Editing Anthony Trollope (section)

===Success as an author===
In 1851, Trollope was sent to England, charged with investigating and reorganising rural mail delivery in southwestern England and south [[Wales]]. The two-year mission took him over much of Great Britain, often on horseback. Trollope describes this time as "two of the happiest years of my life".<ref name=auto5>Trollope (1883).  [https://web.archive.org/web/20080814183734/http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/t/trollope/anthony/autobiography/chapter5.html Chapter 5.]  Retrieved 2 July 2010.</ref>

In the course of it, he visited [[Salisbury Cathedral]]; and there, according to his autobiography, he conceived the plot of ''[[The Warden]]'', which became the first of the six [[Chronicles of Barsetshire|Barsetshire novels]]. His postal work delayed the beginning of writing for a year;<ref>The dates in Trollope's ''An Autobiography'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20080814183734/http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/t/trollope/anthony/autobiography/chapter5.html chapter 5], are inconsistent: he states that he began writing ''The Warden'' in July 1853, that he "recommenced it" at the end of 1852, and that he finished it in the autumn of 1853.</ref> the novel was published in 1855, in an edition of 1,000 copies, with Trollope receiving half of the profits: £9 8s. 8d. in 1855 (about £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|9.40|1855|r=-2}}}} in {{#expr:{{CURRENTYEAR}}-1}} consumer pounds), and £10 15s. 1d. in 1856 (about £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|10.75|1856|r=-2}}}} in {{#expr:{{CURRENTYEAR}}-1}} consumer pounds). Although the profits were not large, the book received notices in the press and brought Trollope to the attention of the novel-reading public.<ref name=auto5 />
[[File:Anthony Trollope - DPLA - 3cb446f8e59a5e92fb88e4fa716f1941 (page 1).jpg|alt=Photograph of Anthony Trollope leaning against a chair, his right leg crossed over the left. His name is written in ink at the base of the image.|thumb|Anthony Trollope, [ca. 1859–1870]. Carte de Visite Collection, Boston Public Library.]]
He immediately began work on ''[[Barchester Towers]]'', the second Barsetshire novel;<ref name=auto6>Trollope (1883).  [https://web.archive.org/web/20080814183102/http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/t/trollope/anthony/autobiography/chapter6.html Chapter 6.]  Retrieved 2 July 2010.</ref> upon its publication in 1857,<ref name=auto20>Trollope (1883).  [https://web.archive.org/web/20080814183849/http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/t/trollope/anthony/autobiography/chapter20.html Chapter 20.]  Retrieved 2 July 2010.</ref> he received an advance payment of £100 (about £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|100|1857|r=-2}}}} in {{#expr:{{CURRENTYEAR}}-1}} consumer pounds) against his share of the profits. Like ''The Warden'', ''Barchester Towers'' did not obtain large sales, but it helped to establish Trollope's reputation. In his autobiography, Trollope writes, "It achieved no great reputation, but it was one of the novels which novel readers were called upon to read."<ref name=auto6/> For the following novel, ''[[The Three Clerks]]'', he was able to sell the copyright for a lump sum of £250 (about £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|250|1857|r=-2}}}} in {{#expr:{{CURRENTYEAR}}-1}} consumer pounds); he preferred this to waiting for a share of future profits.<ref name=auto6 />

[[File:Anthony Trollope by Samuel Laurence.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Anthony Trollope by [[Samuel Laurence]], circa 1864]]