Anthony Trollope, 1815–1882

Biographical note

Novelist, son of Thomas Anthony Trollope, a barrister who ruined himself by speculation, and of Frances Trollope, a well-known writer, was born in London, and educated at Harrow and Winchester. His childhood was an unhappy one, owing to his father’s misfortunes. After a short time in Belgium he obtained an appointment in the Post Office, in which he rose to a responsible position. His first three novels had little success; but in 1855 he found his line, and in The Warden produced the first of his Barsetshire series. It was followed by Barchester Towers [1857], Doctor Thorne [1858], Framley Parsonage [1861], The Small House at Allington [1864], and The Last Chronicle of Barset [1867], which deal with the society of a small cathedral city. Other novels are Orley Farm, Can you forgive Her?, Ralph the Heir, The Claverings, Phineas Finn, He knew he was Right, and The Golden Lion of Grandpré. In all he wrote about 50 novels, besides books about the West Indies, North America, Australia, and South Africa, a translation of Cæsar, and monographs on Cicero and Thackeray. His novels are light of touch, pleasant, amusing, and thoroughly healthy. They make no attempt to sound the depths of character or either to propound or solve problems. Outside of fiction his work was generally superficial and unsatisfactory. But he had the merit of providing a whole generation with wholesome amusement, and enjoyed a great deal of popularity. He is said to have received £70,000 for his writings.