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1''Trilby'' is a novel by George Du Maurier (grandfather of Daphne Du Maurier). It was written in 1894, and is about the title character who was hypnotized by the sinister Svengali to become a famous singer, although she (Trilby) was tone-deaf.
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3The novel is the TropeNamer for TheSvengali. The 1895 stage adaptation popularized the Trilby hat. The novel also create a fashion craze inspired by the detailed description of the main character's feet, and craze paved way for the popularization of pedicures and celebrity feet pics.
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5It has been adapted as a movie on more than one occasion, the most famous probably being the 1931 production ''Film/{{Svengali}}'' starring Creator/JohnBarrymore in the title role.
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7It inspired ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera''.
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9!!Tropes:
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11* AntagonistTitle: At least one film adaptation of the book was called ''Svengali''.
12* BeautifulSingingVoice: Played with. The titular character has a wonderful singing voice that launches her to stardom...but ''only'' when she's been hypnotized by the sinister [[TheSvengali Svengali]]. Free of Svengali's hypnotism, she's completely tone-deaf.
13* BewareTheMindReader: Svengali is a manipulative and sociopathic character who uses his knowledge of hypnotism to get inside the minds of characters and force them into acts they would not otherwise commit. His prescience often borders on, and is mistaken for, mind-reading.
14* DrivenToSuicide: The title character, having left her friends and supporters out of shame, contemplates throwing herself into the Seine; at the last moment she gives up and returns to her evil mentor Svengali.
15* HypnoFool: Trilby can only sing when she's hypnotized and has no memory of her singing career when the spell is broken.
16* MeaningfulName: Trilby (trill-be).
17* RealWomenHaveCurves: Played with. Trilby is initially presented as -- not fat, exactly, but big and hale. In this form she is fun and sexy, but also seen as uncomfortably mannish. After she loses weight, she is described as weaker but more beautiful.
18* ShiksaGoddess: One unpleasant aspect of the novel is the fact that Svengali is [[https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255/bohem/ttrilby.html an ugly anti-Semitic stereotype]] manipulating the beautiful Trilby.
19* TheSvengali: TropeNamer. He controls Trilby completely.
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