Trollope Society

08/10/2026

We were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare, the bestselling novelist Jeffrey Archer, aged 86.

Jeffrey was a Life Member of the Trollope Society and a generous supporter of our work for more than three decades.

A great admirer of Anthony Trollope, he contributed to our Pick Up a Trollope campaign in 2020, choosing the opening of The Prime Minister as one of his favourite passages.

We remember Jeffrey with affection and gratitude for his longstanding friendship and support, and extend our deepest condolences to Dame Mary and family.

Read our tribute:

The Trollope Society was saddened to learn of the death of Jeffrey Archer, the bestselling novelist and former politician, who died on 5 October 2026, aged 86. Lord Archer was a Life Member of the Trollope Society, having joined in 1993, and was a generous supporter of our work over more than three....

08/10/2026

📚 TONIGHT AT 8PM | TROLLOPE SOCIETY ONLINE TALK

Trollope and the Equitable Judgment of Human Failings

Join us this evening, Thursday 8 October, for a fascinating talk by Professor Gary Watt, exploring Anthony Trollope's understanding of human nature, moral judgement and our all too human failings.

How does Trollope encourage us to judge others fairly, recognising their weaknesses while remaining sympathetic to their circumstances?

Part of our Cambridge Conference Online Series, this promises to be a thought-provoking evening for readers of Trollope and lovers of literature.

🕗 8pm (UK time)
💻 Online via Zoom

Find out more and register:
https://trollopesociety.org/event/trollope-and-the-equitable-judgment-of-human-failings/

05/10/2026

📚 Three ways to enjoy Trollope this week!

We have a busy week ahead, with two reading groups and the latest talk in our Trollope: The Law & Transgression series.

📖 TONIGHT | Monday 5 October, 8.00pm
The Kellys and The O’Kellys BIG READ
Join readers from around the world on Zoom as we discuss Chapters 13–24 of Trollope’s lively Irish novel. Free to attend and all are welcome.

📚 Wednesday 7 October, 6.30pm | London
London Reading Group: Marion Fay
Join us at St Peter’s, Eaton Square to discuss Marion Fay, Trollope’s exploration of love, class and religious difference. Tickets £12, including light refreshments.

⚖️ Thursday 8 October, 8.00pm | Zoom
Trollope and the Equitable Judgment of Human Failings
Professor Gary Watt of the University of Warwick explores how Trollope’s fiction embraces equity, mercy and forgiveness, and asks how we should judge human failings. Part of our Trollope: The Law & Transgression online conference series. Free to attend.

👉 Find details and register for all three events through the link in our bio or visit the Calendar on the Trollope Society website.

https://trollopesociety.org/calendar/?utm_source=Instagram%252C%2520Facebook&utm_medium=Post&utm_campaign=5%2520October

05/10/2026

It was great seeing so many book lovers in Birmingham on Saturday.

21/09/2026

📚 The Kellys and the O’Kellys BIG READ starts today!

Join us this evening as we begin Anthony Trollope’s second novel, The Kellys and the O’Kellys, set in Ireland and full of love, inheritance, ambition and family rivalry.

Our first free Zoom session covers Chapters 1–12 and takes place:

📅 Today, Monday 21 September
⏰ 8.00pm UK time
💻 Live on Zoom
🎟️ Free and open to everyone

Whether you’re reading Trollope for the first time or returning to one of his fascinating early Irish novels, we’d love you to join us.

Register free:
https://trollopesociety.org/event/the-kellys-and-the-okellys-big-read/

13/09/2026

📚 Tickets are going fast for the Alliance of Literary Societies Fair!
Join us in Birmingham on Saturday 3 October for a free day celebrating books, authors and readers, with more than 30 literary societies and organisations taking part, including the Trollope Society.
Hear from James Naughtie, Gyles Brandreth, Lindsey Davis, Liz Berry and Frank Cottrell-Boyce, browse the stands and come and say hello to us at the Trollope Society stand.
🎟️ Book your free ticket now:
https://trollopesociety.org/event/the-alliance-of-literary-societies-fair/

06/09/2026

Delighted to see that my letter to The Observer, on the Trollope Society’s tradition of sending each new Prime Minister a copy of Trollope’s The Prime Minister, has been published today.

Novel advice for PMs
I was delighted William Keegan opened his column by citing Anthony Trollope’s The Prime Minister and his thoughts on the qualities required for the office (“Burnham’s summer dreams may soon collide with cold economic reality”, 30 August). You may be amused to know that the Trollope Society has a tradition of sending a copy of this very novel to each new PM on taking office. I am pleased to report that we have duly sent a copy to Andy Burnham and have received a kind acknowledgement from his office. If he has not yet read it, the opportunity now awaits.
Trollope’s observations on political life remain remarkably fresh, and his advice that a PM must have a thick skin seems well suited to the present day
Dominic Edwardes

Releasing people without homes risks trapping them in a cycle of reoffending and recall. Plus reader’s views on work after retirement, early support for ADHD, James Bond’s comic-book look and more

01/09/2026

We're delighted to be taking part in the Alliance of Literary Societies Fair 2026 at the Birmingham & Midland Institute on Saturday 3 October.

Come and meet us, discover literary societies from across the country and enjoy a day of books, talks and conversation.

Guest speakers include Jim Naughtie, Liz Berry, Lindsey Davis, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Gyles Brandreth.

Free entry and everyone is welcome.

Find out more and register: als-fair.eventbrite.co.uk

31/08/2026

Writing in The Observer on 30 August, William Keegan suggested that our new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, will no doubt have read Anthony Trollope’s The Prime Minister. Robert Caro, the great biographer of political power, considered it the greatest political novel he had ever read.

Keegan also recalled Trollope’s rather splendid description of the qualities required of a Prime Minister:

“He should be clever but need not be a genius. He should be conscientious... cautious but never timid, bold but never venturesome. Above all he should have a thick skin.”

Fortunately, the Trollope Society has been able to make sure that Mr Burnham has the necessary reading material. It is a longstanding tradition of the Society to send each new Prime Minister a copy of Trollope’s The Prime Minister on taking office.

We are delighted to report that a copy has duly been sent to 10 Downing Street, and that we have received a kind acknowledgement from the Prime Minister’s office confirming its arrival.

So, if Andy Burnham has not yet read The Prime Minister, he now has no excuse.

We wish him happy reading and, in today’s political environment, perhaps particularly recommend Trollope’s advice on the importance of a thick skin.

The prime minister faces a decision on whether to raise taxes in the autumn, or enrage many in his party with drastic cuts to welfare

17/08/2026

We're delighted to be taking part in the Alliance of Literary Societies Fair 2026 at the Birmingham & Midland Institute on Saturday 3 October.

Come and meet us, discover literary societies from across the country and enjoy a day of books, talks and conversation.
Guest speakers include Jim Naughtie, Liz Berry, Lindsey Davis, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Gyles Brandreth.

Free entry and everyone is welcome.
Find out more and register: als-fair.eventbrite.co.uk