Anthony Trollope, The Way We Live Now

Lindsay Sullivan (Cardiff University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1874 - 1875

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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The Way We Live Now

was published in twenty monthly parts between February 1874 and September 1875. Written in reaction to Trollope’s horror at the greed and dishonesty of Victorian society, it takes a satirical sweep at commerce, politics, marriage and publishing. The novel attracted caustic reviews: the

Examiner

described it as “singularly barren of fine observations and lively

mots

” (28 August 1875), the

Athenaeum

thought that was “carelessly constructed and carelessly written”, and that it was not one of [Trollope’s] best novels (26 June 1875), and a damning review in the

Spectator

berates the novel’s “sordid baseness” before concluding that Trollope “has made a mistake” (26 June 1875). The novel was not reprinted until 1941, but has since been championed by the…

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2077 words

Citation: Sullivan, Lindsay. "The Way We Live Now". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 November 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8110, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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