Absolutely essential for wending my way through Trollope, or for insight on the occasional bit of trivia about the mid-Victorian period. The book is clearly and concisely written, chock-a-block with useful and pertinent information, and the authors don't stint on alerting the unwary reader to those works of Trollope that are, shall we say, "sub-par," unlike some starry-eyed literary docents I've encountered. ( )