We are two part-time academics. Ellen teaches in the English department and Jim in the IT program at George Mason University.

Trollope's Apollo · 17 May 06

Dear Harriet,

This is to let you know I’ve linked into the Trollope areas of my website an on-line catalog of the uses of Greco-Roman classics in Anthony Trollope’s Barsetshire novels. It’s called Trollope’s Apollo, and is a creation of a group of students at Hendrix College under the guidance of Professor Rebecca Resinski.

Here is their description:

Trollope’s uses of classics in his novels is both various and widespread. Sometimes he makes reference to a figure from ancient history or mythology. Other times he recalls genres of ancient literature such as epic or tragedy. Still other times he cites specific Greek or Roman authors or anonymous ancient proverbs. And yet other times he seems to play with Greek and Latin words borrowed into the English language. We are trying to catalogue and explore as many instances of these various uses of classics as we can. Rather than seeing Trollope’s allusions as cosmetic embellishments or solely elitist gestures, we hope to demonstrate ways in which they contribute significance, depth, and levity to the world which Trollope invents. We cannot hope to be exhaustive—if only because "what counts" or "what should count" is up to each reader to decide, is the result of a conversation between reader and text.

It consists of

People, Places, and Things: here you find an alphabetical index of all the people, places and things in the Barsetshire novels which use classically resonant proper nouns.

Vocabula: Latin and Greek words in the Barsetshire novels which had been assimilated into the English spoken and written by Trollope and his contemporaries.

A chapter-by-chapter commentary for all six Barsetshire novels.

And Bibliography and Citation information, together with links to other websites, among which is the Victorian Web and our website right here.

Since all six novels are covered, I’ve placed links not only in my front page with the bibliographies, but also at the bottom of all the essays and threads from the group reads of all six novels, The Warden and Barchester Towers, Dr Thorne, Framley Parsonage, The Small House at Allington, and The Last Chronicle of Barset.

I’m delighted to do this and will now write the people on Trollope-l and Victoria to tell them of this new rich cornucopia of suggestive information.

I conclude with a picturesque vignette of an elegant street in London by Millais, probably intended for Chapter 45 of The Small House: note all the classical elements, Harriet!

Sylvia

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Posted by: Ellen

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