Trollope Society Conference 2026

Registration is now open for the Trollope Society’s 2026 conference, which will take place at Magdalene College, Cambridge.

Trollope: The Law and Transgression

The Trollope Society’s 2026 conference explores the theme of law and transgression across Anthony Trollope’s fiction. Bringing together scholars, lawyers, novelists and readers, the conference examines how Trollope represents legal systems, moral failure, social rule-breaking, ecclesiastical authority, gender prejudice, inheritance, equity and international law. Across two days at Magdalene College, Cambridge, we will consider how Trollope dramatises both the letter of the law and the pressures of conscience, custom and social judgement.

Delegate information

Conference timetable
Date	Start	Type	Session	Presenter
Fri 27 Mar	2:15 pm	Welcome	Welcome and housekeeping	Trollope Society
	2:25 pm	Intro	Introduction by Professor Linda McClain	Professor Linda McClain
	2:45 pm	Paper	Mr Dove’s Opinion: Custom and Conscience in the World of the Pallisers	Gerard Clarke
	3:25 pm	Paper	How bad is John Caldigate?	Tom Crewe
	4:05 pm	Tea break
	4:35 pm	Paper	Unexpected Interventions: Trollope’s Hidden Advocates in Law and Crime	Gilly Wilford
	5:15 pm	Paper	Law, Transgression, and Gender Prejudice in Anthony Trollope’s Cousin Henry	Professor Deborah Denenholz Morse
	7:00 pm	Reception	Reception in the Benson Room
	7:30 pm	Dinner	College Dining Hall
Sat 28 Mar	7:30 am	Breakfast	Breakfast in Ramsey Room for residential delegates
	9:00 am	Intro	Welcome and housekeeping	Trollope Society
	9:10 am	Paper	Justifying Septimus Harding: Ecclesiology and Law in The Warden	Dr Mark Rigg
	9:50 am	Comfort break
	10:00 am	Paper	‘Some gross insufficiency in the laws of extradition’: Anthony Trollope’s Phineas Redux and International Law	Frederik Van Dam
	10:40 am	Paper	Presence and Absence: Transgressive Trustees and Anthony Trollope	Dr Hazel Vosper
	11:20 am	Tea break
	11:40 am	Paper	Trollope and the Equitable Judgment of Human Failings	Professor Gary Watt
	12:20 pm	Roundtable	A Taxonomy of Transgression in Anthony Trollope’s Novels	Professor Linda C. McClain Claire Laporte
	1:00 pm	Conclusion	Question and Answer	Claire Laporte
	1:25 pm	Thank you	Thank you and housekeeping	Trollope Society
	1:30 pm	Lunch

Delegate rates

Residential – £285 (Fully booked, no longer available)

Includes bed and breakfast in a single en-suite room at Cripps Court, Magdalene College (Friday night), reception and conference dinner on Friday 27 March, all talks and lectures, and a two-course lunch on Saturday 28 March.

Although we can no longer accept residential bookings at Magdalene College, you may want to consider booking for a non-residential delegate and staying at The Arundel House Hotel, which is just a few minutes walk from Magdalene College.

Non-Residential (including conference dinner) – £170

Includes reception and conference dinner on Friday 27 March, all talks and lectures, and a two-course lunch on Saturday 28 March.

Trollope Society