Anthony Trollope

Doctor Thorne Illustrated Anthony Trollope

Doctor Thorne (1858) is the third novel in Anthony Trollope's series known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire. The idea of the plot was suggested to Trollope by his brother Thomas. The novel is mainly concerned with the difficulties experienced by Mary Thorne, the niece of Doctor Thomas Thorne (a member of a junior branch of the family of Mr Wilfred Thorne, who appeared in Barchester Towers), in the course of her romance with Frank Gresham, the only son of the local squire. However, Trollope, as the omniscient narrator, assures the reader at the beginning that the hero is really the doctor.