Anthony Trollope
Person Male Born 24/4/1815 Died 6/12/1882
Author of over 50 delightful novels. Born at 16 Keppel Street. Worked for the GPO (General Post Office) 1834 - 59 and introduced the pillar box to the UK, an idea stolen from France.
His family left Keppel Street when Anthony was still an infant but he perhaps had fond memories since in the 1874 'Lady Anna' he moves Anna and her mother into a house in Keppel Street. It is a novel about the nuances of rank and Keppel Street must have suggested to Trollope exactly the right level in the social hierarchy for this couple. Initially they occupy just the first and second floors but on acquiring some money they take over the ground floor as well. And (spoiler alert) it is in the ground floor parlour, actually in the parlour doorway, that an attempted murder takes place.
Died in a nursing home at 34 Welbeck Street following a stroke while visiting relatives. We've read that the stroke was a result of excessive laughter brought on by reading a now forgotten Victorian novel, 'Vice Versa'. Can it really have been that funny? Must get a copy.
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