New Men in Trollope's Novels challenges the popular construction of Victorian men as patriarchal despots and suggests that hands-on fatherhood may have been a nineteenth-century norm. Beginning with an evaluation of the evidence for cultural determinations of masculinity during Trollope's times, the author sets the stage with a discussion of the religious, philosophical, and educational influences that informed the evolution of Trollope's personal views of masculinity as he grew from boyhood into later manhood. Her treatment of his novels, drawing on a wide selection from across the oevre, shows that sensitive examination of Trollope's texts discovers him advancing a startlingly modern model of manhood under a veneer of conformity. Trollope's independent views on child-rearing, education, courtship, marriage, parenthood, and gay men are also discussed within the context of Victorian culture in this witty, original, and immensely knowledgeable study of Victorian masculinity.

"Phineas Finn" is one of Trollope's most enchanting novels. It revolves around a young Irish, Phineas Finn, who becomes a member of the British House of the Parliament and plays an important role in the reforms of the British politics of the mid-19th century. The author has very well described his views and emotions as a politician along with his relationships with three different women. Captivating!