An Autobiography

and Other Writings

Second Edition

Anthony Trollope
Edited by Nicholas Shrimpton

Oxford World's Classics

The only autobiography of a major Victorian novelist, Trollope's work is fascinating for the insight it gives into Trollope's creative process, his thoughts on fiction and fiction writers, and his daily writing life.
This edition includes a selection of Trollope's critical writing about the novel, supplementing his observations in An Autobiography and establishing the seriousness with which he thought about the novel's form as well as the practice of novel-writing.
Nicholas Shrimpton's introduction considers the ways in which Trollope shapes An Autobiography and argues for its importance as a classic of the genre.
Comprehensive notes and up-to-date bibliography.
Index.

An Autobiography

and Other Writings

Second Edition

Anthony Trollope
Edited by Nicholas Shrimpton

Description

'I hated the office. I hated my work...the only career in life within my reach was that of an author.'

The only autobiography by a major Victorian novelist, Trollope's account offers a fascinating insight into his literary life and opinions. After a miserable childhood and misspent youth, Trollope turned his life around at the age of twenty-six. By 1860 the 'hobbledehoy' had become both a senior civil servant and a best-selling novelist. He worked for the Post Office for many years and stood unsuccessfully for Parliament. Best-known for the two series of novels grouped loosely around the clerical and political professions, the Barsetshire and Palliser series, in his Autobiography Trollope frankly describes his writing habits. His apparent preoccupation with contracts, deadlines, and earnings, and his account of the remorseless regularity with which he produced his daily quota of words, has divided opinion ever since.

This edition reassesses the work's distinctive qualities and includes a selection of Trollope's critical writings to show how subtle and complex his approach to literature really was.

ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

An Autobiography

and Other Writings

Second Edition

Anthony Trollope
Edited by Nicholas Shrimpton

Oxford World's Classics

Introduction
Note on the Text
Chronology
An Autobiography
Trollope on Jane Austen
'On English Prose Fiction as a Rational Amusement'
from Thackeray
from 'The Genius of Nathaniel Hawthorne
from 'A Walk in the Wood'
Appendix: passages omitted from the Manuscript
Explanatory Notes
Index