The Wit and Wisdom of Anthony Trollope

The 534 quotations in this collection have been gathered over the last couple of decades as I made my way through (and then began a return journey through) almost everything Trollope wrote. (Forty-three novels are represented; twenty-five stories, thirty-four essays, and nine books of nonfiction. See the Bibliography for a list of the works.) Though a Victorian, Trollope was broadminded about women and physical love, tolerant of and open-minded about, if not sympathetic to, religious and cultural differences. His avuncular voice, so engaging, so personal and comfortable, is full of emotion and common-sense, and I have selected his most graceful, funny and poignant statements on twelve topics, including of course his (and his readers’) favorites: Love, Marriage, Manners, and Writing.