Anthony Trollope

by James Pope Hennessey

With incomparable brilliance, Anthony Trollope witnessed and recorded life during the later decades of Queen Victoria's reign. Now Trollope's own life comes under equally lively scrutiny, thanks to the acclaimed author of Queen Mary and Sins of the Fathers. By relating the plots and characters in Trollope's novels to real experiences, James Pope-Hennessey has produced one of the fullest and most absorbing biographies around.

Genres: Biography, Biography Memoir, Nonfiction

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Dominick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent but somewhat dated, both stylistically and (in my opinion, anyway) in some of its judgements and conclusions, biography of Anthony Trollope. There is a sort of interesting personal connection between Hennessey and Trollope, in that one of Hennessey's ancestors knew Trollope. The biography is a bit odd structurally, in that Hennessey occasionally jumps about in time, moving, for instance, from early formative experiences to consideration of the novels that those experiences informed. This is an understandable approach, but I found it created a sense of discontinuity and, at times, repetitiveness. Another understandable element of the book, though one I also found at times unsatisfactory, is that Hennessey often devolves into summaries of the plots of books. This is understandable because any reader of this book is almost certainly so interested because they are interested in Trollope the writer moreso than Trollope the person, but, especially when the book was written, not all of Trollope's books were easily available to even eager readers (Hennessey even identifies some that had not as of when he wrote been reprinted since their original puiblication). After all, Trollope wrote over 60 books (including short story collections and non-fiction), and at least a few more volumes of other material--essays, letters, etc.--have also emerged, so it is likely that relatively few readers of Trollope have read all of them. I've read something over 50% but still have several to get to (many, though not all, of which are on my shelves ... somewhere). Consequently, providing summaries, especially of the harder ones to track down, is a reasonable thing to provide. Nevertheless, especially late in the book, Hennessey seemed to drift more in the direction of summary (and judgement--not all of which judgements correspond to mine) than in detailing Trollope's latter years. Hennessey's style is also at times perhaps a bit ... stilted? ponderous? It is difficult to read a biography of someone as stylistically pellucid as Trollope was, especially a book that includes extensive quotations from Trollope, without at times regretting the author's failure to measure up--which, of course, is perhaps too much to expect. Anyway, this is probably more a book for the Trollope completist than for the reader who wants a detailed biography and keen insight into the man itself. I do not mean to suggest that this books lacks facts, or interest--there is plenty here that I either had not known or forgotten, especially in what Hennessey has to say about Trollope's travel books and Trollope's not infrequently racist observations and theories--but I think more recent biographies might be more useful to the more casual Trollopean (Glendinning, or Hall, perhaps).

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love that man

[Sam Rennick · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can't help but admire someone who would undertake the biography of the author of 50 books, particularly if you are determined to say something about each one. James Pope Hennessy pulls it off. As a reader of Trollope, I am familiar with many of his better-known titles, so it was fun to compare notes with the biographer. Take "Phineas Finn." It is said Hennessy's grandfather was the inspiration for the protagonist of this novel. Phineas Finn is a member of Parliament who is falsely accused of murder. What is singular about this tale is what comes next. His colleagues and friends turn on him. Like Job's Comforters, sort of. When he's exonerated, they all come flocking back, but Phineas ... well, I won't spoil it. Yet Hennessy leaves this out of his remarks about this book. In another place, we find this quote from Trollope, where he is speaking about his fictional creations: "I have wandered alone among the woods and rocks, crying at their grief, laughing at their absurdities, and thoroughly enjoying their joy." This resonated with me, since I've tried my hand at fiction, although I am 49 books behind Trollope. Hennessy's biography includes some fine photographs, although the frontispiece is an ugly caricature of the author one wishes were not there. We learn Trollope was an ardent hunter all his life. He worked for many years for the postal service, a job he hated at first but at which he became skilled. As for his beard, it's massive. Eating a chocolate eclair would have required finesse. Which the author will have had.

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering he was, arguably, one of the three most popular novelists of the mid-19th century, he is little regarded these days (unless a tv series appears). James Pope-Hennessy brings him to life and traces his career(s) from start to finish, the Post Office being the start and his novels the finish. Forty-eight pounds for his first book, a figure he was able to raise to £3,000 for Orley Farm much later, and in his writing career up to the time of publication of his autobiography he had earned over £68,000 from his books. The fact that he had kept figures shows how organised he was and it followed through into his writing habits, getting up early morning and setting himself a number of words to write before a particular time - and he did this wherever he was in the world. A fascinating biography of a man now much forgotten, a read of this book might bring him in some new followers.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book.