Joanna Trollope has died

[ARoomSomewhere]

A loss : I enjoyed her writing.

Same, I really enjoyed her books.

I liked her earlier work and she was a brilliant writer.

I remember reading The Rector’s Wife and being amazed that Anna could pay for her daughter’s school fees by working part time in a supermarket!

She always described people really well I thought.

Maybe there is another thread (I couldn't see one before I started this one) but I'm slightly surprised more people have not responded (thanks to those who have) as she was a good writer I thought. I am starting re-reading her version of 'Sense and Sensibility' this weekend. I have a very rare evening alone tonight, M&S snacks and a glass of wine planned to accompany it. Bliss 😊

What was the book where the husband had a fling with, I think, his step-mother??

Hi , I too was sad to hear the news . I think because of the time of year - people are very busy .

I loved her writing , although haven’t read any for years . She really captured her characters / relationships .
I had a quick Google to check if any of her books had been made into tv series etc and see that there were a few in the 90s .

I wonder if her writing wasn’t seen as particularly cutting edge and she would have unfortunately been overlooked for the more modern writers .

I wonder if the very middle class settings were the issue . Although she was very good at showing in her writing that an apparently perfect lifestyle on paper , clearly wasn’t .

My mother is a big fan

I've only read one of her books tbh - The Rector's Wife - and really liked it, ditto the tv adaptation

I love her books. Astute and beautifully written (unlike a lot of what passes as "chick lit" these days). They were somewhat of their time and you definitely have to read the earlier ones through that lens. She was a great writer all the same.

I love her books too. I agree with all said above, but she also wrote children really well - not sentimental at all.

I liked that book! From memory it was the cheapest private school and was £600 a term - this was in the 1980s I think? Not sure if it was realistic. But didn’t Flora get a scholarship anyway, so Anna saved the money? I can’t recall what for - her get away fund perhaps.

@Wishimaywishimight it was A Passionate Man. Marina de Breton.

I hated Anna’s husband in the Rector’s wife !
They were so mis matched.

I had forgotten her daughter got a scholarship. It’s been a very long since I’ve read it!

It’s been a very long time since I’ve read it but I thought Anna married him for stability as her own childhood had lacked it!

Me too but your comment has made me want to re-read it. I think that Peter (? Anna’s husband) found out about the scholarship, which Anna hadn’t told him about, and it meant that she hadn’t needed to work in the supermarket after all.

I really enjoyed the comfort of her books but the earlier ones had a slightly smug feel to them. I’m thinking of A Village Affair.

Such a kind and elegant woman, is how she always seemed.

Why does autocorrect change its to it’s!

Yep, Anna married for all the wrong reasons

Anna’s husband was horrible , he made her leave that job and bring home an African violet as a present from the supermarket! It was just nasty.

I had forgotten that! They definitely were ill suited!

I remember reading A Village Affair and being very struck by the name Clodagh, as it was the first time I'd ever heard it.

My favourite JT book was The Choir.

You have reminded me that I was very struck by the name Ianthe in The Choir; it is still one of my favourite names.

Lovely name! Shelley (romantic poet) wrote a poem called To Ianthe.

A sad loss and also a realisation of that era (I hate the term middle England) coming to an end or at least fading.

Oh l liked all her books and everything a new one came out l got a warm feeling knowing l had a nice book to curl up with for the evening. You could rely on it being good. I am sorry to hear she has passed away

I always remember one of her books having a cat/kitten named Balloon, and one of the sentences in the book being (despite all that is going on ) “ a cat has to be fed” . This down to earthiness was enjoyable.
I struggled with her later books though.