Introduction to "The Trollope Project"

[Robin P, Moderator]

I'm in, even though I said I had had enough of Trollope. I'm curious to see how he does the standalone books.

[Brian E]

Christopher wrote: "I'm really happy with this outcome, and four of the five are definitely TBR for me."

I also have The Vicar of Bullhampton and The Three Clerks on my TBR list; The Three Clerks mainly to complete the Lawyer Chaffanbrass trilogy, as he is also in Phineas Redux and Orley Farm. The Three Clerks does have a 3.77 average Goodreads rating, lower than any of the chosen 5.

Good for being open for more, Robin. If you are currently burned out on Trollope, just try one or two a bit later, though Orley Farm does have Chaffanbrass and is mainly a legal/property novel.

[Frances, Moderator]

Thanks to everyone for their input! I will be delaying the start of Orley Farm by a week but the reading schedule is now up.

[Phrodrick slowed his growing backlog]

FWIW I am about 5 chapters into the American Senator. If it were my only exposure to Trollope, I would be unhappy. My hope is that it will get better.

Who ever suggested the group might be happier with another title. So for I think you were right.

[Frances, Moderator]

Funny you should say that-I have to confess that with a lot of Trollope it takes me 8-15 chapters of "I have to get this read this week for the discussion" which gradually morphs into "I can't put this down, I'm now way ahead of schedule, I need to be careful about spoilers". I'm sure I would've put down several of his novels so far if I hadn't been part of/leading this group, and after that first hump I've enjoyed them all. I hope you get to stage 2 with American Senator!

[Frances, Moderator]

I've had a little look into our 4 remaining books to figure out a game plan going forward. I'm going to propose

The Claverings-524 pages in paperback so 7 weeks, from Aug 11-Sept 28.

He Knew He Was Right-952 pages so 13 weeks, from Oct 13-Jan 18 (with an extra week or so for the holidays).

The Way We Live Now-1024 pages so 13 weeks from Feb 2-May 2 2020

Ayala's Angel 655 pages so 9 weeks from May 17th-July 18th.

There may (will likely) be some variation in actual start and end dates depending on how things are going, but this is a preliminary plan so we have an idea of where things are going.

Please let me know if you'd like more breaks between books or to slow things down/speed things up.

[Brian E]

Thank you very much, Frances. This helps to plan out my reads as they can take 3 months. The Claverings can be done in 7 weeks since its really just a novella for a Trollope book. I'm glad The Way We Live Now will be next year.

[Frances, Moderator]

So it turns out I was a bit overambitious with our reading schedule. I am going to start the read of He Knew He Was Right on October 27th and will try to get a schedule up in the next week or so.

[Frances, Moderator]

I'm looking at starting The Way We Live Now in mid-February, but wanted to get an idea of participation level-could all those who have been participating in The Trollope Project (even if not the current book) let me know if you're planning to read The Way We Live Now and/or Ayala's Angel-thanks.

[Rosemarie, Moderator]

I own both of those books and haven't read either one yet, so I will be joining you in whichever you choose, or both.

[Brian E]

I plan to be in on both The Way We Live Now (a re-read) and Ayala's Angel. I didn't want to re-read He Knew He Was Right, so didn't participate. I sometimes wished I had participated and gotten the group's insights into the events and characters. It may have added some depth to a re-read that wasn't in my initial solo read.

[Lori, Moderator]

I'll read either or both of them with the group.

[Theresa]

I hope to read both of them with the group.

[Christopher]

Frances wrote: "I'm looking at starting The Way We Live Now in mid-February, but wanted to get an idea of participation level-could all those who have been participating in The Trollope Project (even..."

I started TWWLN with another group, which means I have a head start. (As opposed to the cold start).

Definitely interested.

[Emma]

I'm happy to read and discuss either book.

[Linda]

The Way We Live Now has been high on my list of Trollope books to read so I plan on joining the discussion and look forward to it.

[Frances, Moderator]

Wonderful-we'll finish off our current book late January so I'll plan to start TWWLN in mid-February.

[Dan]

Looking forward to beginning TWWLN and any other Trollope left for us.

[Frances, Moderator]

So mid-February is approaching and I have acquired a copy of The Way We Live Now from the library and it as a chunkster. So buckle up for 13 weeks of what many apparently consider to be Trollope's masterpiece, and is certainly his longest novel.

[Dan]

A link to an interesting article on Trollope's politics, and a comparison to today's.

https://www.thenation.com/article/cul...

[Brian E]

Dan wrote: "A link to an interesting article on Trollope's politics, and a comparison to today's.

https://www.thenation.com/article/cul..."

Thanks, Dan. It was interesting.

[Dan]

On Trollope's politics in the Palliser novels.

https://www.thenation.com/article/cul...

[Lori, Moderator]

Thanks, Dan. That's a really interesting article, and I'm surprised it was in The Nation (I subscribed for a while and don't remember seeing much on Victorian literature).

I think the author got some details about the books wrong, if I'm remembering the books accurately, but overall it's well written.

[Trev]

Dan wrote: "On Trollope's politics in the Palliser novels.

https://www.thenation.com/article/cul..."

Interesting article Dan, thank you. Do you think the article writer has read all the Palliser books or just dipped in, relying on summaries from other sources? His comments on Phineas Finn and Alice Vavasor prompted me to consider this. Nevertheless it was well worth reading and I know from my own local Library reading group that, like the Hawthornes, opinion on the merits of Trollope as a novelist are still as varied today as they were in his own day.

[Frances, Moderator]

Just got around to reading this-thanks Dan, for posting, not a typical source of Victorian lit crit, and likely more interesting because of that!

[Frances, Moderator]

Hello everyone, just a heads up that I plan to start our last book in our Trollope project, Ayala's Angel, on June 14th. This will allow everyone to finish up The Way We Live Now, find a copy of AA, finish Lorna Doone, start Evelina and then meet back here to finish up our project with one of his later and lesser known (but still very popular) works. I hope you will join us!

[Brian E]

I will happily join AA.

[Bonnie]

Trollope Trending: Why he’s still the novelist of the way we live now.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...

Article about Trollope and how his writing differs from Dickens, George Eliot, Henry James, etc. He writes about people's politics, daily lives, gossip and gradual societal changes. How his concerns are universal and map to current issues.

[Rosemarie, Moderator]

Thanks, Bonnie.

[Brian E]

Interesting article.
I was just thinking about Trollope today. As I was reading The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels the author Jon Meacham, in talking about how Teddy Roosevelt considered books to be "the greatest of companions' during his sickly youth, mentions that "As president of the United States he would read all the novels of Anthony Trollope." I hadn't thought of Teddy as a Trollope fan.

[Renee]

Thank you, Bonnie. I really enjoyed the article. And enjoyed reliving the novels of Barchester and the Pallisers through it.

[Captain Sir Roddy, R.N. (Ret.), Founder]

Lynnm wrote: "I'm so excited that we are starting the Trollope Project! (Although I'm still missing Dickens...). Here is the order for the novels, and we will start "The Warden" on Sunday, June 5.

Chronicles of..."

I am quite sorry to have missed all of these group reads. You have done a great job of hitting all of Trollope's best. I re-read two or three every year, mostly from the Palliser series, but I also love Dr Thorne, and The Small House at Allington, as well as He Knew He Was Right, and The Way We Live Now.

[Frances, Moderator]

For those of you who can't get enough Trollope, the UK-based Trollope Society runs a zoom-based "big read" of his books, reading about 14 chapters every 2 weeks and then getting together for a one hour zoom discussion-20' of a speaker introducing that fortnight's read, 20 minutes of small group discussion, 20 minutes where everyone comes back together to discuss as a larger group. There are roughly 100 participants every session and it's always an interesting talk and discussion. We're currently reading Is He Popenjoy? but I think the next up is The Duke's Children. If you're interested in checking this out, the website is
https://trollopesociety.org

While free, they do ask you to consider joining the society or contributing £50/year to help defray costs but I believe that is entirely up to you.

[Brian E]

Frances wrote: "For those of you who can't get enough Trollope, the UK-based Trollope Society runs a zoom-based "big read" of his books, reading about 14 chapters every 2 weeks and then getting together for a one ..."

Thanks Frances. I did not know that you could join the Big Read without being a member. It too late for Popenjoy and I've read both versions of The Duke's Children, but I do have his autobiography and may join in that read in November.
As to membership, the Big Read is hosted by the Trollope Society UK but there is a separate Trollope Society US so if I ever decide to be a member, I have to decide on which, if I do have a choice.