The Struggles of Brown, Jones, and Robinson: By One of the Firm (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Anthony Trollope (Author), N. John Hall (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Oxford World's Classics | Publication Date: January 14, 1993

The Struggles of Brown, Jones, and Robinson (1861-2) is a satirical attack on abuses in advertising. Told by "One of the firm," it is the tale of a foolhardy junior partner of an ill-fated haberdashery. Robinson, formerly a bill-sticker, wishes to spend the firm's entire capital on advertising, to "broadcast through the metropolis." His devotion to inflated and dishonest advertising is the target of this amusing comedy which bears all the hallmarks of Trollope's better known novels--clever dialogue, riveting moments of drama, and comic suspense.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

As young adult, Trollope endured seven years of poverty in the General Post Office in London before accepting a better-paying position as postal surveyor in Banagher, Ireland in 1841. The years in Ireland formed the basis of his second career delineating clerical life in small cathedral towns. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 14, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192828606
• ISBN-13: 978-0192828606
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,781,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Fails more than it succeeds, June 20, 2008

By 

J. C Clark "eanna" (Overland Park, KS United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Struggles of Brown, Jones and Robinson, by One of the Firm (Trollope, Penguin) (Paperback)

With few readers for Anthony Trollope's greatest novels, it doesn't seem worth a lot of trouble to steer a potential customer away from what is surely his slightest book. But I'll take a moment to do so. Trollope is hardly ever uninteresting; he is a master of creating unique and formidable characters and letting them bang into each other and documenting the results. But this book is indeed a struggle. Possibly the satire is too much of its time, though I doubt it. Even if that were the case though, the mostly whiny and boring one-dimensional characers who inhabit this book are almost without any interest. Satire needs to be a bit over the top; this is tame and plodding stuff.

It is often said that lesser novels make better movies. The nuance, the vastness, the gentle description and evocative detail are often lost in the transfer to film. Masterpiece Theater has filmed a couple of Trollope's finer tales. After the long-ago and far-away 27 episode panoply devoted to the Pallisers, they've scrimped in length and offered pallid versions of great books. Maybe this novel, which, despite its flaws has a some vivid scenes and interesting bits, could, with skillful crafting, make a pleasant TV series. It sure didn't make a good read.