Frances Trollope, known throughout her life as Fanny, was born Frances Milton in 1779 in Bristol, England. The daughter of a clergyman, she developed a taste for literature and languages while a child. When a young adult, she moved to London to be with her brother, who had been employed in the War Office. In 1809, Trollope married Thomas Anthony Trollope, a barrister in London. The couple had seven children, one of whom was the novelist Anthony Trollope (1815–1882).

Due to Thomas’s largely unsuccessful business ventures and poor health, Fanny at the age of 48 decided to travel to America in an attempt to improve the family finances in the New World. For about three years she traveled throughout the United States, from New Orleans to Cincinnati to the East Coast.

Back in England in 1830, Trollope turned to writing to support her family. She worked her travel notes into Domestic Manners of the Americans and went on to write five more travel books and 35 novels. Her travels on the European continent led her to meet such notables as King Louis Philippe, Metternich, and Chateaubriand. Meanwhile, Domestic Manners became a lightning rod in America, making Trollope the center of much heated discussion.