Joanna Trollope
Author of Marrying the Mistress
About the Author
Joanna Trollope was born in Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, England on December 9, 1943. She graduated from Oxford University. She worked on Chinese affairs in the Foreign Office in London for two years, and then became a teacher. In 1980, she became a full-time author. Her first books to be published show more were a number of historical novels written under the pen name Caroline Harvey. These were followed by Britannia's Daughters: Women of the British Empire, a historical study of women in the British Empire. The Choir was her first contemporary novel. Her other works include A Village Affair, A Passionate Man, The Rector's Wife, Girl from the South, The Soldier's Wife, and Balancing Act. She was appointed OBE in the 1996 Queen's Birthday Honours List. (Bowker Author Biography) Joanna Trollope is a descendant of Anthony Trollope & a #1 bestselling author in England. Her ten novels include "Marrying the Mistress", "Other People's Children", & "The Best of Friends", "A Spanish Lover", "The Choir", & "The Rector's Wife" which were both adapted for Masterpiece Theatre; & writing as Caroline Harvey, the historical novels "The Brass Dolphin" & "Legacy of Love". She lives in London & Gloucestershire, England. (Publisher Provided) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
Caroline Harvey is a pseudonym used by Joanna Trollope.
Series
Works by Joanna Trollope
Contemporary Challenges to the Laws of War: Essays in Honour of Professor Peter Rowe (2014) 5 copies
The Passage 1 copy
Associated Works
The Book Lovers' Appreciation Society: Breast Cancer Care Short Story Collection (2009) — Contributor — 92 copies
New Beginnings: New Writing from Bestselling Authors Sold in Aid of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Earthquake Charities (2005) — Contributor — 44 copies
Complete Short Stories. Vol. 5. The Journey to Panama and Other Stories (1983) — Foreword, some editions — 25 copies
Het Beste Boek 257: De tweeminutenregel / Vals / Dokter in Ierland / Tweede jeugd — Author — 4 copies
Of Love and Life: Making Your Mind Up / Second Honeymoon / Be Careful What You Wish For (2006) — Author — 3 copies
Det Bästas Bokval (1999) vol 205 : I vargars närhet; Plum Islands hemlighet; Andras barn — Author — 2 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Trollope Potter Curteis, Joanna
- Other names
- Trollope, Joanna
Harvey, Caroline - Birthdate
- 1943-12-09
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, England, UK
- Education
- University of Oxford (St Hugh's College)
Reigate County School for Girls - Occupations
- teacher
writer
novelist - Relationships
- Trollope, Anthony (fifth-generation uncle)
Trollope, James (cousin)
Potter, David Roger William (ex-husband)
Curteis, Ian (ex-husband) - Awards and honors
- Order of the British Empire (Officer, 1996)
- Short biography
- Joanna Trollope was born on 9 December 1943 in her grandfather's rectory in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, England, daughter of Rosemary Hodson and Arthur George Cecil Trollope. She is the eldest of three siblings. She is a fifth-generation niece of the Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope and is a cousin of the writer and broadcaster James Trollope. She was educated at Reigate County School for Girls followed by St Hugh's College, Oxford. On 14 May 1966, she married the banker David Roger William Potter, they had two daughters, Antonia and Louise, and on 1983 they divorced. In 1985, she remarried to the television dramatist Ian Curteis, and became the stepmother of two stepsons; they divorced in 2001. Today, she is a grandmother and lives on her own in London.
From 1965 to 1967, she worked at the Foreign Office. From 1967 to 1979, she was employed in a number of teaching posts before she became a writer full-time in 1980. Her novel Parson Harding's Daughter won in 1980 the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association. - Disambiguation notice
- Caroline Harvey is a pseudonym used by Joanna Trollope.
Members
Reviews
Daughters-in-Law by Joanna Trollope
Family Drama
Ugh. A clumsy amalgam of Jane Austen’s wise and witty original novel and Trollope’s ‘modern day’ view.
It feels more like Trollope copies word for word the original (stopping only to cut out the best bits) and then stuck thing like texting and drug use to make it sound modern. It ends up being annoying- and all of the characters show up as petty and helpless. Apparently women don’t work in modern times. Apparently they still marry for money.
See, in Austen’s time, this was necessary because women weren’t allowed to own property or work for money, and so were dependent on finding a good man to support them. Trying to shove this into present time simply doesn’t work. Anyone who can text on a phone can certainly be expected to have a job, so get on it, ladies! And how is it everyone has a cell phone plan with data but no one can afford to own a car?
Joanna Trollope should be ashamed of herself, and this whole Austen project rewrite lacks even the fun of “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”. Awful and decidedly unnecessary.… (more)
It feels more like Trollope copies word for word the original (stopping only to cut out the best bits) and then stuck thing like texting and drug use to make it sound modern. It ends up being annoying- and all of the characters show up as petty and helpless. Apparently women don’t work in modern times. Apparently they still marry for money.
See, in Austen’s time, this was necessary because women weren’t allowed to own property or work for money, and so were dependent on finding a good man to support them. Trying to shove this into present time simply doesn’t work. Anyone who can text on a phone can certainly be expected to have a job, so get on it, ladies! And how is it everyone has a cell phone plan with data but no one can afford to own a car?
Joanna Trollope should be ashamed of herself, and this whole Austen project rewrite lacks even the fun of “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”. Awful and decidedly unnecessary.… (more)
City of Friends is a lovely story by Joanna Trollope following the interconnecting lives of women.
This book focuses on the trials and errors of middle aged women being women. Lost jobs, children to take care of, parents to take care of, struggling romantic relationships, family drama and friendship drama all mash together into one well written tale. It's everything you'd expect from a contemporary, women's fiction novel!
There are four women who were once friends and now all of them are middle aged. Each of them have their own struggles to deal with, and somehow all of their problems relate to each other's problems. As with most female centered books, there is a pinch of feminine drama that makes me question if women are just bound to be dramatic and gossip (as a woman, I haven't seen too much of that as an adult - maybe it's just me though). Examples of this drama: One woman offers her friend's "mistress" or new lover a job but not her best friend, two of the women's children start seeing each other, a husband tells a woman to pick between their relationships or her mother's health. Yeah... this book felt petty at times.
Even with some of these interesting plot lines, I did enjoy this book. Buuuuuut... it wasn't a hit out of the park for me. I found it was a lovely, soft read that wasn't hard to jump in and out of. The worst part was that it got very slow at times. There were entire chapters that could have been left out and the story still would have progressed. I also didn't feel like there was a real "end" to this book, it just stopped. That's how life stories go there - there never is an "end", something just "stops".
There are some really strong parts of this book, for those looking for my positives! There are strong women characters who are facing realistic problems. I know many girls and women who have faced some of these troubles - like a sick parent, dealing with a lost job, and trying to balance work and family life. I like seeing books like this that bring about real issues so people realize that everyone goes through this stuff. Our lives aren't what we see on Instagram - life isn't perfect.
It may be because I've read a lot of women's fiction lately (on accident) or maybe it is just the plot of this book - I just didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped. The synopsis sounds awesome, the cover is gorgeous and the first half of the book really peaked me interest. At half, I kind of just wandered off in my brain and had trouble getting through it.
That being said, I would still recommend this book to anyone who loves contemporary novels and women's fiction. It's not a bad book, it's just not a good book for me - mainly because it couldn't hold my attention the way other women's fiction has. I think Joanna Trollope has a fantastic, easy reading, writing style and I want to read more books by her! This is just a blip on the book radar!
Two out of five stars.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.… (more)
This book focuses on the trials and errors of middle aged women being women. Lost jobs, children to take care of, parents to take care of, struggling romantic relationships, family drama and friendship drama all mash together into one well written tale. It's everything you'd expect from a contemporary, women's fiction novel!
There are four women who were once friends and now all of them are middle aged. Each of them have their own struggles to deal with, and somehow all of their problems relate to each other's problems. As with most female centered books, there is a pinch of feminine drama that makes me question if women are just bound to be dramatic and gossip (as a woman, I haven't seen too much of that as an adult - maybe it's just me though). Examples of this drama: One woman offers her friend's "mistress" or new lover a job but not her best friend, two of the women's children start seeing each other, a husband tells a woman to pick between their relationships or her mother's health. Yeah... this book felt petty at times.
Even with some of these interesting plot lines, I did enjoy this book. Buuuuuut... it wasn't a hit out of the park for me. I found it was a lovely, soft read that wasn't hard to jump in and out of. The worst part was that it got very slow at times. There were entire chapters that could have been left out and the story still would have progressed. I also didn't feel like there was a real "end" to this book, it just stopped. That's how life stories go there - there never is an "end", something just "stops".
There are some really strong parts of this book, for those looking for my positives! There are strong women characters who are facing realistic problems. I know many girls and women who have faced some of these troubles - like a sick parent, dealing with a lost job, and trying to balance work and family life. I like seeing books like this that bring about real issues so people realize that everyone goes through this stuff. Our lives aren't what we see on Instagram - life isn't perfect.
It may be because I've read a lot of women's fiction lately (on accident) or maybe it is just the plot of this book - I just didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped. The synopsis sounds awesome, the cover is gorgeous and the first half of the book really peaked me interest. At half, I kind of just wandered off in my brain and had trouble getting through it.
That being said, I would still recommend this book to anyone who loves contemporary novels and women's fiction. It's not a bad book, it's just not a good book for me - mainly because it couldn't hold my attention the way other women's fiction has. I think Joanna Trollope has a fantastic, easy reading, writing style and I want to read more books by her! This is just a blip on the book radar!
Two out of five stars.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.… (more)
I enjoyed this. Young men often fight wars whose purpose they often do not understand nor do they care about. The bonds between them are what matters. Even after they return on leave, hanging out with their mates can take precedence over family time.
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- Also by
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- Rating
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