hogglestock

I’ve recently finished re-reading Doctor Thorne and Framley Parsonage and have noticed a Trollopian tendency toward alliteration when it comes to proper names. It prompted me to take my Oxford Reader’s Companion to Trollope (R.C. Terry, editor) off the shelf to see what else I might find. I knew that one of my favorite names in the Palliser series and perhaps all of Trollope is Sir Gregory Grogrom, what else would I find?

As I went through the whole list (which can be found at the bottom of this post) I noticed that the harder the consonant the more fun it is to say. I also noticed that sometimes other non-alliterative syllables add to the fun. For instance Gregory Grogrom isn’t half as fun to my ear as Sir Gregory Grogrom. And the more repetition the better, only two letters like Pickering Park can work, but it’s not as good as Polly Peppercorn or Polly Poppins. But, add an additional syllable at the beginning can really punch it up. That’s why Sir John Joram is a little more fun than Griselda Grantly. If she had been Lady Griselda Grantly that would have been a different story (both figuratively and literally, when she did end up getting a title she became the Marchioness of Hartletop and her alliterative days were over).

And what can be said of vowels? Not much. Oliphant Outhouse is a great name but it doesn’t bounce along like the others. Similary, Sir Henry Hotspur of Humblethwaite doesn’t do much for me.

My favorites

Captain Benjamin Batsby
Sir Boreas Bodkin
The Brownbies of Boolabong
Dr Dugdale
Phineas Finn
Gumption, Gazebee and Gazebee
The Goose and Gridiron
Griselda Grantly
Sir Gregory Grogrom
Sir John Joram
Lord Ludovic Lufton
Sir Marmaduke Morecombe
Mowbray & Mopus
Plantagenet Palliser
Polly Peppercorn
Pickering Park
Plum-cum-Pippens
Polly Poppins
Peter Prosper
Thomas Tappitt
Wickham Webb
Sir Warwick Westend
Sir William Weston
William Whittlestaff
Ziska Zamenoy

The whole list

All the examples I could find in the Oxford Reader’s Companion to Trollope.

Baroness Banmann
Captain Benjamin Batsby
Bobsborough
Sir Boreas Bodkin
Mr. Boothby
Boscobel
Judge Bramber
Brayboro’ Park
The Brownbies of Boolabong
Lieutenant Brumby
Bartholomew Burgess
Brooke Burgess
Catherine Carmichael
Castle Corry
Cauldkail Castle
Chase of Chaldicotes
Courcy Castle
Crabtree Canonicorum
Columb Creagh
Creamclotted Hall
Dr Dugdale
Earl of Earlybird
Frederick Fawn
Frank Fenwick
Phineas Finn
Frederic Frew
Gumption, Gazebee and Gazebee
Lord George Germain
Gabriel Gilliflower
Goffe & Goffe
The Goose and Gridiron
Griselda Grantly
Sir Gregory Grogrom
Harry Handcock
Harrington Hall
Harry Heathcote
Hendon Hall
Henniker’s Hotel
Hiram’s Hospital
Hoppett Hall
Hannibal Hoskins
Hetta Houghton
Sir John Joram
Kelly’s Court
Sir Lords Longstop
Mr Lookaloft
Loughlinter
Ludovic, Lord Lufton
Meg McEvoy
Margaret Mackenzie
Major Mackintosh
The Misses Macmanus
Mick Maggott
Major Macgruder
Maurice Maule
Madame Melmotte
Mr Millepois
Matthew and Mary Mollett
Michael Molloy
Lady Margaret Momson
Mr Momson
Sir Marmaduke Morecombe
Mistress Morony
Matthew Morris
Mahomet M Moss
Sir Magnus Mountjoy
Mowbray & Mopus
Mrs Mulready
Oliphant Outhouse
Plantagenet Palliser
Polly Peppercorn
Pickering Park
Plum-cum-Pippens
Polly Poppins
Peter Prosper
Rachel Ray
Richard Roby
Ruby Ruggles
St Peter’s-cum-Pupkin
Sir Henry Hotspur of Humblethwaite
Thomas Tappitt
Tom Taylor
Thomas Toogood
Tom Towers
Tom Tozer
Tom Tringle
Dr Trite Turberry
Sir Walter Wanless
Walter Watt
Wickham Webb
Sir Warwick Westend
Sir William Weston
William Whittlestaff
Ziska Zamenoy