Frances Milton Trollope

Born near Bristol in 1779, Frances Milton Trollope — often called Fanny Trollope and published as Mrs. Trollope — became an English novelist and travel writer with a remarkably wide readership. She is now especially remembered for Domestic Manners of the Americans (1832), a brisk and often biting book drawn from her stay in the United States.

Writing began for practical reasons as much as artistic ones: after her family faced serious money troubles, she turned to publishing and went on to produce a huge number of books. Alongside travel writing, she wrote social novels that tackled subjects such as poverty, religion, and slavery, bringing energy and strong opinions to nearly everything she published.

She was also the mother of novelist Anthony Trollope, but her own career stands firmly on its own. Her work is still valued for its vivid observations, outspoken voice, and the way it captures the arguments and anxieties of early Victorian life.