Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
Second in the series of novels set in the fictional cathedral town of Barchester, the reader is treated to a hilarious, if unseemly, competition for domination of the diocese! The contenders in Barchester Towers are Mrs...
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Second in the series of novels set in the fictional cathedral town
of Barchester, the reader is treated to a hilarious, if unseemly,
competition for domination of the diocese! The contenders in
Barchester Towers are Mrs. Proudie the wife of the mild, sadly
henpecked bishop and Mr. Slope his slimy and devious chaplain. When
the beloved former bishop suddenly dies, a complete outsider is
brought in to take his place. Instead of the bishop's son,
Archdeacon Grantly, whom the entire parish was expecting, a more
low-church minister, Bishop Proudie is given the post. The battle
lines are immediately drawn between the High Church in the form of
the Grantlys and the Low Church represented by the Proudie faction
but there is mutiny within the ranks. Bishop Proudie's chaplain is
not about to allow his territory to be invaded by a scheming bully,
Mrs. Olivia Proudie. The various devices and stratagems concocted
by these unholy people of God form the plot of this amusing satire.
Published in 1857, Barchester Towers was followed by four other
novels in Anthony Trollope's Barsetshire Series. All the novels
follow the doings of the clergy, the social set, the gentry and
local politicians in the small cathedral town and its surroundings.
Sir Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful and highly
respected writers of the Victorian era. Though born in a socially
privileged family, Trollope's father was financially unsuccessful,
but insisted on his children being brought up in the aristocratic
way. His mother who sought to supplement the family income tried
her hand at various failed enterprises and finally began to earn
fame and fortune as a writer. Trollope himself had a checkered
career as a soldier and post office clerk before launching on his
own writing career. Though his initial Irish novels did not make
waves, he met with financial and critical success with the six
Barsetshire novels. His popularity began to decline in the
twentieth century, but today the Barchester Series is known to a
new generation of readers through the medium of the popular BBC
series The Barchester Chronicles (1982). Though this series follows
only the first two novels, it has remained one of the most popular
English countryside series to be made for television. Barchester
Towers is indeed a most diverting and humorous read for Trollope
fans. For readers who have not encountered the whimsical, yet
authentic, characters portrayed here before, along with their
sneaky machinations, Barchester Towers is sure to please.
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