The central tension in Trollope’s novel Phineas Finn is between independence and service. The title character is an Irish outsider who comes into Parliament vowing to be true to his individual conscience…Finn has to either chart his own course or allow himself to be put in harness for the good of the common effort.”

This gracefully written work is perfectly read by [Vance], who successfully evokes the Victorian era.”

Phineas Finn's engaging plot embraces matters as diverse as reform, the position of women, the Irish question, and the conflict between integrity and ambition...Trollope explores the realities of political life, and the clash between compromise and conviction, that is as topical today as it was in the 1860s.”

The polished excitement that animates [Vance’s] reading comes across richly and compels the listener’s attention.”