The story was thoroughly English. There was a little fox-hunting and a little tufthunting, some Christian virtue and some Christian cant. There was no heroism and no villainy. There was much Church, but more lovemaking.

This is a very good copy (minor wear at the spine ends, a couple of dampstains that affect the fore-edge margin of about half the leaves). See Sadleir (TROLLOPE) 11.

a long and detailed study of the gradual falling into madness of a suspicious husband... The final stages of his mental and moral dilapidation have a wild affliction unusual in the controlled world of Trollope characters. [Sadleir]

This was one of the eight Trollope novels that were initially serialized in parts -- issued in 32 weekly wrappered parts (also available as eight monthly parts), beginning in October 1867 and ending in May 1869. There were two Marcus Stone plates in each weekly part -- hence sixty-four here, in the entire novel. The publisher Virtue gave
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generous: Virtue "went under" after the 29ºth' part, after which another publisher Strahan issued the remaining few -- as well as this two-volume publication in the final month of serialization, using the exact same leaves and illustrations.

This is a near-fine set, with very minor shelfwear at the extremities, and minor cracking of the delicate original pale yellow endpapers. In our experience this novel seems to be scarcer in the original cloth than most of Trollope's other illustrated (i.e. serialized) novels. Sadleir (TROLLOPE) 31. Housed in a handsome morocco-backed slipcase.

a long and detailed study of the gradual falling into madness of a suspicious husband... The final stages of his mental and moral dilapidation have a wild affliction unusual in the controlled world of Trollope characters. (Sadleir)

The publisher Virtue gave Trollope extremely generous terms in order to be able to
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publish this novel -- too generous: Virtue "went under" after the 29ºth' part, after which Strahan & Co. picked up the remainder. (Hence the lack of inserted ads in the last three numbers, Strahan's name on those three inside-rear wrappers, and Strahan's name on the book title pages included in the last part.)

This was the copy of the famous collector Jean Hersholt (the actor now best remembered as "Grandfather" to Shirley Temple's "Heidi"), with his bookplates on the slipcase's inner chemise. The set is in fine, unusually clean condition; what defects there are are very minor (a tear in the fore-edge of some leaves of Part III, very minor soil on the wrappers of a few parts). The wrappers have practically no wear at all (even on the delicate spines), and are unusually clean . All ads specified by Sadleir are present (including the rather chaotic assortment of ads in Parts 21 through 25, when "Virtue was too flustered with commercial misfortune to prolong accurate advertising"). In all, this is a magnificent set of one of the eight Trollope novels that were serialized in parts. Sadleir 31 (pp 92-103). Housed in a morocco-backed slipcase.

a long and detailed study of the gradual falling into madness of a suspicious husband... The final stages of his mental and moral dilapidation have a wild affliction unusual in the controlled world of Trollope characters. (Sadleir)

The publisher Virtue gave Trollope extremely generous terms in order to be able to
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publish this novel -- too generous: Virtue "went under" after the 29ºth' part, after which Strahan & Co. picked up the remainder. (Hence the lack of inserted ads in the last three numbers, Strahan's name on those three inside-rear wrappers, and Strahan's name on the book title pages included in the last part.)

All ads specified by Sadleir are present (including the rather chaotic assortment of preliminary ads in Parts 21 through 25, when "Virtue was too flustered with commercial misfortune to prolong accurate advertising"). Condition is very good (some soil and minor wear to some parts, a few spines with unobtrusive repair). In all, this is quite a nice set of one of the eight Trollope novels that were serialized in parts. Sadleir 31 (pp 92-103). Housed in a handsome morocco-backed slipcase with inner chemise.

This was Trollope's last so-called "travel book" -- and is his most unusual one, being of such a large format (measuring 11 3/8" x 8 7/8"). It was "never formally published" and "not issued for sale" [Sadleir]; the book was actually privately printed for Burns, with 25 copies reserved for the author.

This is a very good copy: there is minor shelfwear at the extremities and the cloth has some soil and bubbling but is quite bright; inside, one endpaper is cracked (as usual for so large a volume), but atypically there is no foxing on the plates. A Trollope title that we seldom see. Sadleir (Trollope) 51.

This set is bound by Zaehnsdorf, with half-titles but without the Vol I or Vol II ad leaves, in full brown straight-grained morocco, gilt-paneled spines, marbled endpapers with elaborate gilt dentelles. Since the Victorian three-decker was meant to be rented and not bought by the public, most copies went straight from the publisher to a lending library -- and then had to be rebound. The volumes are in near-fine condition (very minor wear at a few edges), which is rather remarkable in that this binding is probably more than a century old. Sadleir (TROLLOPE) 49.

A young girl, who is really a lady of high rank and great wealth, though in her youth she enjoyed none of the privileges of wealth or rank, marries a tailor who has been good to her, and whom she had loved when she was poor and neglected.

Trollope's readers were quite upset that he allowed his heroine to marry the tailor rather than the young Lord Lovel, who was in love with her; but Trollope replied "If I had not told my story well, there would have been no feeling in favour of the young lord" [quotes from his Autobiography, cited in Gerould]. Trollope wrote this tale in 1871, during the two-month passage from Liverpool to Melbourne (where the Trollopes' son was marrying); he began on the first day at sea, and every day (except one when he was sick) he wrote precisely 66 pages of manuscript, each page consisting of precisely 250 words.

This copy is in the primary binding (there was also a similar secondary binding, plus finally two-volumes-in-one in green cloth). Condition is very good, with very faint evidence on the front covers that lending library labels must once have resided there. Both volumes still retain their original yellow-coated endpapers, each of which bears an apparently-fairly-recent bookplate (Vol I's endpaper also bears the remnants of earlier bookplates, as well as an 1880 signature). This is a tough Trollope title, one we have had in no better condition. Sadleir (TROLLOPE) 42.

I regard this as the best novel I have written. I was never quite satisfied with the development of the plot, which consisted in the loss of a cheque, of a charge made against a clergyman for stealing it, and of absolute uncertainty on the part of the clergyman himself as to the manner in which the cheque found its way into his hands.

This is a near-fine copy, with the spine slightly faded as usual (only a hint of wear at the extremities). Sadleir (TROLLOPE) p. 81; Wolff 6784a. Housed in a morocco backed slipcase.

I regard this as the best novel I have written. I was never quite satisfied with the development of the plot, which consisted in the loss of a cheque, of a charge made against a clergyman for stealing it, and of absolute uncertainty on the part of the clergyman himself as to the manner in which the cheque found its way into his hands.

THE LAST CHRONICLE OF BARSET first appeared in these 32 weekly parts, beginning on December 1, 1866 and ending on July 6, 1867; included in each part is a full-page plate plus an opening vignette, by George H. Thomas. Also included in the 16th and 32nd parts are the preliminary leaves for binding up the parts into two volumes; each bound volume was also available directly from the publisher in March and July 1867 respectively.

This set includes all of the continuously-paginated Smith Elder ads (on lilac paper) that were inserted at the front of the 32 parts, plus all of the other slips and inserts that Sadleir terms "compulsory" except for a total of five slips in Parts 5, 6, 10, 12 & 18 (they appear never to have been present).

Condition is remarkable -- as it is just about FINE. The wrappers have scarcely any wear or soil, the spines have not had to be repaired or restored (minor wear at the foot of the first and last parts' spines), and there is very little foxing on wrappers, text or plates. One seldom encounters a Trollope set of parts in this condition today. Sadleir (TROLLOPE) pp 78-81. Housed in a cloth clamshell case.

This is a very good-plus copy, with a little wear at the lower end of the rear joint. Smith 20; Sadleir (AT) p. 81; Wolff 6784a. Housed in an open-backed slipcase.