Wealth v Title - the essential conflict in Trollope's Dr Thorne

As Dr Thorne (Anthony Trollope) reaches its first point of crisis - Dr. T informs Sir Roger that Nancy (Dr T's niece) is Sir Roger's niece also and could be a likely heiress to his vast estate - Dr Thorne faces a few crucial decisions: what to tell Nancy about her parentage (she does not know of her relationship to the crass, blunt Sir Roger and has asked Dr T to bring her to meet him because she finds him quaint and interesting - but he refuses to do so, afraid, no doubt, of losing some of her affection), how to respond to the edict from the Gresham's that he keep Nancy away from their household so as not to ruin young Frank Gresham's opportunity to marry a wealthy (though untitled) heiress to an ointment fortune. He's rightly appalled by this "suggestion" from the Gresham's and must deliciously keep in the back of his mind the possibility that Nancy will inherit and someday boy won't they be sorry - but he's not a vengeful or spiteful man and wants to do what's best for Nancy, but what is that? Telling everyone of her potential inheritance? Could that change her? Could that entice Frank to marry her - and what if she doesn't inherit? We get a few more great scenes in this section of the novel - the comical confrontation between Dr T and his pompous rival, Dr Fillgrave (is that his name? some funny Pynchon-like name in any event), and a terrific description of the very dull de Courcy castle and the out-of-the way town where it's located - much like so many towns even in America bypassed by the railroad and essentially abandoned, forgotten. Much of the conflict in Dr Thorne is between wealth and title - the old nobility on life-support and desperately trying to marry into money to keep its institutions alive, but at the same time scornful of fortunes amassed through crass "commerce" - commerce that's already, in mid-19th century, changing everything about England (and the world). This leads into the parliamentary election - much of which eludes me and I suspect many modern readers who can't tell a Whig from a Tory, but in any event some of the bribery and paybacks will look familiar to any contemporary reader - and in the end Sir Roger, a self-made man and a populist of some sort, wins the seat, defeating the wealthy and extremely dull tailor's son (imagine that!) who's soon to prop up the Gresham fortunes by marrying one of the daughters.