Trollope, Seriality, and the ‘Dullness’ of Form

Trollope’s serial fiction satirizes literary tropes and conventions in order to produce a sense of historical veracity. In the Barsetshire series, Trollope uses undeveloped or ‘embryo’ plots in order to build narrative suspense within highly conventional plots. Within plots so conventional that conclusions are foregone, Trollope engineers excitement by offering multiple paths toward the foregone conclusion.