Trollope

An Autobiography

By: Anthony Trollope

Narrated by: Bernard Mayes

Anthony Trollope is most famous for his portrait of the professional and landed classes of Victorian England, especially in his Palliser and Barsetshire novels. But he was also the author of one of the most fascinating autobiographies of the nineteenth century.
Trollope was born in 1815, the product of a formidable mother and a tragically unsuccessful father who was socially ambitious for his sons. He was the victim of vicious bullying at Harrow and Winchester. But he had inherited his mother's determination, and managed later to carve out a successful career in the General Post Office while devoting every spare moment to writing. How he paid his groom to wake him every morning at 5:30 a.m. and disciplined himself to write 250 words every fifteen minutes has become part of literary legend. His efforts resulted in over sixty books, a sizable fortune, and fame, and his autobiography. Trollope looks back on his life with satisfaction. Perhaps as interesting as the facts he reveals and the opinions he records about Dickens and George Eliot, politics and the civil service are the judgments he passes on his own character.(P)1997 by Blackstone Audiobooks

Interesting beginning

This starts off well but soon he gets very pedantic, lists of dates and books and amount paid etc.
The parts about working for Her Majesty's postal service are pretty good.
The reader is appropriately even and pompous but the quality of the recording is terrible. It sounds like it was made in an echo chamber.
I love a lot of his novels but not this.

the meaning of work

Trollope gives direct instruction on virtuous work. In his case, he followed his bliss of novel writing while working for a steady income in government service innovating efficient mail delivery guidelines for Ireland. I am changed by Trollope's moral strength. For him, all action follows from character. The narrator is a 19th century elderly voice. The narrator was brilliant.

Superb Author Autobiography

Anthony Trollope's Autobiography stands out a fascinating look at the life of an outstanding 19th Century novelist. Highly recommended for insights into Trollope's life and his approach to his writing.

definately for the Trollope officianado

Trollope is a fovorite author, so I enjoyed the added depth this book provided. It is very idiosyncratic, and Trollope obviously vented as he was not writing for his own contemporary reading public. The long list of his life's earnings from his novels, I found peculiar and petty, but then, I wonder if Trollope imagined readers decades after his death, plodding through it, and had a last laugh. The reader was perfect-I thought I was listening to Trollope himself.

Frank, lively, thought-provoking

The fascinating candid memoir of a major English writer. He gives a graphic description of growing up in 19th century England. The discussion of novels and novelists is refreshing.

A fascinating revelation

By an author whose works I have read as many as I could find. What a life!
The reader needs a different denture fixative. But he was a great reader and was the appropriate age.

Excellent reading of an excellent autobiography!!

Where does Trollope rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It ranks at the top. Mayes' voice is Trollope's voice. As an avid Trollope reader, this is how I always imagined him as the voice of his novels, telling the story. He says in the autobiography that he actually lived in the character's shoes, so to speak, and knew what and how the character's spoke.

What other book might you compare Trollope to and why?

There is no comparison in biographies (and I have read many); I have read no other autobiographies that I can recall offhand.

What about Bernard Mayes’s performance did you like?

Everything!! I do not like a lot readers, I just stop listening and read the book. The voice in my head is better. Not so with this audiobook. It added to the book tremendously. I can't wait to see if there is another book read by this reader.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The last few pages were the most heart stirring of any book I have ever read, especially with the voice of the reader. I wanted everyone I know to read it, or better still, to hear it.

Any additional comments?

This is my first review that I can remember, even though I've been an Audible member for as long as I can remember. I love books, and as I get older, my eyesight is dimming. I love holding a book, and usually listen partly to any book I read. I worked as an itinerant teacher, listening to books as I drove from school to school, sometimes in another town.

Victorian writing business

Mayes is perfect as AT and the chapters are fascinating for anyone interested in Victorian fiction or who has read AT's novels. AT keeps cards close to his chest and, yes, he is a disappointment as a bit of a bigot. But lovable. And quite right about the writing business

A delightful autobiography

The text of this book is delightful. The narration is good.
But - the audio production is pretty terrible.
Seldom have I had cause to complain about the quality of books from Audible, but this one is quite bad.
I guess it was recorded quite a while ago, which might explain the poor production values.
But it is fun to listen to anyway!

Required reading for Trollopians, praise for Mayes

I read the Autobiography before I listened to it, and I was surprised how much richer the audio version is. As others have noted, Mayes here has a 19th century voice and delivery, and I really could imagine him as Trollope himself.