Anthony Trollope

English novelist. Born into a middle-class London family, his mother was the popular female writer Frances Trollope. His father's professional failure left his family poor, but at the age of 19 he joined the Post Office and rose to become a capable civil servant. He began writing novels on the side while working, and achieved success with the six "Barset Novels" beginning with The Warden (1855). Set in a fictional rural area in southern England, these novels vividly depict the lives of landowners, clergymen, bishops, aristocrats, and their wives in a humorous style, and are considered his masterpieces. He was an exceptionally prolific writer, with over 40 full-length novels alone. His meticulous reproduction of the lifestyles and customs of middle- and upper-class society in mid-19th century England has earned him a large following in Britain even today. In addition to the Barset stories, he is known for six "political novels" depicting the lives of members of parliament, The Way of Life (1875), which exposes the tyranny of finance capital, and Autobiography (1883), which frankly describes the inner workings of a writer's life.

[Hiroshi Ebine]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イギリスの小説家。ロンドン中産階級の出身で、母は大衆女流作家フランセス・トロロープ。父の職業上の失敗から家は貧しく、19歳で郵政省に入り、有能な官吏として昇進。勤務のかたわら小説を書き始め、『養老院長』（1855）に始まる六編の「バーセット州小説」で成功を収めた。これは、イングランド南部の架空の田園地方を舞台に、地主、牧師、僧正、貴族、その妻たちを登場させ、その生活をユーモラスな筆致で活写した作品で、代表作と目される。まれにみる多作家で、長編だけでも40を超える。19世紀中期イギリスの中流および上流社会の生活風俗を克明に再現したものとして今日でもイギリスでは読者が多い。バーセットもののほか、国会議員の生活を描く六編の「政治小説」、金融資本の横暴を暴露する『当世の生き方』（1875）、作家生活の内情を率直に語る『自伝』（1883）などが知られる。

［海老根宏］

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