Trollope

This is the story of Anthony Trollope, an (apparently) utterly English and conservative writer, whose life cuts against what Barchester readers might expect of him.

He was a man raised by high born parents who had lost their money. Bullied in his teens, he joined the Post Office - taking work in Ireland to escape professional and financial difficulties.

Trollope fell in love with the Irish and the English literati even accused him of 'going native', yet he became one of England's best loved novelists. He wrote over 50 books, insisted that he only wrote for money, and penned many of them on trains en route to inspect rural post offices.

What kind of a man was he? And why does his work still resonate so strongly for readers across the English-speaking world. Is it, as WH Auden said, because he's one of the only English novelists to truly understand money and work?

Presented by the poet, Michael Symmons Roberts

The Voice of Trollope: Hamilton Berstock

Producer: Faith Lawrence

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2014.

Poet Michael Symmons Roberts explores the remarkable life of Anthony Trollope.