The Fixed Period

By Anthony Trollope

In Trollope's novel, Britannula is a former British Crown Colony which demanded, and was granted, independence from Great Britain in the mid-20th century. Its 250,000 inhabitants have, with few exceptions, retained British law and customs, and also her currency. Britannula is a thriving agrarian society whose wealth is mainly based on sheep farming and the wool trade. Its capital, Gladstonopolis, is named after 19th century British Liberal statesman and Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sovereign
• Release date: Aug 7, 2018
• ISBN: 9781787247529

Anthony Trollope

<p><b>Anthony Trollope</b> nació en Londres en 1815, hijo de un abogado en bancarrota y de Frances Trollope, que, tras fracasar montando un bazar en Cincinatti, escribió <i>Usos y costumbres de los americanos</i> (ALBA CLÁSICA núm. XLVIII), con la que inició una carrera literaria que le reportó fama y prosperidad económica. Anthony se educó en Harrow, Sunbury y Winchester, donde se sintió a disgusto entre los miembros de la aristocracia, y nunca llegó a la Universidad. En 1824 empezó a trabajar en el servicio de correos, donde permanecería hasta 1867. Tras siete años en Londres fue trasladado a Irlanda, y de ahí a nuevos destinos por el Reino Unido, Egipto y las Indias Occidentales.</p> <p>En 1847 publicó su primera novela, <i>The Macdermots of Ballycloran</i>, y en 1855 <i>El custodio</i>, la primera del ciclo ambientado en la mítica ciudad de Barchester (trasunto de Winchester) y en las intrigas políticas de su clero. Este ciclo lo consolidó como autor realista y le dio una gran popularidad. En 1864 inició con <i>Can You Forgive Her?</i> otro ciclo, el de las novelas de Palliser, en el que retrataría los entresijos de la vida política y matrimonial de los parlamentarios londinenses. En 1868 él mismo se presentó como candidato liberal a las elecciones, pero no fue elegido. Entre sus últimas obras cabe destacar <i>The Way We Live Now</i> (1875), una gran sátira del capitalismo. Murió en Londres en 1882.</p>

Reviews for The Fixed Period

[thorold_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not quite what you would expect from Trollope: this late work is a satirical fantasy, set 100 years in the future (1979-1980!) in an imaginary former British colony in the South Pacific. It's obviously meant to be alluding to things like Gulliver's travels, Erewhon and More's Utopia, but the scenario calls W.S Gilbert to mind much more readily than Swift: The government of the young republic has enacted a rational, benevolent and enlightened new law that imposes compulsory euthanasia on everyone who reaches the age of 68 (Trollope was 67 when he wrote this!). Everything goes very smoothly, until they get to the point when the first person should be "deposited" in the new college prior to the humane ending of his life... The silly plot and the little futuristic touches (cricket matches with steam-powered catapults, etc.) would have been ideal for a G&S operetta: apart from cricketers, we also get various peers and the Royal Navy. Throw in a few pirates and some bridesmaids, and we've practically got a full set of G&S choruses. On the other hand, there's a lot of rather unfortunately-prescient reference to crematorium ovens, invoking quite a different set of associations.What makes it especially Trollopean is the way the story is tied to the viewpoint of President Neverbend, a reasonable, humane man, but stubborn in his conviction that the Fixed Period will be the salvation of mankind, if he can only get beyond the purely domestic problem that the first person to be killed is his best friend, the father of the girl his son wants to marry. Male stubbornness is a Trollope speciality, of course, and we have the inevitable scenes where Neverbend has to submit to bedtime lectures from his wife, just like Grantly, Proudie and all the rest. Seeing these from the first-person viewpoint, watching how Neverbend tries to resolve common-sense and friendship with his convictions, is a fascinating process. I believe this is the only Trollope novel written in the first person: it is very effective.