Teresa Ransom is related to the descendants of Fanny Trollope, mother of Anthony Trollope, and undertook massive research to write this biography. Fanny's importance to contemporary writing and her son's writing, is only now being acknowledged. Born in Bristol in 1779, Fanny Trollope was the daughter of a country parson. She married a barrister, and produced seven children in eight years, but with her husband in financial trouble she set off for America where living was cheaper. The bazaar she set up was a disaster and she returned to England on borrowed money. "Domestic Manners of the Americans", published in 1832, was the account of those years. It took Victorian sensibilities by storm, running to four editions both in the UK and in America in its first year, and not only paid the family debts, but made Fanny, at the age of 52, a celebrity. Today, Fanny Trollope's importance in contemporary literature is beginning to be recognized, as is also the formative influence she had on her son Anthony's work.