Join the Trollope Society and the Wilkie Collins Society for their first joint event, bringing together two great Victorian novels linked by diamonds, deception and social scandal.

Wilkie Collins’s The Moonstone (1868) was a major commercial success and is widely regarded as a founding work of detective fiction. Its story of a valuable diamond, suspicion, police investigation and social unease proved hugely influential. When Anthony Trollope came to write The Eustace Diamonds, serialised between 1871 and 1873, he was clearly responding to this success. Trollope deliberately entered similar territory, shaping a plot around a disputed diamond necklace, a beautiful young widow, theft, gossip and legal ambiguity, while remaining firmly within his own social and moral framework.

The afternoon will combine a buffet lunch at The William pub, a joint discussion of both novels, and a short walk to nearby Kensal Green Cemetery to visit the graves of Wilkie Collins and Anthony Trollope. Kensal Green is also the resting place of other major Victorian literary figures, including William Makepeace Thackeray, and has strong associations with Charles Dickens. After visiting the graves, participants will be free to explore the cemetery further at their own pace.

London Reading Group

The London Reading Group, run by the Trollope Society, offers a friendly, relaxed way to explore Trollope’s novels. Meetings are led by members, with everyone encouraged to participate. Non-members are welcome to attend once, after which membership is required.

Approximate timings

1.30pm – meet at The William pub and buffet lunch
2.00pm – discussion of The Moonstone and The Eustace Diamonds
3.30pm – walk to Kensal Green Cemetery to visit the graves

Venue details

The William, 786 Harrow Road, London NW10 5JX
Nearest station: Kensal Green (about a 10-minute walk)

Booking

• Places must be booked and paid for in advance.
• The price is £17 per person, including the buffet lunch.
• Drinks are not included and can be purchased separately from the bar.