![Thomas Adolphus Trollope](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Thomas_Adolphus_Trollope.jpg)
Thomas Adolphus Trollope (29 April 1810 – 11 November 1892) was an English writer who was the author of more than 60 books. He lived most of his life in Italy creating a renowned villa in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
with his first wife,
Theodosia, and later another centre of British society in Rome with his second wife, the novelist
Frances Eleanor Trollope
Frances Eleanor Trollope (née Ternan; 1 August 1835 – 14 August 1913) was an English novelist. She was best known for her biography on her mother-in-law, Frances Milton Trollope, who was famous for her book, ''Domestic Manners of the American ...
. His mother, brother and both wives were known as writers. He was awarded the
Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus ( it, Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro) (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the wo ...
by
Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
en, Victor Emmanuel Maria Albert Eugene Ferdinand Thomas
, house = Savoy
, father = Charles Albert of Sardinia
, mother = Maria Theresa of Austria
, religion = Roman Catholicism
, image_size = 252px
, succession1 ...
.
Life
Trollope was born in
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions.
Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...
, London on 29 April 1810, the eldest son of Thomas Anthony and
Frances Milton Trollope
Frances Milton Trollope, also known as Fanny Trollope (10 March 1779 – 6 October 1863), was an English novelist who wrote as Mrs. Trollope or Mrs. Frances Trollope. Her book, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'' (1832), observations from a t ...
(a younger brother was
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...
, the novelist). He was educated at
Harrow School
(The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God)
, established = (Royal Charter)
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school
, religion = Church of E ...
and
Winchester College
Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...
. He first started writing before he went to Oxford University after a trip to New York with his father. He matriculated at
St Alban Hall, Oxford, in 1829, aged 19, and graduated
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
from
Magdalen Hall, Oxford
Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colleg ...
, in 1835. He taught briefly at Birmingham's
King Edward's Grammar School, before he gave in to his mother's idea of forming a writing partnership. They travelled to Italy which created some of the material for the 60 volumes of travel writing, history and fiction that he wrote that decade. This was in addition to a large amount of periodical and journalistic work.
[Mahoney, John L.]
"Thomas A. Trollope: Victorian Man of Letters"
''University of Rochester Library Bulletin'', Volume XV, Winter 1960, Number 2. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
Trollope married twice; his first wife was the writer
Theodosia Garrow who was staying with his mother,
Fanny Trollope
Frances Milton Trollope, also known as Fanny Trollope (10 March 1779 – 6 October 1863), was an English novelist who wrote as Mrs. Trollope or Mrs. Frances Trollope. Her book, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'' (1832), observations from a t ...
in Florence.
The newly married couple had one daughter, Bice. Their home was visited by travelling British intelligentsia, as well as by leading Italian nationalist figures. They lived at the ''Villino Trollope'' on the square that was then called the ''Piazza Maria Antonio'' and what is now called the ''Piazza dell'Indipendenza'' in Florence.
[ Their house was decorated with carved furniture, inlaid walls, ]majolica
In different periods of time and in different countries, the term ''majolica'' has been used for two distinct types of pottery.
Firstly, from the mid-15th century onwards, was ''maiolica'', a type of pottery reaching Italy from Spain, Majorca a ...
ceramics, marble floors and pillars, suits of armour and a 5,000-book library.
Their new villa was bought in part with Theodosia's inheritance.[ Their house was considered the centre of the ]expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
society in Florence.[ Theodosia was known for her poetry, her translations and her articles on household matters, although she also contributed letters to the '']Athenaeum
Athenaeum may refer to:
Books and periodicals
* ''Athenaeum'' (German magazine), a journal of German Romanticism, established 1798
* ''Athenaeum'' (British magazine), a weekly London literary magazine 1828–1921
* ''The Athenaeum'' (Acadia U ...
'' advocating freedom for Italy.[Pemble, John]
"Trollope , Theodosia (1816–1865)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, October 2006. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
The Trollopes' daughter played with Pen
A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity wh ...
, the son of Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
and Elizabeth Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (née Moulton-Barrett; 6 March 1806 – 29 June 1861) was an English poet of the Victorian era, popular in Britain and the United States during her lifetime.
Born in County Durham, the eldest of 12 children, Elizabet ...
, when they too became part of the Anglophone society in 1847. Comparisons of the two households showed the Browning household as more intense, with the Trollopes more carefree.[ All of her guests were in danger of appearing, in some disguised way, in his mother's novels.]
His second wife was the novelist Frances Eleanor Ternan whom he married on 29 October 1866: they then lived at the ''Villa Ricorboli''.[ Tomalin, Claire]
"Ternan , Ellen Lawless (1839–1914)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, January 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2014. From 1873 the new couple again created a house known for its hospitality, but this time in Rome.[ Trollope lived in Italy for most of his adult life, but retired to ]Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
, England, in 1890. He died at Clifton
Clifton may refer to:
People
*Clifton (surname)
*Clifton (given name)
Places
Australia
* Clifton, Queensland, a town
**Shire of Clifton
*Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong
*Clifton, Western Australia
Canada
*Clifton, Nova Scotia ...
, near Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, on 11 November 1892. His memoirs, ''What I Remember'', were published in three volumes between 1887 and 1889.[
]
Selected works
* ''Beppo The Conscript''
* ''Dream Numbers''
* ''Garstang Grange''
* ''Gemma''
* ''Leonora Casaloni''
* ''Marietta''
* ''The Sealed Packet''
References
External links
Brief online biography
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trollope, Thomas Adolphus
1810 births
1892 deaths
19th-century English novelists
People from Bloomsbury
English travel writers
19th-century English historians
Historians of the Catholic Church
People educated at Harrow School
People educated at Winchester College
Recipients of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
English male novelists
19th-century male writers