Nina Balatka [with Biographical Introduction]

To ask other readers questions about Nina Balatka , please sign up. Lists with This Book. Feb 13, Paul rated it really liked it Shelves: As with the other two, it is set on the continent; in Prague to be precise. It is also uncharacteristically brief. Normally Trollope gives all the main characters a chapter each to introduce them; here he manages it in a couple of pages.

As is often the case with Trollope, the female characters are stronger and more interesting. What is unusual about this novel is its theme. It is a simple love story of a Romeo a 3. It is a simple love story of a Romeo and Juliet type. The heroine, Nina, is a Catholic Christian. The man she loves and who loves her is a Jew. This is before Eliot wrote her examination of the same subject in Daniel Deronda.

He was particularly attracted to those he felt were outsiders; something he felt himself to be, especially at school. However there are some interesting and slightly unusual aspects to the novel. It is almost stream of consciousness, although limited to one person. The racial prejudice of the Catholics is much more marked that that of the Jewish community, who whilst still opposing the marriage, were much less condemnatory.

One of the stronger and more sympathetic characters is Rebecca who had been brought up to believe she would marry Anton before he falls in love with Nina. The two main characters are at times rather irritating and very traditional and Trollope still does not stray far from conventional boundaries. However it is an interesting and unusual novel for the time despite its limitations. Dec 15, Joel rated it really liked it. Nina Balatka is the story of a beautiful young Christian girl in 19th century Prague who is beset with two great troubles.

The second, portrayed as the greater trouble in this year-old book is her love for a wealthy Jewish businessman named Anton Trendellsohn. This is a novel about prejudice in old Europe, and perhaps about the power of love to overcome it — b Nina Balatka is the story of a beautiful young Christian girl in 19th century Prague who is beset with two great troubles.

This is a novel about prejudice in old Europe, and perhaps about the power of love to overcome it — but not entirely. I very much enjoyed this book, despite the fact that the topics are hard. A poverty where the possibility of starvation is real — something that westerners have forgotten, to our own peril. A dangerous racism — antisemitism — that has been the blight of Europe forever and which still stubbornly persists today. Nina Balatka is not a love story as I would have written it.

It is not an epic tale of love against all odds, full of passion and understanding; it is instead an earthy story about an uncomfortable love in a difficult time, a story that is natural and primal and trying. But it is a love story nonetheless, and Anthony Trollope tells it well.

Sep 07, Elizabeth Alaska rated it really liked it Shelves: This is the most serious of the Trollope novels I've read. It is completely devoid of any Trollope humor. Still, I quite enjoyed it. Trollope may have been putting his own spin on a Romeo and Juliet story.

In this, a poor Christian girl is betrothed to a wealthy Jewish man. Neither of the families nor their respective communities approve. Throughout, I wondered if Trollope would bring himself to write a tragic ending.

Even though Trollope's novels usually contain humor, it is the more serious sce This is the most serious of the Trollope novels I've read. Even though Trollope's novels usually contain humor, it is the more serious scenes in his novels that are the most vivid, and he doesn't miss those opportunities in this one. When Nina's aunt Sophie refers to the "dirty Jew" we can fairly see spittle fly. When Anton Trendellsohn's father thinks of his son marrying a Christian, the sadness within him is too apparent. This is quite short. I don't think the anti-semitism reflected in the novel is a reflection of Trollope's own beliefs.

Those who wish to explore Trollope beyond his two fabulous series might wish to include Nina Balatka in their reading as it shows Trollope for having more depth than some of his other lighter works. View all 6 comments. Aug 09, Lucy rated it it was ok. One for completists only. A wimp of a heroine, a nasty 'hero', few of the Trollopian asides which make him the delightful read he usually is.

Oct 17, K. Can't believe I'll say this, bu this wasn't terribly engaging. Perhaps I'll finish it someday. Mar 09, Sally rated it really liked it Shelves: Kindle Edition Set in 19th century Prague, this is the tale of a lovely - but poor - Christian girl, and her love for stern, wealthy - but Jewish - Anton Trendellsohn. A mixed marriage in such a racially divided city is always going to be difficult, and as incensed relatives, jealous would-be lovers and interfering servants get involved on both sides , the union seems fra "There has been no girl connected with decent people who has ever so degraded herself" By sally tarbox on 10 March Format: A mixed marriage in such a racially divided city is always going to be difficult, and as incensed relatives, jealous would-be lovers and interfering servants get involved on both sides , the union seems fraught with problems.

But there is a further issue: Can Anton retrieve what is rightly his - and is it Nina herself who is concealing them? Well written and enjoyable.

As a shorter Trollope work p maybe you don't get quite as caught up in the characters as in the superlative Pallisers etc. But interesting to read a novel of the era that has some sympathies with the Jewish plight. Mar 25, David rated it it was ok Shelves: This was the first of several novels that Trollope originally published anonymously. In his autobiography he says that this was done as a sort of experiment, to see to what extent a successful novelist's sales were attributable to his name, as opposed to the merits of new works. I wonder whether his real motive didn't lie in a concern that the market might be in danger of becoming glutted with Trollope -- the man was ungodly prolific.

The novel, very short by Trollope's standards, is set in Pragu This was the first of several novels that Trollope originally published anonymously. Add to Wish List. This page works best with JavaScript. Disabling it will result in some disabled or missing features. You can still see all customer reviews for the product. Anthony Trollope typically writes long novels with several story lines that come together as the novel progresses. Not so with Nina Balatka. Set in Prague in the middle of the nineteenth century when anti-Semitism made life difficult for the Jews, the story begins with the announcement that a lovely yet desperately poor Christian girl named Nina Balatka is engaged to marry a rich Jewish man named Anton Trendellsohn.

Everyone in the Christian and Jewish community is against the marriage and Nina's aunt and cousin do all they can to prevent the wedding from taking place.

Nina, a strong willed and completely reliable young woman, is well prepared to defend herself against all of Prague, if necessary. His father owns the house Nina and her father live in, but the Trendellsohns do not have the deed for the property. Anton desperately wants to acquire this document. Nina tells Anton in no uncertain terms that she and her father don't have the deed, but he does not believe her. The entire novel centers on this lack of trust and its consequences for Nina and Anton.

We, the readers, know that Nina is telling the truth. We experience her frustration as again and again she tries to convince Anton that the deed is in the possession of her aunt, uncle, and cousin, who will do anything to prevent her marriage to Anton. The reader of this review who wants to find out just what happens to the deed, the great mystery of the story, will have to read the novel to find out.

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Also, we don't learn until the end of the book if the course of Nina's true love for Anton is rewarded or if Nina throws herself off a bridge in Prague into the Moldau river to drown herself, as she is tempted to do when it appears that she will not marry Anton. The problem with this novel is that Nina is too good and Anton is clearly unworthy of her great love.

All her reason tells her to break off the marriage and we, the readers, are convinced by her logic, even if she is not. When I finally came to the end of this short novel, and none too soon, I was not fully satisfied with the outcome. Even so, this is the work of Anthony Trollope, one of my favorite English authors. Even mediocre Trollope is far superior to anything the reader is likely to find in any modern novel.

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Nina Balatka is not a place to begin an acquaintance with the novels of Anthony Trollope, but those who love Trollope's work, as I do, are almost certain to find some merit in this novel. A woman in love utterly subjects herself to the man she loves. No insult can upset her subservience; nothing can dull her adoration.

This is true, not only for Nina, but also Rebecca, another Anton devotee. Rebecca, if anything, is the more nauseatingly subservient of the two. At least Nina hopes to obtain a husband for her efforts; Rebecca is willing to sacrifice her life for his happiness in return for nothing. To make matters worse, Anton Trendellsohn is no prize. We never learn why he chronically distrusts Nina.

She serially proves her loyalty and love, and still he languishes for a document that will make his life more convenient and that he thinks Nina harbors. And amazing to me that the Trollope who wrote this novel , also wrote the Palliser novels and the Barsetshire novels One person found this helpful. Top rated Most recent Top rated. All reviewers Verified purchase only All reviewers All stars 5 star only 4 star only 3 star only 2 star only 1 star only All positive All critical All stars All formats Format: There was a problem filtering reviews right now.

Please try again later. There was a problem loading comments right now. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. The plot was a little contrived. Nina's Jewish lover was not helpful and sympathetic enough to her poverty.