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Trollope, A Commentary
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
435 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1927
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 24, 2026
Written in 1927 by a guy who really was an expert on Anthony Trollope, this book is a great guide and supplement to Trollope’s works themselves. It also includes a comprehensive biography of Trollope as well as an overview of his Victorian culture and plenty of professional criticism of his writings.
I especially appreciated that Sadleir’s remarks are truly analytical and not confined to just adulation and praise.
Another unusual feature of this book is the arrangement of the chapters by broad topic along with a running subtopic line at the top of each page so the reader is continuously reminded of the specific matter being covered.
Trollope was not only a novelist. He wrote a gigantic autobiography and he travelled the globe and wrote extensively about where he visited. He published many short stories and much of his correspondence. For much of his early writing career he worked full time for the British Postal Servjce in various parts of the empire and wrote about those experiences. He even once ran unsuccessfully for parliament.
For anyone interested in understanding how a fine author evolved over a long and prolific career, this book is the ticket.
I especially appreciated that Sadleir’s remarks are truly analytical and not confined to just adulation and praise.
Another unusual feature of this book is the arrangement of the chapters by broad topic along with a running subtopic line at the top of each page so the reader is continuously reminded of the specific matter being covered.
Trollope was not only a novelist. He wrote a gigantic autobiography and he travelled the globe and wrote extensively about where he visited. He published many short stories and much of his correspondence. For much of his early writing career he worked full time for the British Postal Servjce in various parts of the empire and wrote about those experiences. He even once ran unsuccessfully for parliament.
For anyone interested in understanding how a fine author evolved over a long and prolific career, this book is the ticket.
September 18, 2019
Sadleir was THE Trollope expert of the early 20th century, and this is a very sympathetic review of his life and writings. Not really a biography, but it does provide a lot of early biographical details and places his writings within his life and the historical and literary developments of the time.
For people who have read and enjoyed a dozen or more Trollope novels, the book would be enlightening. However, I would strongly advise reading Trollope's autobiography first. It's not too long, and the Autobiography itself is important to understanding Trollope's sudden drop in popularity and critical acclaim after his death. (It's also written with Trollope's trademarked style and attitude.) Sadleir discusses and explains this at length.
Perhaps the book is slightly longer than it needs to be. I also felt that it could use a touch better organization. But these are minor complaints for a book that is likely to be very interesting to Trollope's many fans.
Note that there are multiple editions. I read the revised one (1947), which apparently has some new material beyond the 1927 one. Either should be readily available used.
For people who have read and enjoyed a dozen or more Trollope novels, the book would be enlightening. However, I would strongly advise reading Trollope's autobiography first. It's not too long, and the Autobiography itself is important to understanding Trollope's sudden drop in popularity and critical acclaim after his death. (It's also written with Trollope's trademarked style and attitude.) Sadleir discusses and explains this at length.
Perhaps the book is slightly longer than it needs to be. I also felt that it could use a touch better organization. But these are minor complaints for a book that is likely to be very interesting to Trollope's many fans.
Note that there are multiple editions. I read the revised one (1947), which apparently has some new material beyond the 1927 one. Either should be readily available used.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews