My book club has embarked on tackling the whole of the Palliser series by Trollope and we have almost finished them. So far The Prime Minister (the fifth in the six-volume series) has particularly stood out.

The first chapter, which is totally dedicated to introducing Ferdinand Lopez, a slimy financial speculator, is a masterclass in characterisation. The name alone is perfect, but the description of his physical appearance, his generally slippery behaviour and avoidance of all talk of his family (whom we suspect are a disreputable bunch), is a total joy. We know from the outset he is a wrong ‘un!

As with all Trollope’s books, The Prime Minister is long, but it’s well worth it. And all the political machinations show that nothing much has changed in those circles since Trollope’s day.

One other writing point: I know writers are supposed to wait for the muse to descend rather than write to a schedule or a particular daily wordcount, but Trollope did the latter and he has to be admired for his prodigious output — especially given that his books were of such quality.