Published posthumously in 1884, An Old Man’s Love was Anthony Trollope’s last completed work. A classic tale of romance and rivalry, it follows the intertwining stories of young orphan Mary Lawrie, the object of her romantic affections the penniless John Gordon, and elderly bachelor William Whittlestaff. All heartsore from being jilted at some point in their lives, will any of the three find love and happiness again? A love triangle with a twist, there is plenty of humour as well as anguish and romance in this simple short story from Trollope.
Anthony Trollope (1815 – 1882) was a Victorian writer and author of 47 novels. He also wrote an autobiography, short stories and plays, travel articles, reviews and lectures. A prolific writer, he made no secret of the fact that money was his motivation for writing – an admission which raised eyebrows among his literary contemporaries at the time. The amount of works Trollope authored are testament to his belief in hard work. His first successful novel was The Warden followed by its sequel, Barchester Towers. The Chronicles of Barsetshire are perhaps his most well-known series of novels, though many of his works have been adapted for TV and radio, starring many familiar faces such as Alan Rickman, David Tennant, Bill Nighy and Tom Hollander. Alongside his literary career, Trollope also worked for some time for the Post Office and is credited with the introduction of the iconic post box to Britain. A memorial to Anthony Trollope was unveiled in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey in 1993.
