Domestic Manners of the Americans

By Frances Trollope and Sara Wheeler

In 1832, three years before Alexis de Tocqueville published Democracy in America, the English novelist Frances Trollope released Domestic Manners of the Americans, an eye-opening record of her travels in the young republic. Expecting a Utopia of “justice and liberty for all,” she is shocked to discover the contradictions at the heart of the American character, especially when it comes to their treatment of slaves and Native Americans: “You will see them with one hand hoisting the cap of liberty,” Trollope writes, “and with the other flogging their slaves. You will see them one hour lecturing their mob on the indefeasible rights of man, and the next driving from their homes the children of the soil, whom they have bound themselves to protect by the most solemn treaties.”
Trollope’s biting critique became an international sensation, hailed for its fearlessness and humor and decried for its slanderous audacity. (Her critics derogatorily called her Fanny Trollope.) Yet, as Mark Twain remarked, "She was merely telling the truth and this indignant nation knew it.” Today, Domestic Manners of the Americans remains a prophetic diagnosis of American thought and culture, and a masterpiece of nineteenth-century travel writing. Now published as an ebook with an introduction by acclaimed travel author Sara Wheeler, this classic work offers modern American readers a fascinating re-introduction to themselves.
Praise for Domestic Manners of the Americans
"I am convinced that there is no writer who has so well and so accurately (I need not add entertainingly) described America"—Charles Dickens
"One of the great pioneer exercises in transatlantic disparagement; its influence lasted deep into the later 19th century"—Independent
"[Trollope] was merely telling the truth and this indignant nation knew it. She was painting a state of things which did not disappear at once. It lasted to well along in my youth, and I remember it."—Mark Twain
"Ever since its publication, Americans have loved to hate Domestic Manners of the Americans. It is still quoted by American journalists, precisely because the book remains as perceptive—and funny—as ever"—Sunday Times
"This remarkable woman became one of the most prolific and popular female writers of the century... She was consistently original"—Sunday Times
Frances Milton Trollope (1779 – 1863) was an English novelist and writer whose first book, Domestic Manners of the Americans (1832), caused an international sensation upon its publication. Trollope’s more than 100 books include strong social novels, including an the first anti-slavery novel, Jonathan Jefferson Whitlaw (1836), which influenced Uncle Tom’s Cabin author Harriet Beecher Stowe; the first industrial novel, Michael Armstrong: Factory Boy; and The Vicar of Wrexhill, which took on the corruption of the church of England; as well as two anti-Catholic novels, The Abbess and Father Eustace. Between 1839 and 1855, Trollope published her Widow Barnaby trilogy of novels, and her other travel books include Belgium and Western Germany in 1833, Paris and the Parisians in 1835, and Vienna and the Austrians. Her first and third sons, Thomas Adolphus and Anthony, also became writers; Anthony Trollope was influenced by his mother's work and became renowned for his social novels.
Sara Wheeler is the author of many books of biography and travel, including Access All Areas: Selected Writings 1990–2011 and Travels in a Thin Country: A Journey Through Chile. Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica was an international bestseller that The New York Times described as “gripping, emotional” and “compelling,” and The Magnetic North: Notes from the Arctic Circle was chosen as Book of the Year by Mic

• Language: English
• Publisher: Restless Books
• Release date: Jun 10, 2014
• ISBN: 9781632060044

Frances Trollope

Frances Milton Trollope (1779 – 1863) was an English novelist and writer whose first book, Domestic Manners of the Americans (1832), caused an international sensation upon its publication. Trollope’s more than 100 books include strong social novels, such as the first anti-slavery novel, Jonathan Jefferson Whitlaw (1836), which influenced Uncle Tom’s Cabin author Harriet Beecher Stowe; the first industrial novel, Michael Armstrong: Factory Boy; and The Vicar of Wrexhill, which took on the corruption of the church of England; as well as two anti-Catholic novels, The Abbess and Father Eustace. Between 1839 and 1855 Trollope published her Widow Barnaby trilogy of novels, and her other travel books include Belgium and Western Germany in 1833, Paris and the Parisians in 1835, and Vienna and the Austrians. Her first and third sons, Thomas Adolphus and Anthony, also became writers; Anthony Trollope was influenced by his mother's work and became renowned for his social novels.

Reviews for Domestic Manners of the Americans

[lovinglit · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is a fantastic rant from a European (British) lady who visits the new(ish) lands of America and who doesn't much like the people she meets. It is the early-mid 1800s and Americans are proud of their independence, they are proud of their equality and freedom, and they want to keep it that way. Mrs Trollope however, sees uncouth and uncultured ways wherever she goes. Although she many times absolutely loves the picturesque and dramatic natural scenery, she cannot abide by the way that the Americans are. She describes in great depth how far people will go to avoid thanking someone, or how most people seem too above menial work to be her maid or cleaner, and how everybody continually evokes this notion of equality when doing so. She picks to shreds the inconsistency with this notion and the existence of slaves, and the treatment of Native Americans. And she dislikes thoroughly the dress, facial expressions, and vernacular of the American women....they are not at all like they should be, in her mind. I loved reading this, the language was so beautiful, sometimes you were sure she must be paying a compliment with using such pretty language, but the message was passive/aggressive and very clear- Americans really ought to be more European. It was funny to read, but also did lay out a lot of the foundations of how a new society consolidates. It is fascinating to consider the trajectory of American culture from this time onwards. She points out the obscene way that people are obsessed with making money (if only she could see the world now!), and the hypocrisy of religions that preach freedom and fairness so fervently while condoning slavery and lining their own pockets first. Although her ranty style is clearly opinionated, I liked her bold statements and have enough brain matter to consider for myself what her biases were or might have been. The book said as much about her and her lifestyle as it did about the Americans'. A rollicking good, if somewhat flowery, read.

[cakecop_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An interesting read. Fanny admits she is biased against Americans, but she does make an attempt to balance her criticisms of America. Overall she is extremely impressed by the landscape and natural vegetation in America. I admire her focus on the environment and how she makes it one of the central themes of the book.She praises American ingenuity with patents and architecture.Her negative descriptions of Americans are supported with experiences that she records. She finds the lack of refinement in Americans vulgar. I agree. She carefully describes the prejudices of American's toward England and she correctly puts the blame on the newspapers. I find the similarities between America in 1830 and today amusing. I enjoy her careful dialogue of a two men talking and how one man responds but never directly answers a question to the other man. This is very funny.The faults of men like spitting, drinking, gambling are repeated over and over. I understands her feelings of revulsion. She attends many types of churches and carefully describes the excesses of he preachers. Her description of American's feeling of superiority is relevant today. Americans belief that they are the chosen people and the best hope for the world it obnoxious to foreigners and I sympathize with them.She writes long sentences that are sometimes filled with double negatives that make is difficult to understand her point.

[isabelx_21 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I never saw any people who appeared to live so much without amusement as the Cincinnatians. Billiards are forbidden by law, so are cards. To sell a pack of cards in Ohio subjects the seller to a penalty of fifty dollars. They have no public balls, excepting, I think, six, during the Christmas holidays. They have no concerts. They have no dinner parties.They have a theatre, which is, in fact, the only public amusement of this triste little town; but they seem to care little about it, and either from economy or distaste, it is very poorly attended. Ladies are rarely seen there, and by far the larger proportion of females deem it an offence against religion to witness the representation of a play. It is in the churches and chapels of the town that the ladies are to be seen in full costume; and I am tempted to believe that a stranger from the continent of Europe would be inclined, on first reconnoitering the city, to suppose that the places of worship were the theatres and cafes of the place.Near the end of the book, the author devotes some time to discussing American reactions to a book by Captain Basil Hall, commenting on their inability to tolerate the slightest criticism of their country, and how it seemed as if everyone in the country had bought the book and was enraged at the calumnies of that despicable author. As I read this, I was picturing Fanny Trollope with dollar signs in her eyes and the sound of cash registers ringing (much like Scrooge McDuck in the cartoons). I am sure that she thought about her opinions on the uncouth citizens of American, with their constant spitting, strange ideas of how to run hotels and lack of enthusiasm for anything except politics and making money, and realised that she was perfectly capable of writing in bitchy, condescending and scornful tones, so why shouldn't she write a book that would infuriate the American public and make herself just as much money as Captain Hall had.The Chatham is so utterly condemned by bon ton, that it requires some courage to decide upon going there; nor do I think my curiosity would have penetrated so far, had I not seen Miss Mitford's Rienzi advertised there. It was the first opportunity I had had of seeing it played, and spite of very indifferent acting, I was delighted. The interest must have been great, for till the curtain fell, I saw not one quarter of the queer things around me: then I observed in the front row of a dress-box a lady performing the most maternal office possible; several gentlemen without their coats, and a general air of contempt for thedecencies of life, certainly more than usually revolting.This is actually a very readable book, as Fanny's bitchiness and condescension when discussing the people and their way of life contrasts with her descriptions of the beauties of the mountains, rivers, waterfalls and autumn foliage. And her scorn can cut to the heart of things when she compares the Americans' constant lauding of their freedom with their acceptance of slavery and the breaking of every legal agreement made with the Native Americans. Had I, during my residence in the United States, observed any single feature in their national character that could justify their eternal boast of liberality and the love of freedom, I might have respected them, however much my taste might have been offended by what was peculiar in their manners and customs. But it is impossible for any mind of common honesty not to be revolted by the contradictions in their principles and practice. They inveigh against the governments of Europe, because, as they say, they favour the powerful and oppress the weak. You may hear this declaimed upon in Congress, roared out in taverns, discussed in every drawing-room, satirized upon the stage, nay, even anathematized from the pulpit: listen to it, and then look at them at home; you will see them with one hand hoisting the cap of liberty, and with the other flogging their slaves. You will see them one hour lecturing their mob on the indefeasible rights of man, and the next driving from their homes the children of the soil, whom they have bound themselves to protect by the most solemn treaties.

[pussreboots · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I take book suggestions from all sorts of sources. In the case of Domestic Manners of the Americans by Fanny Trollope, the recommendation came tucked into The Cat Who Robbed a Bank by Lilian Jackson Braun. Trollope's book was featured in a game of twenty questions that piqued my interest.Frances Trollope, mother of Anthony Trollope, and author of twenty-five novels, as well as travelogues, got the writing bug during her stay in the United States with three of her six children. The idea behind the trip was two fold — take a break from marital issues and rebuild some of the waning family fortune.The Trollops landed in New Orleans and from there traveled north via a commune in Tennessee to Cincinnati and later other urban centers in the area. Throughout her journey she remarked on the people she met, the mode of transportation, the weather, the food and pretty much anything else that either intrigued her or pissed her off.As this was the early days of United States and things were still pretty damn rural even in the big cities (note her descriptions of pigs as garbage disposal units), she of well established Britain, took her visits as something of an adventure into untamed, barbaric lands.Her travelog inspired Edmund White to pen Fanny: A Fiction. If I am to keep following the thread of recommendations from Braun to Trollop to White, I suppose I should read his book too. It is now on my wishlist to read as time permits.

[robertmosher · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The great Scots poet, Robert Burns, who wrote in both English and in Scots, wrote the oft-quoted words: “O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us!” Citizens and residents of the 19th Century United States actually had two opportunities to experience just that. Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America and Frances Trollope’s Domestic Manners of the Americans. The first work was ultimately two volumes long and contained a great deal of detailed information with analysis and commentary on life in America based upon the French author’s two year visit begun in 1831. The latter work is much shorter and more anecdotal, recounting Mrs. Trollope’s personal experiences traveling and living in the United States from 1828-1831. Frances Trollope was the mother of two prominent English authors, her oldest son Thomas Adolphus Trollope and third son Anthony Trollope, and this work launched her own writing career in England after it was published there in 1832. Although acclaimed in England, it was widely criticized in America.Mrs. Trollope’s travels in America extended from her arrival in New Orleans in 1828, a voyage up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to Cincinnati, Ohio, where she lived for two years as she and her family struggled to succeed in managing their department store, the Bazaar. Finally abandoning this attempt and resolving to return to England, she voyaged again up the Ohio River to Wheeling, Virginia and from there traveled overland (via Hagerstown, Maryland) to the Atlantic seaboard. She spent time in Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, before finally sailing for England and home where she wrote and published this memoir of her visit in 1832. Mrs. Trollope presents her story as a chronological narrative, frequently using the telling of a particular anecdote to then address a broader theme such as the role and practice of religion in America, or how the conduct of relations between the genders in America compares and contrasts with how they are conducted in England. The work is available in various editions from a number of publishers, but I would encourage you to look for one that includes the original illustrations that clearly augment Mrs. Trollope’s comments in the text (and I would encourage Dover Publications to include them in its edition as its editors apparently overlooked one passage in the book that is in fact useless and uninformative without Mrs. Trollope’s illustrations!).

[thorold_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Mrs Trollope (the mother of Anthony) was one of the earliest and most enterprising members of the stream of European intellectuals who visited the USA in its early years and wrote about their experiences. She set out for darkest Tennessee with her children in 1828, intending to join Fanny Wright's Nashoba Commune. When she saw the commune, she packed her bags and left at once, appalled at the conditions there, and then found herself stranded in Cincinnati for a couple of years before she could raise the money to travel back to England. These circumstances are only vaguely hinted at in the book, but obviously go a long way to explain her generally negative impression of the United States and contempt for the hypocrisy of American egalitarianism.