Anthony Trollope, The Macdermots of Ballycloran: A Historical Romance

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Anthony Trollope’s first novel,

The Macdermots of Ballycloran

, is set not in the fictional Barsetshire with which he is so readily associated, nor the parliamentary world of his celebrated Palliser series, but in County Leitrim, Ireland. This choice of location is not as odd as it might at first appear, since the author who is so often perceived as being quintessentially English spent substantial periods between 1841 and 1859 resident in Ireland, and that country was the location of his social, emotional, moral, professional and creative transformation.

As Trollope explains in An Autobiography, he moved there at the age of 26 following seven miserable and unsuccessful years as a clerk in the General Post Office in London. Wretchedly uncomfortable with his lack of achievement and

1876 words

Citation: Siddle, Yvonne. "The Macdermots of Ballycloran: A Historical Romance". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 September 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=273, accessed 28 March 2024.]

273 The Macdermots of Ballycloran: A Historical Romance 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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