# Harold Smith — Framley Parsonage character guide

> Harold Smith in Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Harold Smith, Smith, Harold

**First appearance:** 0005-vi-mr-harold-smith-s-lecture

## Snapshot

A pompous politician and lecturer, brother-in-law to Sowerby, who swells with pride when he is at last summoned into the cabinet.

## Who they are

Harold Smith moves through the novel as a man of self-importance, forever lecturing and forever certain of his own consequence, and his elevation to the cabinet briefly makes his whole circle hold their heads high. His elation is comic and revealing: he cannot quite decide whether cabinet ministers are gods or men, and he is content to sit silent at first among the Olympians. His political fortunes and his connection to Sowerby entangle him in the electioneering turmoil that sweeps through Barsetshire.

## In the story

### [The Framley Set, and the Chaldicotes Set](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/framley_parsonage_se/chapters/ii-the-framley-set-and-the-chaldicotes-set)

Harold Smith is a member of Parliament and a rising politician, married to Sowerby's sister. He is laborious and well-informed but conceited and pompous.

### [Chaldicotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/framley_parsonage_se/chapters/iii-chaldicotes)

Plans to give a lecture about Borneo and discusses the islands with the bishop.

### [Mr. Harold Smith’s Lecture](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/framley_parsonage_se/chapters/vi-mr-harold-smith-s-lecture)

Anxious and serious about his lecture on the South Sea islands, annoyed by the jokes and delays.

### [Sunday Morning](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/framley_parsonage_se/chapters/vii-sunday-morning)

Mentioned as the subject of the charity sermon and the earlier lecture that provoked laughter.

### [Gatherum Castle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/framley_parsonage_se/chapters/viii-gatherum-castle)

Engages in political discussions at the castle; proposes throwing in shells against the prime minister.

### [Mrs. Proudie’s Conversazione](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/framley_parsonage_se/chapters/xvii-mrs-proudie-s-conversazione)

Briefly appears, discussing her husband's political negotiations with Lord Brock and the uncertainty of his appointment.

### [The New Minister's Patronage](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/framley_parsonage_se/chapters/xviii-the-new-minister-s-patronage)

Newly appointed Lord Petty Bag; Mark seeks his patronage for the prebendal stall.

### [Money Dealings](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/framley_parsonage_se/chapters/xix-money-dealings)

Mentioned as the Lord Petty Bag, though Mark does not deliver his intended resignation message.

### [Harold Smith in the Cabinet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/framley_parsonage_se/chapters/xx-harold-smith-in-the-cabinet)

Newly appointed cabinet minister, elated but soon criticized by the Jupiter article.

### [The Triumph of the Giants](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/framley_parsonage_se/chapters/xxiii-the-triumph-of-the-giants)

Loses his position as a cabinet minister when the ministry resigns.

### [Magna Est Veritas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/framley_parsonage_se/chapters/xxiv-magna-est-veritas)

Mentioned as Mrs. Harold Smith's husband and a cabinet minister who might help Sowerby.

### [The Goat and Compasses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/framley_parsonage_se/chapters/xxxii-the-goat-and-compasses)

Mentioned as having been made unhappy by the dissolution rumor, though he does not appear directly in the chapter.

### [Mr. Sowerby Without Company](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/framley_parsonage_se/chapters/xxxvii-mr-sowerby-without-company)

Mentioned in relation to past financial dealings with Sowerby; his wife acts as intermediary with Miss Dunstable.

### [Nemesis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/framley_parsonage_se/chapters/xlvii-nemesis)

Believes the article was written by his enemy Mr. Supplehouse, though the narrator doubts this.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/framley_parsonage_se/characters/harold_smith
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/framley_parsonage_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/framley_parsonage_se/characters