The Trolloppe Connection

In 1918, Sadleir began collecting Trollope whose works at the time were little sought and therefore reasonably priced. That the novels were extremely difficult to find in both their original binding and in good condition merely whetted his appetite for the hunt. Once he achieved his goal, he published some essays and a bibliography on Trollope. Although he turned his attention to collecting in other areas, he continued to look for rare, additional, or better-condition Trollope titles.

With regard to his Trollopian searches, Sadleir declared, “These four years left a permanent mark on my bibliomania. They taught me to love the Victorian novel as a material thing, and therefore—for their very multiplicity of volumes if for no other reason—to be susceptible to old novels generally.”

WRITING FAMILIES

While Sadleir collected the novels of six different members of the Trollope family, the prolific writing of this family was not unusual for the time. The Dickens family produced some 60 novels, the Kingsleys 45, the Marryats around 100, counting cousins, nieces, nephews, et al., of course.

Other noteworthy writer families include: Rhoda Broughton, niece of Sheridan Le Fanu; Sara Coleridge, daughter of Samuel Taylor Coleridge; Eleanor Farjeon, daughter of Benjamin Farjeon; William and Gerald Maxwell, sons of Mary Elizabeth Braddon Maxwell; Caroline Norton, granddaughter of Richard Brinsley Sheridan; Adelaide Proctor, daughter of poet Barry Cromwell; and Mrs. Humphry Ward, niece of Matthew Arnold.

Anthony Trollope 1815-1882

At the age of nineteen, Anthony Trollope began to work for the Post Office in Ireland and started his first novel, as well. Neither it nor his next few novels and a play met with success. His postal career flourished however, and he was transferred to the Channel Islands and the west of England.

In 1852, The Warden [3696-2], the first of his Barsetshire novels, was published and received great acclaim. Other ecclesiastic novels followed and soon Trollope was hailed as the new Thackeray. By 1864, when he introduced the parliamentarian Plantagenet Palliser, Trollope was the dominant man of letters in England, but by 1871 his fortunes began to fade and publishers’ interest vanished.

The regularity of Trollope’s life as described in his autobiography was noteworthy: he wrote 2,500 words a day, hunted twice a week, and traveled extensively. He continued to write, and the last of his 47 novels were published posthumously.

Frances (Milton) Trollope 1780-1863

Frances Trollope, the mother of Anthony and six other children, turned to writing when she was fifty-two in order to support her family.

Thomas Adolphus Trollope 1810-1892

Thomas Adolphus, older brother of Anthony, worked for the London Standard as their Italian correspondent and was based in Rome, where he and his wife were famous for their hospitality to the writers and political notables of the day. Thomas Adolphus was also a prolific novel writer.

In La Beata [3267], published in 1861, he writes a sad tale of innocence seduced. In this case a poor flower girl of Florence is seduced and forsaken by an artist. She dies of consumption; the artist then takes himself to a monastery.