudding for supper!"
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"But blindman's buff at three, with snap-dragon at a quarter to four—charades at five, with wine and sweet cake at half-past six, is ponderous. And that's our mistake. The big turkey would be very good;—capital fun to see a turkey twice as big as it ought to be! But the big turkey, and the mountain of beef, and the pudding weighing a hundredweight, oppress one's spirits by their combined gravity. And then they impart a memory of indigestion, a halo as it were of apoplexy, even to the church services."
(Snapdragon is a game where people snatch flaming items,
such as raisins, from a burning bowl. It always sounds terrifying and highly
dangerous)
This serious-minded young man is easily persuaded - by a few
rounds of Blindman’s buff and snapdragon with Madeline - that maybe Christmas
isn’t so bad…
In my earlier post I was less than wholly enthusiastic about this book, although I haven’t yet found a Trollope book that I hated. This one had some loose ends I thought, he doesn’t tell you what happened to all the characters: usually he is very good at that, and it’s something I like to know…
Top picture from a 1916 Christmas book via Wikimedia Commons.
Blindman’s Buff from Wikimedia Commons – an engraving by noted artist Winslow Homer
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I do like the look at Christmas doings of the time, Moira. Still, you make a good point about wanting to know what happens to the characters in the end. I think that gives the reader some satisfaction - even closure.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed. Perhaps not everyone feels that way, it's personal, I've heard others say about a book 'I don't like everything tied up with a ribbon'! But for me, if an author has induced me to care for the characters, then I want to know what happens to them.
DeleteI wanted to know more about the fellow who'd been a pal of the "hero" and had a disappointment in love.
DeleteI don't remember that, but I'm sure I felt the same!
DeleteI quiet like imagining a future for a character. And there are always loose ends in real life - you move, or other people go elsewhere, and you lose touch and never know what happened to them.
DeleteI am me this time, but it’s altered by spelling! Quite. Not quiet.
DeleteThat's a fair point, I suppose it is more realistic. But I do like SOME closure...
DeleteI agree about snapdragon. Might be interesting to consider which fictional Christmases one would have most and least like to be present at. The Christmas at in The Small House at Allingham would rank pretty high among the least, but Mr Fezziwig's party in A Christmas Carol would be fun.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to pose the question! Small House definitely low down on the list. I'll have to think about the best ones...
DeleteThis is an interesting article about snap-dragon: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-is-snapdragon
DeleteIt is a brilliant article, thanks for posting that link. It answered many of my questions, AND, the author tried playing it!
DeleteI gather that speed, or at least quickness, is of the essence!
DeleteYes, the author claims that the items lose their burning heat very quickly. Still can't quite imagine the enjoyment...
DeleteI loved the top illustration! It appears to be from a re-issue of Washington Irving's Sketch Book, originally published 1819-20 (which helps to explain the style of the clothing). The illustrator of the 1916 edition is Frank Dadd: https://www.artnet.com/artists/frank-dadd/biography
ReplyDeleteYou've done a great job of combining British and American writers, artists, and traditions in this post! In exploring the Christmas Sketches, I was delighted to find that in one of them, the narrator meets the local parson, who "was a complete black-letter hunter, and would scarcely read a work printed in the Roman character. The editions of Caxton and Wynkin de Worde were his delight; and he was indefatigable in his researches after such old English writers as have fallen into oblivion from their worthlessness." ("Christmas Day," p. 70: https://archive.org/details/oldchristmas00irviuoft/page/70/mode/1up?view=theater)
It is so rare that I can bring together my interests in clothes and old books, but here we are!
Thank you! The clothes obviously weren't quite right, as too early, but I liked the picture of so many people together in what looks like a family setting - not always easy to find. I'm impressed at your checking out the book, and the parson! I do enjoy finding the pictures for the entries - and the Irving book looks as though it could be a useful future resource, great illos!
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DeleteDickens gets a lot of credit for "inventing" the Merry Old English Christmas, but Irving was writing about it decades earlier.
DeleteHe's not nearly so familiar here in the UK - famous for Rip Van Winkle but not much else - which perhaps explains undue attention going to our home-grown Dickens!
DeleteIt's odd about Irving, his usual specialty was the society of NYC and surroundings. But he probably traveled, and like Dickens he was a fine humorous storyteller. Do you know the Legend of Sleepy Hollow? Scary, but funny too.
DeleteI read Sleepy Hollow years ago, and the names in it are very familiar - but I should read it again. He is surprisingly modern-seeming isn't he?
DeleteAlso, off-topic, your post about Ballet Shoes inspired me: https://dameeleanorhull.wordpress.com/2024/12/27/who-is-sylvia-what-did-she/
ReplyDeleteOh this is brilliant! I tried to comment, but wasn't able to, I will try again.
DeleteAnd I will link to your post on my Ballet Shoes post...
And a follow-up that may also interest you and your readers: https://dameeleanorhull.wordpress.com/2024/12/30/subtle-fair-and-wise-is-rose/
DeleteExtremely interesting, I do recommend this! And I definitely have to re-read The Whicharts.
DeleteHi Moira. Now reading Tooth & Claw which you recommended to me on a train ride together into Bristol, having just read Framley Parsonage. Great fun. (Going off at a tangent from snap-dragon....)
ReplyDeleteOh great, glad you are enjoying! It doesn't seem possible that that was 6 months ago, although I do remember it was lovely sunny Sunday morning: not like now....
DeleteI'm not getting on well with Trollope at the moment - started "Can You Forgive Her?", got thoroughly bogged down and will probably abandon for now - but I did enjoy "The Small House at Allington", boring Christmas and all, despite that fact that I lost patience with pretty much all the male characters early on.
ReplyDeleteSovay
Perhaps it's a question of finding your Trollope - someone should create a flowchart. Can You Forgive Her? is one of my favourites. Judicious skimming, and trying not to be too outraged by the conditions of the day, and the ways of men, are key.
DeleteProbably me not Trollope - Alice annoyed me, I wasn't in the mood to find the Widow Greenow funny and I never even got to the Pallisers. I've put it aside to come back to another time.
DeleteSovay
Try a different one! Such an advantage that there are so many.
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