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Hilary Hale on Joanna Trollope

Joanna Trollope, the bestselling and much-loved author who died last weekend, was an RLF Trustee for five years, beginning in 2015. She served on the board under the stewardship of Hilary Hale, then the RLF’s Acting Chair. Here, Hilary – who recently stood down as the RLF’s Deputy Chair of Trustees – reflects on Joanna’s legacy, both as a writer and as an advocate for others in the profession.

“Since its foundation in 1790 the Royal Literary Fund has been providing help to writers in financial need, and the key to its longevity is the support given to it by other authors. At times this has been in the form of monetary donations, but principally it has been by writers from every corner of the literary world giving generously of their time and expertise. Joanna Trollope was one of the most selfless of these, serving as a Trustee and a member of the Committee assessing how best the Fund could help its beneficiaries.

Bestsellerdom didn’t come immediately to her, but her appenticeship in writing historical fiction combined with her sharp observation and the perplexities of her personal life served as a solid foundation for understanding how minor or major pitfalls could undermine an author at any stage of their career. These insights, together with her natural empathy, made her an invaluable member of the RLF board, not merely as an advocate for those less fortunate than herself, but as a stalwart colleague and friend to other members of the board.

Nowadays the word philanthropist conjures up an image of a wealthy tycoon having the wing of an institution named after them, but for Joanna the word is redolent with its original meaning as someone with ‘a love of mankind especially as shown in services to general welfare’ without the need for laurels of praise. There are a great many readers who are grateful for the novels she created, and there are many writers who have unknowingly benefitted from her compassionate nature. The literary world is the poorer by her absence.”

Joanna Trollope died on 11 December 2025 at the age of 82. Her 40+ year career as an author saw her publish over 30 books, including The Choir, Other People’s Children, The Village Affair and Marrying the Mistress. She was well-known for her vivid and detailed writing about many aspects of British domestic life, from relationships, parenting and divorce; to grief, self-harm and family conflict. She also wrote romantic fiction under the pseudonym Caroline Harvey. 

Photo of Joanna Trollope by Jeff Morgan, Alamy.

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