# Mr. Quintus Slide — Phineas Finn character guide

> Mr. Quintus Slide in Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Slide, Quintus Slide, dear Slide, Quintus

**First appearance:** 0032-xxxiii-mr-slide-s-grievance

## Snapshot

A newspaper editor whose pen is a weapon, Quintus Slide turns personal grievance into public print and makes himself the price of a young politician's reputation.

## Who they are

Quintus Slide edits a paper that thrives on scandal and the humiliation of public men, and he nurses grudges with the patience of a man who owns a press. Where Phineas Finn wants to rise on merit and connection, Slide represents the darker arithmetic of Victorian public life—where a single paragraph can undo a career. His vendetta against Phineas makes him a persistent, petty, and genuinely dangerous antagonist.

## Relationships

### [Phineas Finn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phineas_finn_se/characters/phineas_finn)

_rivalry_

Slide is a venomous journalist who attacks Phineas in the press, acting as a persistent political enemy.

### [Phineas Finn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phineas_finn_se/characters/phineas_finn)

_rivalry_

Slide is a venomous journalist who attacks Phineas in the press, acting as a persistent political enemy.

### [Phineas Finn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phineas_finn_se/characters/phineas_finn)

_rivalry_

Slide is a venomous journalist who attacks Phineas in the press, acting as a persistent political enemy.

## In the story

### [The First Speech](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phineas_finn_se/chapters/xxvi-the-first-speech)

A journalist from the People's Banner who offers Phineas a platform in exchange for supporting Bunce's case.

### [The Second Reading Is Carried](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phineas_finn_se/chapters/xxviii-the-second-reading-is-carried)

Discusses his ambition to enter Parliament and names Loughton as a potential constituency; encourages Bunce's lawsuit behind Phineas's back.

### [Mr. Kennedy's Luck](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phineas_finn_se/chapters/xxx-mr-kennedy-s-luck)

Urges Phineas to support the ballot and join the People's Banner, but Phineas is becoming less enamored of him.

### [Mr. Slide's Grievance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phineas_finn_se/chapters/xxxiii-mr-slide-s-grievance)

Writes to Phineas accusing him of unfair treatment; proposes that Phineas make way for him at Loughton after the next election in exchange for press support.

### [Mr. Mildmay's Bill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phineas_finn_se/chapters/xlvii-mr-mildmay-s-bill)

Stands against Phineas at Loughton, delivers a speech attacking him, and is pelted with rotten eggs and a dead dog.

### [LXXV: P.P.C.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phineas_finn_se/chapters/lxxv-p-p-c)

Offers Phineas a writing position at the Banner of the People, but is rejected and expelled.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phineas_finn_se/characters/mr_quintus_slide
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phineas_finn_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phineas_finn_se/characters