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November 17, 2004
TT: Almanac
"One of the constant minor joys of reading Trollope is coming across descriptions of little gestures which reveal character in much the same way as a good actor does, either deliberately or half-consciously. There is an example early on in The Way We Live Now in his description of Father John Barham, a young, overenthusiastic, gentlemanly Catholic priest. ‘He had thick dark brown hair, which was cut short...but which he so constantly ruffled by the action of his hands, that, although short, it seemed to be wild and uncombed...In discussions he would constantly push back his hair, and then sit with his hand fixed on the top of his head.' I have seen many highly strung intellectuals do the same thing. The pleasure lies in recognizing, today, habits which were to be found among us a hundred and twenty years ago however much the mores and manners have changed; and a hundred years before that, and before that as well. The sense of continuity, going both backwards and forward, I find endlessly rewarding."Alec Guinness, A Positively Final Appearance
Posted November 17, 2004 12:00 PM
