Barchester Towers

Barchester Towers is the 2nd in a series of 6 by Anthony Trollope. It, like The Warden is set in the fictional town of Barsetshire. This book is a serious satire on The Church of England as the much beloved bishop died and who is to take his place? This was much longer than The Warden and several times I had to lay it down and pick it up some days later. I think it is best taken in small doses. 791 pages 3 stars

Perhaps I am spoiled by Austen and Dickens, but this book was so much summary that I barely could care about the characters. I feel guilty for not liking it, but I did not.

Not nearly so serious as The Warden, this, the second in the Barsetshire series is liberally sprinkled with humour. Trollope's mastery with language ensures this will forever be a favourite. It's a story that is difficult to put aside and the characters, becoming old friends or foes as rendered, will remain with the reader for a long time. And no matter their disposition, those characters are so richly coloured that the reader can almost see them in person. My usual dislike of long, wordy books is withheld for Trollope who can entertain as much with his choice of words as with the action.

I had never read anything from Trollope and I once tried to watch “The Barchester Chronicles” series, but could not stand it. So I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. The quality of Trollope's writing is absolutely fantastic, impeccable. He most definitely was a highly talented writer who knew his trade! (Therefore, not recommended to modern readers who are not used to a time when quality of writing rather than quantity of books written was essential.) This is the second of a total of six books in the “The Barchester Chronicles of Barsetshire,” the first being “The Warden”. Trollope begins the last chapter with a very original argument: “The end of a novel, like the end of a children’s dinner-party, must be made up of sweetmeats and sugar-plums.” The book sometimes has very lengthy descriptions—of people, places or situations—but the author’s fine sense of humor, that permeates almost all the pages, and his keen portrayals of the mores of the time, make up for any inconvenience.

Wonderful! I absolutely devoured this book.I was massively entertained by the Machiavellian manoeuvrings of the oily and ambitious Mr Slope and the autocratic Mrs Proudie as they each sought to capture the bishop and become the acknowledged éminence grise of the diocese - for all the world as though it were an established diocesan office and the only thing to settle was who would occupy it. (Although would either be happy with that title? What would the Low church Evangelical equivalent be?)Leaving aside the wannabe éminences grises, the other characters were also splendidly rendered. There's a realism to all of Trollope's characters that I love. They are very human: neither wholly bad nor wholly good, but instead full of ambitions, foibles, faults and graces which make them very complex and very realistic.The plot is straightforward - the arrival of a new bishop causes conflict between High and Low church parties in Barchester - but the twists and turns as the characters interact make it very entertaining. The writing is wonderful - vivid and rich, with lots of literary and political allusions. (I recommend reading an edition with notes - especially if you're unfamiliar with the Church of England, Victorian politics, and the history and literature of ancient Greece and Rome - and keeping a dictionary close at hand.) It also has a warm, conversational tone and no small amount of humour and tension, despite the serious moral, political and social comment woven into the narrative throughout.I think that that there are several tests of great literature, and in my opinion all the social comment and technical linguistic skill in the world are of little merit if the book is easily put down and forgotten about. I finished this book just before 2 o'clock this morning because there was NO way on God's green earth that I was putting it down and going to sleep without having reached the end. Not negotiable, no matter what time the alarm was set for. Sleep? Irrelevant. Who needs to sleep when there are books like this to read? The narrative was compelling, the writing addictive and the comment insightful. This is great literature and a great read.

The action, as it is, starts with the death of a bishop of The Church England in “the cathedral city of Barchester” in “the latter days of July in the year 185-.” The equilibrium thus upset, a new bishop with an overbearing wife takes over and the clashes begin. The story is full of personalities, church politics, intrigue, gossip, and long drawn-out, often incomprehensible, misunderstandings. Somehow, Trollope makes it stimulating, readable and humorous. “There is, perhaps, no greater hardship at present inflicted on mankind in civilized and free countries, than the necessity of listening to sermons.”Trollope’s characters are strong, as are their motivations. He tells some ageless truths about human nature. “Few men do understand the nature of a woman’s heart, till years have robbed such understanding of its value.” This is an entertaining story that has aged well and maintained its relevance.

Barchester Towers is the 2nd in a series of 6 by Anthony Trollope. It, like The Warden is set in the fictional town of Barsetshire. This book is a serious satire on The Church of England as the much beloved bishop died and who is to take his place? This was much longer than The Warden and several times I had to lay it down and pick it up some days later. I think it is best taken in small doses. 791 pages 3 stars

Ultimately a Victorian story of who will marry whom, but the opening 20% or so of the novel, in which the characters are named and outlined and the stage is set, is hilarious. Certainly, if you were interested, you could learn a lot about the ranked clerical positions of the Anglican church here, and many great words are used, e.g. congé, toxophilites, ha-ha, and, my favorite, hebdomadal.

This is a delightful, satirical comedy about a group of characters who live in and around the community that surrounds Barchester (Winchester Cathedral) in the mid-nineteenth century. My favorite character was the Signora Nerona, who, though she is crippled by the violence done to her by her estranged, Italian husband, manages to make almost every man around her fall in love with her by her sensuousness, her large, expressful eyes, and the almost unbelievable insight into humans that she shocks and beguiles them with. I had fun looking up the setting on Google maps, finding where Hiram's Hospital was, the Bishop's palace, etc. I had probably five laugh out loud moments as I read this book, that makes use of the hypocrisy of religious workers to people it's characters.

this book was weird, both incredibly boring and incredibly engaging at the same time.

Continuing on from The Warden. Trollope seems to have a distinct style unlike other Victorian novels I have read. And rather to my surprise I am enjoying these stories. They are quite remote in identification with the characters and yet I was still interested and wanted to see how it all turned out.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. My 3rd Trollope. I had read 'The Warden,' quite some time ago, and was startled as to how i immediately remembered enough of it to know exactly what was going on. Trollope has this lovely tongue-in-cheek style that makes these books delightful, in spite of their sometime wordiness. His choice of character names almost makes me laugh out loud and his understanding of all that makes us so imperfect as people is stellar. It also is surprising as to how long ago this was written, but the ridiculousness of the characters is so believable...to the point that i am pretty sure i know some of these people! Certainly a wee bit predictable, a tad bit sappy, and a trifle too long, but i still very much enjoyed the journey.....and i will likely always remember Slope, Quiverful, Proudie & Puddindale. Perfect names! And politics has not really changed too much from the Church of England of the 1800's to today. This wonderful 1945 hardcover volume is also delightfully illustrated (by Donald McKay & sometimes in color!) throughout, and i enjoyed that very much. I am blessed to have an extensive Trollope layout on my shelves and i look forward to the many, many volumes waiting for my attention!

I will be 100% honest. I couldn't get into Barchester Towers despite the fact it's supposed to be Trollope's most popular novel and many organizations have it on their "Top 1000 books to read." Yes, it is satirical and it has it humorous parts. I just couldn't get into any of the characters. I suspect my lack of enthusiasm centers around the fact the novel is focused on religion and the war between the high and low churches. The bishop has died and a new one needs to be appointed. There's a lot of infighting about how that will be resolved.The best element of Barchester Towers is the return of Septimus Harding. His daughter, Eleanor, is now a widow and eligible to remarry. The second best character was Mr. Stanhope, a member of the clergy. He has been in Italy for twelve years "recovering" from a sore throat and catching butterflies.

Another delightful Victorian romp. A feud over a church appointment, a love story muddled by repressed emotions and silly misunderstandings and it all turns out nice in the end. Fantastic.

Not really for me. Parts of it are absolutely brilliant. And I love the constant humor and authorial asides. But it is very uneven, and long parts just drag along. It picks up some plot momentum, but in a very conventional direction. "But let the gentle-hearted reader be under no apprehension whatsoever. It is not destined that Eleanor shall marry Mr. Slope or Bertie Stanhope. And here perhaps it may be allowed to the novelist to explain his views on a very important point in the art of telling tales. …""I can only say that if some critic who thoroughly knows his work, and has laboured on it till experience has made him perfect, will write the last fifty pages of a novel in the way they should be written, I, for one, will in future do my best to copy the example. Guided by my own lights only, I confess that I despair of success."

Loved this- small town politicking amongst the clergy of a cathedral town, with a romantic knot as the B story. Trollope sometimes leans a bit on the fourth wall, and his asides to the reader are great.

There is a BBC adaptation of this and The Warden, titled "The Barchester Chronicles" from 1982- it's one of Alan Rickman's earliest roles, and he plays the seductively slimy Obadiah Slope so well!

Maybe I don't know enough about Church politics. I didn't really understand the references to the High Church. The Miniseries was very faithful to the book. I was glad Slope got a happy ending. I still didn't see why Eleanor was attracted to Mr. Arabin

Starts well, but God how it drags. Think Trollope enjoyed writing this one a bit too much.

After The Warden, another excellent visit to Barsetshire, and another book I had a difficult time putting down. Trollope improves here on his gentle wittiness, absolutely delightful small-scale ecclesiastical Machiavellian scheming, and complicated human dynamics. I'm quite enjoying the way Trollope interacts with the reader in these books, too: it almost always made me smile. And he continues to create some extremely memorable characters, from the delightfully odd Miss Thorne to the sneaky creature Mr. Slope and the not-to-be-messed-with Mrs. Proudie. Looking forward to heading back to Barsetshire before too long ...

After reading "The Warden" (the precursor to "Barchester Towers") and the 800-page "The Way We Live Now" last year, I thought I might have overdosed on Trollope. But within a few chapters, I was hooked on this story of a little English parish and the small, yet significant, dramas of its inhabitants. Trollope is a master at poking fun at people's vanities. Much of the novel's plot centers around misunderstandings that could be easily resolved, if only the characters would be honest with one another -- but, of course, their pride prevents them. When the minor clerics are awaiting the death of the old dean of the cathedral, while secretly calculating their chances of getting his job, I was reminded of my own hypocrisies. And the failed, fumbled proposals by the suitors of Eleanor Bold are hilarious. Trollope's sly direct address of the reader adds a level of intimacy that makes you feel completely invested in his funny, complex, vivid world.

Where I got the book: audiobook on Audible. I swear Audible is keeping me going these days!I bought this book because it’s reputed to be Trollope at his finest. Not having read that cynical old Victorian for some twenty-five years and having only read some of his purely political London-based novels, it felt a little different to be suddenly immersed in the far more restrained politics of clergymen in a small cathedral town. So it was a little while before I found my feet—and then suddenly I remembered why I’d liked Trollope in the first place.There is a new Bishop of Barchester, and he is what Trollope calls Petticoated—but he’s not one hundred percent under the thumb of his wife. There’s an important matter of preferment to be decided—a job bringing with it a nice house and the then enormous sum of £1,200 a year—and the other prize in play is the lovely, widowed Eleanor Bond who also, oddly enough, brings £1,200 a year with her. The circling vultures with their beady eyes on these rich pickings are the odious chaplain Mr. Slope and the good-natured, heartless, scheming Stanhope siblings. There’s also a whole subtext about evangelical versus traditional Anglican church practices which will, alas, be lost on most modern readers, but since the main thrust of the novel lies in the scheming and the wooing of Eleanor, it’s easy enough to concentrate on that and not worry about the clerical details, which are not heavily emphasized.I found Eleanor as wet as most Victorian heroines—quite literally since she bursts into tears a lot—and, alas, Mr. Arabin is way too noble and reserved to be really fascinating. My absolute favorites, by a long chalk, were Bertie Stanhope and Madeline Vesey-Neroni who were ADORABLE in their cynical worldliness and really, at the end of the day, quite likeable as human beings. Mr. Slope is the perfect slimy Victorian Pharisee whom everyone sees through in about three seconds flat, and the power struggle between Bishop and Mrs. Proudie is as entertaining as such things usually are.I actually found myself wishing in the end that the novel was twice as long. We seemed to get to the resolution of the story much too quickly - that’s the beauty of taking your Victorians in the form of audiobooks! There were whole chapters where I grinned and/or laughed out loud throughout. Narrator David Timson was so utterly perfect that I’m very disappointed to find I can’t get the whole series with him as narrator on Audible. Nonetheless, I’m diving in and stepping backward to listen to the first book in the Barsetshire Chronicles, and then the rest. I’ve been away from Trollope for far too long.UPDATE: I was horrified, on going back and checking, to discover that I'd listened to an abridged version. No wonder it seemed too short! That won't do at all. I'll be listening to the unabridged version as soon as I can get my hands on it. Still, for those who want to cut out the Victorian waffle and get to the interesting bits, I'd heartily recommend this version.

The second novel in the Barsetshire Chronicles (I haven't read the first), telling the story of the new bishop of Barchester, Dr Proudie, and the power struggle that ensues in the diocese between Dr Proudie, his wife, his chaplain (Mr Slope) and Archdeacon Grantly. It also features the amiable but amoral Stanhope family and the femme fatale Signora Neroli, who apparently has the power to enslave any man.The tone is gently humourous throughout, with the omniscient narrator confiding that he too dislikes certain characters, and hastening to assure the reader half way through that the heroine, Mrs Bold, will not marry either of the suitors we fear she might succumb to. The good end happily and the bad do alright as well.

The Oxford's introduction calls this is a novel "primarily to enjoy". Puzzling over why else I'd read a novel, I do see the point. I think Trollope has achieved classic status on the merits of his engaging style which continues to work in the present. He's also brilliant at simple statements that bring clarity to psychological and emotional insights which are complex in nature (chapter forty-two!). There's copious contemporary references that require several pages of endnotes to explain them all, but I only needed those when I was curious. I like that Trollope was invested enough in the clergy to know his subject matter while retaining an almost secular perspective with his coy insights and commentary; a gentle poking in the ribs while maintaining respect for the church.The Warden was a stronger novel, a morality tale that supplied no easy answer. This was merely a series of social affairs as townsfolk scrimmage with their new chaplain and the various parties strive at romancing. Authorial insertions with their assurances about outcomes aren't the acts of "suicide" that Henry James called them, but they did take some zip out of the first read's enjoyment. Still I liked it all the way through (mild exception for too much introduction to the Ullathorne event and its irrelevant details). Like Dickens, Trollope relies on the charm of his characters to carry the story rather than a plot, and I liked the women especially. Madeline Stanhope would have stung my pride if I were younger but now I can be amused. Eleanor was another favourite, admirable for standing up for herself even when she was too quick to assume.

Trollope seems to be having a lot of fun in this second novel of his Chronicles of Barsetshire series making it an entertaining, almost light, book for this reader in spite of the length and the somewhat heavy issue the plot revolves around--the heated battles between England’s low and high church clergy. The story is full of clever, often laugh-out loud asides by a very present, quite friendly, somewhat cozy omniscient narrator who frequently parses the actions, thoughts, and feelings of the characters rather than just reporting them.Most of the main characters from The Warden, first book in the series, are back, and it’s part of the fun to see how they are getting on with their lives, but there are many new and wonderful additions too, including a bishop cowed by his wife and curate, the oily manipulative Mr. Slope, the steeped in ancient Anglo-Saxon tradition Thorne siblings, and the scheming Stanhope family fresh from Italy and full of continental ways. Trollope writes characters who can be silly, weak, selfish, stubborn, pompous, and irresponsible and still you feel some sympathy for them. Like many Victorian novels Barchester Towers is long, but the ending is perfect, with every character arc and plot thread resolving in a way that is highly satisfying.

I’m officially a Chronicles of Barsetshire convert and I have Eleanor Bold to thank for it. The character took a stand for herself and her father in The Warden, but it wasn’t until Barchester Towers that I really grew to love the fiery widow. She could be Lizzie Bennet if Darcy had (God forbid!) died after they were married.Barchester Towers picks up a few years after The Warden. Eleanor has become a widow and now has a son. No one has taken over the wardenship that her father, Mr. Harding, left at the end of the first book. The race is on to see who will be named the new Warden and who will become the Dean in Barchester. We also meet a new cast of characters including the hapless Bertie Stanhope and his sister, the conniving Mr. Slope, the unhappily married Proudies and a vicar from Oxford, Francis Arabin.In that same Pride and Prejudice vein, Obadiah Slope is Mr. Collins. The Bishop's chaplain is working hard to move up in the world, but he is just not a likeable character. Even when Eleanor is attempting to be kind to him, she still can’t make herself like him. He bases his search for a wife on income instead of love and so he sets his sights on the newly widowed Eleanor who is now a wealthy woman. In order to woo her he attempts to get her father’s wardenship back for him. Poor Reverend Quiverful has already been offered the wardenship, which would go a long way to feeding his 14 children.Septimus Harding, the main character from The Warden, once again demonstrates his excellent character in this book. No matter what people offer him or what they tell him he deserves, in the end he always wants what is best for the community. He is such a kind man. Even when his daughter’s taste in gentlemen callers is being questioned, he makes his loyalties clear without yet knowing her thoughts. He stands by her and supports all of her actions. Eleanor’s relationship with her father is one of the highlights of the novel for me.The thing I'm beginning to realize I love about Trollope's work is his collection of female characters. He creates vibrant women who are the real strength behind the weak or petty men they are married to. Mrs. Proudie might be a bit of a villain, but she's also a force to be reckoned with. Everyone in Barchester knows that her husband, the Bishop, isn’t the real decision-maker in their household. As he struggles with the question of who should get the wardenship, she makes the decision and moves forward with her choice without him.Mrs. Quiverful does the same thing, but out of her concern for her children’s welfare. She sees her husband's unwillingness to fight for what she believes is rightfully theirs as weak and selfish. She decides to make her own plan and go about getting the wardenship for him.My favorite female character, of course, is Eleanor Bold. She turns down multiple suitors who are after her money. She stands up to her stuffed shirt brother-in-law, Archdeacon Grantly and remains loyal to her father above all. She is at times righteous, sarcastic, and vulnerable, a fully realized character with a complicated range of emotions. We watch her fall in love and we root for her to end up with the right man. I've grown to admire her for her strength and principles throughout the first two books. In The Warden she was willing to give up her love for her fiancé in order to protect her family dignity. In this book she stands up for her right to privacy and freedom when Grantly believes her acquaintance with Slope is inappropriate. She doesn’t love Slope, but she’s furious that someone thinks they have the right to tell her who she can or can't associate with.BOTTOM LINE: Just like The Warden, it took me a minute to get into this one, but once I did I loved it! Eleanor Bold is one of my favorite characters I’ve encountered in a long while. I hope she plays a role in the upcoming books as well!“How many shades there are between love and indifference, and how little the graduated scale is understood!”“Till we can become divine, we must be content to be human, lest in our hurry for change we sink to something lower.” 

I liked The Warden okay, but this is something else- a first rate comic novel in the tradition of Austen. But unlike Austen, Trollope's best moments come in the politics rather than in the romance. Everything you assume about each character is undermined: so and so looks like a knee jerk conservative, but ends up doing the most to further the cause of progress, and vice versa. Basically, it'd be good for anyone who thinks about politics to read this, and realize that individuals are far more important than parties.
Also, all the great eccentric characters had me smirking and smiling on every page. Signora Neroni and her brother Bertie will surely live on as long as there's a way to read.

My husband told me it would be like a Susan Howatch novel "without the moral turpitude." Though skeptical at first, I did end up finding it quite delightful. If Victorian ecclesiastical soap opera sounds like your cup of tea, you might find it similarly worthwhile.

I think that this is one of the few times when I preferred reading the book over listening to it. Simon Vance does a fine job with the narration (although I don't think his voice for Slope was quite right) but it was a bit too easy to lose focus and miss some of the snide humor in Trollope's asides & I found myself having to rewind (so to speak) often.However, my rating is primarily based on the last quarter of the book as I switched to this library audiobook from the Librivox recording. Maybe I would feel differently if I had listened to this one the whole way through...

I loved this book. Loved it, loved it, loved it! It made me laugh out loud and cry and was absolutely everything a book should be. While I enjoyed [The Warden] greatly [Barchester Towers], although dealing with many of the same characters and something of the same concerns, is even better.Old Bishop Grantly is dying, and his son the Archdeacon has every expectation of being appointed his successor. Every expectation that is, as long as the present government remains in place, but the present government looks more unsteady by the day. Eventually missing the appointment by a  matter of hours the disappointed Archdeacon must come to terms with serving a new bishop, and what is worse, a bishop who has low church tendencies which are an anathema to his high church leanings. And worse still, it is not only the bishop Mr Proudie that the Archdeacon must contend with, but with two other aspirants to power within the diocese: Mrs Proudie the bishop's wife, and Mr Slope, his ambitious personal chaplain. And so there follows a Machiavellian power struggle that would be worthy of any Rennaisance prince. The first meeting of the combatants in the bishop's study gives a taste of what is to come:'There were four persons there, each of whom considered himself the most important person in the diocese -himself, indeed, or herself, as Mrs Proudie was one of them -and with such a difference of opinion it was not probable that they would get on pleasantly together. The bishop himself wore the visible apron, and trusted mainly to that -to that and his title, both being facts which could not be overlooked. The archdeacon knew his subject and really understood the business of bishoping, which the others did not, and this was his strong ground. Mrs Proudie had her sex to back her, and her habit of command, and was nothing daunted by the high tone of Dr Grantly's face and figure. Mr Slope had only himself and his own courage and tact to depend on, but he nevertheless was perfectly self-assured, and did not doubt but that he should soon get the better of weak men who trusted so much to externals, as both bishop and archdeacon appeared to do.And the archdeacon's fury at the machinations of Mr Slope are compounded when it seems that a close connection of his is looking rather more favourably on him. Is Mr Harding's younger daughter Eleanor considering marriage with the hated enemy? Rather conveniently left a rich young widow with £1,000 a year following the early death of her husband John Bold, Eleanor can now be considered a great catch for an ambitious but impecunious young clergyman, or any other young gentleman with need of a steady income.Once again, the great strength of this book is not in the plot, but with the host of marvellous characters with which Trollope fills his pages. And not only in the main characters, the lesser characters can be equally delightful. The beautiful but crippled Signora Madeline Vesey Neroni, whose only delight is to snare men into her web as a spider might do, and her brother Bertie Stanhope who has failed at most careers (and religions) known to man, are both delightful. So I will be continuing with my Trollope experiences after just a very brief break to catch my breath!

I listened to this on audio and can't say enough about it. I adored it. I laughed hysterically in all the right places, I'm sure. There are many humorous corollaries with the Catholic church, which were perhaps not intended, but are there. Very interesting to hear about John Henry Newman in a novel, I must say!