erinbrenner's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
For Trollope fans, this is a peek into the writer's life and Victorian life in general. We get a sense of the beliefs and social norms that inform his books. We see him judge his work as objectively as a writer can. We get more of the personality hinted at in his fiction.
An Autobiography offers writers even more. Trollope explains his method for getting the work done, even while working a busy full-time job. He shares his thoughts on the writing process, literature, publishing, and more. I was particularly taken by how he thinks about his characters all the time. They live in his head, having a life of their own, even while he works his f/t job with the postal service.
It's well worth the read!
An Autobiography offers writers even more. Trollope explains his method for getting the work done, even while working a busy full-time job. He shares his thoughts on the writing process, literature, publishing, and more. I was particularly taken by how he thinks about his characters all the time. They live in his head, having a life of their own, even while he works his f/t job with the postal service.
It's well worth the read!
sir_ehssan's review against another edition
4.0
Such a good book!
It's starts slow and remains a slow read till to the end.
But I most say, I learned a lot. Trollope was a man with high standards and moral.
Definitively a great read, but I'm not going to read it again other than some specific part.
The best part IMO is the third part of the book, where he tells more about his worldview and the business of literature.
It's starts slow and remains a slow read till to the end.
But I most say, I learned a lot. Trollope was a man with high standards and moral.
Definitively a great read, but I'm not going to read it again other than some specific part.
The best part IMO is the third part of the book, where he tells more about his worldview and the business of literature.
amandaquotidianbooks's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.5
This was an interesting mix of an autobiography. A bulk of the book is Trollope discussing the books he’s written (and claiming most of them are not particularly good). It was interesting to hear about his early life and career in the post office. He also discusses his writing process, how long it took for his literary career to be successful and how much money he made as an author, which is really cool. He also discusses his contemporaries like Dickens, Eliot and Charlotte Brontë and makes some juicy comments that were fun to hear. He doesn’t go into depth about his personal life, but it was a satisfying read especially for its length. It does spoil the following books however:
Orley Farm
Orley Farm
The Small House at Allington
Can You Forgive Her
Miss Mackenzie (vague)
The Claverings
Jane Eyre
The Last chronicle of Barset
Phineas Finn
Phineas Redux
Lady Anna
More...