Dickens gets the advantage in this article by Simon Heffer -- which makes me VERY happy. Not that I actually dislike Trollope, but I recently finished reading He Knew He Was Right (not to mention watching The Way We Live Now) and, well, Heffer is right. Dickens did do everything better.
(Cue the Trollopians to come galloping down on me like the wrath of God . . .)
"Trollope made a living out of this for 30 years, precisely because he never overestimated the taste, discernment or intellect of his reading public."
Heeehee!
That was a good article. I've only read one book by Trollope ("He Knew He Was Right") and quite enjoyed it, although the titular "He" ought to be kicked downstairs. But I've never read more in order to compare them. And he's definitely not Dickens.
Posted by: Christy | January 24, 2011 at 02:31 PM
Love Dickens, cannot stand Trollope, although I didn't mind "He Knew He Was Right" so very much (and the miniseries was quite engaging).
Posted by: Charity | January 24, 2011 at 04:36 PM
Have you ever seen the miniseries of The Way We Live Now? If so, what did you think?
Posted by: Selenia | January 26, 2011 at 10:00 PM
I did and quite liked it, though, as per Trollope, everyone was a bit messed up.
Posted by: Christy | January 27, 2011 at 01:17 PM
Yes, I saw it and thought it was pretty good. I do like Trollope; I just don't think he was in the same league as the Inimitable. ;-)
Posted by: Gina | January 28, 2011 at 10:09 AM
To each his own. The older I get, the more I appreciate Trollope, and the less I can stomach Dickens. One won't find abominable characters like Barnaby Rudge, Mr. Cheeryble, or Sam Weller in Trollope's novels. Dickens could never produce a Sir Thomas Underwood or a Glencora Palliser. Trollope's novels, thank the stars, are also free of the nauseating sentimentality that mars every Dickens novel I've read. By the way, if one thinks Trollope only wrote about the English aristocracy, try "The Macdermots of Ballycloran".
Posted by: Martin | February 12, 2011 at 07:54 PM