Join us in the magnificent surroundings of The Library at the Reform Club at 6.00pm on Wednesday 22nd October, 2025 for our 38th AGM, Wine Reception and Annual Lecture, followed by a two course sit down buffet supper.

Trollope the Moralist: A Victorian Dante?

We are delighted that Dr Alison Milbank will deliver the 38th Annual Lecture on the subject of ‘Trollope the Moralist: A Victorian Dante?’. A distinguished scholar, Dr Milbank is Professor Emeritus of Theology and Literature at the University of Nottingham and Canon Theologian of Southwell Minster.

In this lecture, Dr Milbank will explore Trollope’s role as a moralist, setting aside traditional critical divides to propose a bold comparison with Dante. Like Dante’s souls, Trollope’s characters will be shown to reveal their virtues and vices through speech, letters, and the free indirect style that draws readers into their inner lives. The talk will suggest that Trollope’s richly detailed world mirrors Dante’s, where setting and irony reflect moral states. Drawing on the virtue ethics tradition, Dr Milbank will argue that Trollope, like Dante, invites us to learn through observing character, habit, and the shaping of desire.

Alison Milbank is Professor Emeritus of Theology and Literature at the University of Nottingham and Canon Theologian at Southwell Minster. Her research into the inter-relationship of religion and the arts has ranged from the Gothic, in God and the Gothic: Religion, Romance, and Reality in the English Literary Tradition (Oxford, 2018) to Dante reception in Dante and the Victorians (Manchester, 1998). A recent essay on the clergy in Victorian literature features Trollope prominently. She has just completed a Cambridge Element on Theology and Literature and is working on a study of divine immanence in Anglican natural philosophy and poetry. In the ecclesial area, she has a strong interest in the parish system of the Church of England, and is the author of The Once and Future Parish (SCM, 2023).

Running order

• 6.00pm – Trollope Society’s 38th AGM
• 6.30 – 7.00pm – Wine reception (We will be joined by members of the Reform Club attending the lecture)
• 7.00 – 8.00pm – Lecture followed by Q&A
• 8.15 – 9.30pm – Two course sit down buffet supper.

This year’s lecture will not be available to join live via Zoom, but a recording will be made available to members after the event on our website.

Dress code

The dress code is lounge suits. The Reform Club operates a smart dress code. Male members and guests are required to wear a jacket and shirt with full collar. Ties are encouraged but not required. Female members and guests and are required to dress with similar formality. Recognised national and religious dress and service dress uniform is accepted at any time.

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The 38th AGM, Annual Lecture and Buffet Supper is a members only event.

You must be a member of the Trollope Society to register to attend our 38th AGM & Annual Lecture, and to purchase tickets for the wine reception and buffet supper.

• If you are a member of the Trollope Society and have a website account login to register to attend the AGM & Annual Lecture, and to purchase tickets for the wine reception and buffet supper.
• If you are a member of the Trollope Society but do not have a website account join the website free of charge as an existing member.
• If you are not a member of the Trollope Society join us today and start enjoying the benefits of membership.