Anthony Trollope

A memorial stone to Anthony Trollope, novelist, was unveiled in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey by Prime Minister John Major on 25th March 1993. The slate stone was lettered by Sarah More and is below the memorial to Edward Lear. The quotation is from the last line of Trollope's autobiography. The inscription reads:

ANTHONY TROLLOPE

Novelist. Public Servant

Pioneer of the Postal Services

The creator of Barsetshire

1815-1882

Now I stretch out my hand

and from the further shore I bid

adieu to all who have cared

to read any among the many

words that I have written

Order of Service for the Dedication of a Memorial to Anthony Trollope, 1993 (PDF, 745 KB)

Anthony was born on 24th April 1815 in London, a son of Thomas Trollope, a barrister, and his wife Frances (Milton). He was educated at Harrow School and Winchester College and became a clerk in the Post Office. Later he moved to Ireland and married Rose Heseltine. Their sons were Henry and Frederick. While on an assignment in the Channel Islands he introduced roadside letter boxes (pillar boxes) and the idea spread through the whole of Britain. His first successful novel was The Warden and its sequel Barchester Towers is well known. He followed these with more novels set in the fictional county of Barsetshire. He died on 6th December 1882 after a stroke and was buried at Kensal Green cemetery in London.

Further reading for Anthony, his parents and brother Thomas

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004