The Complete Shorter Fiction

by Julian Thompson (Editor), Julian Thompson (Editor)

This is the first time that all Trollope's shorter fiction has been made available in one volume. It is a collection of minor masterpieces, literary entertainments and curiosities, many of which have been unavailable since their initial magazine publication. Anthony Trollope (1815-82) worked in the post office as a civil servant as well as writing his immensely popular fiction. He lived both in England and in Ireland, and travelled widely. He wrote short stories from 1860 to the end of his life, publishing 42 in all, and all of them remain eminently readable today. The themes are extraordinarily varied. They include travel, with stories based in America, India, Italy, France and Egypt among others; literary life, written while Trollope was editor of St Paul's Magazine; courtship and love (Trollope claimed to have written up to 37 fictional proposals by his fortieth birthday) and Gothic tales of the psychologically disturbed, where his genius for characterisation is displayed to the full. Nathaniel Hawthorne described Trollope's work as 'Written on the strength of beef and through the inspiration of ale, and just as real as if some giant had hewn a great lump out of the earth and put it under a glass case, with all its inhabitants going about their daily business and not suspecting they were being made show of.' The reader can expect all this and more from this superb collection.

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction

996 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1882

About the author

Major General Julian Harold Atherdean Thompson, CB, OBE is a military historian and former Royal Marines officer who as a brigadier commanded 3 Commando Brigade during the Falklands war.

Thompson, who was British commander on the islands during the final phase of the conflict has written extensively on the Falklands conflict and British military history. He is also a visiting professor at the department of War Studies, King's College, University of London.

Reviews

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

ENGLISH: 40 short stories by Trollope that I'd never read before, of which I now have read 30. The other 10 I'm leaving for another time. The best, for me, are the following:
Relics of General Chassé: Interesting annecdote about a priest who lost his trousers. Father Gilles of Ballymoy: Another priest, this time Catholic, who is pushed backwards down a steep stair by the narrator.
A ride across Palestine: The narrator is accompanied by "a young man" he had never met on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho and back, proceeding to Jaffa, where he'll discover the young man's secret and the fact that he cannot help.
The journey to Panama: Quick setting-up of an ephimeral friendship between a man and a woman during a sea journey from England to Panama.
The widow's mite: Perhaps the best story, with an interesting description of ethical scruples, the solution found and the final effect of the solution.
The Turkish bath and the next two stories make use of Trollope's experience as editor of a magazine dealing with authors of possible contributions.

Several stories deal with the same argument: "Boy falls in love with girl, but encounters difficulties, real or imaginary." Sometimes, the problem reduces to the fact that the girl is stupid, as in the story "The mistletoe bough." In these stories, the environment changes: Ireland, Upper New York State, the Chateau of Prince Polignac, Jamaica, Seville, Vienna, Venice or Munich. And there is one story of this type (The parson's daughter of Oxney Colne) with a different, very appropriate ending.

ESPAÑOL: 40 relatos cortos de Trollope que no había leído antes, de los que ahora he leído 30. Los otros 10 los dejo para otra ocasión. Los mejores, para mí, son los siguientes:
Las reliquias del General Chassé: Interesante anécdota sobre un sacerdote que pierde los pantalones. El Padre Gilles de Ballymoy: Otro sacerdote, esta vez católico, que es empujado hacia atrás por el narrador en una escalera empinada.
Una excursión a través de Palestina: El narrador es acompañado por "un joven" desconocido en un viaje de ida y vuelta de Jerusalén a Jericó, que continuó hasta Jaffa, donde descubrirá el secreto del joven y por qué no puede ayudarle.
El viaje a Panamá: Formación rápida de una amistad efímera entre un hombre y una mujer durante un viaje por mar de Inglaterra a Panamá.
El óbolo de la viuda: Quizás el mejor relato, con una interesante descripción de los escrúpulos éticos, la solución que se encontró y el efecto final de la solución.
El baño turco y los dos relatos siguientes aprovechan la experiencia de Trollope como editor de una revista enfrentado con autores de posibles contribuciones.

Varios relatos comparten el mismo argumento: "Chico enamorado de chica encuentra dificultades, reales o imaginarias". A veces el problema se reduce al hecho de que la chica es idiota, como en "La rama de muérdago". En estos relatos, el entorno cambia: Irlanda, el norte del estado de Nueva York, el castillo del príncipe Polignac, Jamaica, Sevilla, Viena, Venecia, Munich, etcétera. Y hay un relato de este tipo (La hija del párroco de Oxney Colne) con un final distinto y muy apropiado.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

It blows my mind that Anthony Trollope was able to come up with so many different stories, set in so many different locations. We read a story a week throughout most of the year this year, and each was wonderful and fascinating. He is still one of my favorite authors of all time.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a selection of stories from this book. Each one different than the others. All were well written with very defined characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the shorter fiction which is not typical for me. The I usually prefer the novel.