Why Frau Frohmann Raised Her Prices and Other Stories

Book excerpt: First published in 1882, this is a delightful volume of five short stories from Victorian author Anthony Trollope. In it we are introduced to Frau Frohmann of the title, who is agonising over whether to raise the prices at her hotel to keep in step with the rising salaries of her guests. Other short stories in this collection include ‘The Lady of Launay’, ‘The Telegraph Girl’, ‘Christmas at Thompson Hall’ and ‘Alice Dugdale’. Anthony Trollope (1815 – 1882) was a Victorian writer and author of 47 novels. He also wrote an autobiography, short stories and plays, travel articles, reviews and lectures. A prolific writer, he made no secret of the fact that money was his motivation for writing – an admission which raised eyebrows among his literary contemporaries at the time. The amount of works Trollope authored are testament to his belief in hard work. His first successful novel was The Warden followed by its sequel, Barchester Towers. The Chronicles of Barsetshire are perhaps his most well-known series of novels, though many of his works have been adapted for TV and radio, starring many familiar faces such as Alan Rickman, David Tennant, Bill Nighy and Tom Hollander. Alongside his literary career, Trollope also worked for some time for the Post Office and is credited with the introduction of the iconic post box to Britain. A memorial to Anthony Trollope was unveiled in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey in 1993.