Many happy returns of Anthony Trollope's birthday

By Nancy Young

Portrait of Anthony Trollope by Samuel Lawrence

Though we missed Easter, we were able to get the Doctor Thorne and Framley Parsonage issue of theJournal mailed out—quite fittingly—today on the 198^thanniversary of Anthony Trollope's birth. Significant to posting today, as well, is the fact that Trollope is one of the British postal system's most celebrated sons. Split across two professions—postal employee and popular novelist—he managed to leave his mark on Victorian society through both. His most prominent contribution to the post, of course, are the iconic red pillar boxes which gave Victorians their first-ever opportunity to post their letters without having to enter the post office, wait in queues and have postal workers quiz them on their letter's contents—a sure boon to an increase in love letters. Of course, not everyone approved of such a bold move. In He Knew He Was Right, Trollope's obdurate character, the spinster Jemima Stansbury's, stance is quite clear on the subject:

Having taken all the journals to "a respectable post-office," we're reasonably certain that yours should "reach its destination" soon.

While you wait, and for those yet uninitiated in Trollope's tales of Barsetshire, but wanting a quick taste to whet their appetites, look out for copies of The Bedside Barsetshire, a 1949 companion to Trollope written by Lance O. Tingay from used booksellers or at the local library.