Barchester Towers is an 1857 novel by Anthony Trollope. It's the second in the Chronicles of Barsetshire series, but -- like The Eustace Diamonds -- I read it without realising it was part of a series. It was adapted in a miniseries, The Barsetshire Chronicles, in 1982.
I started the book expecting to be bored. It was at the top of every "Anthony Trollope novels you should read" list I saw, many other readers wrote positive reviews of it, but I honestly couldn't see how anyone could make a story about clerical disputes interesting. Oh boy, was I wrong.
The story revolves around a bishopric and a hospital wardenship (is that a word?). Archdeacon Grantly expects to become bishop, Bishop Proudie actually gets the bishopric, Mrs. Proudie is the one really in charge, Mr. Harding expects to become warden, and Mr. Slope interferes in everything. It's a lot more interesting than it sounds.
In some ways this book reminds me a lot of Cranford (novel. not series). It doesn't have much of a plot; it's mainly about the people who live in Barchester and their efforts at working with or against each other. It's a much funnier book than I expected, with some very memorable characters. Who could ever forget the loathsome Mr. Slope, or the very intimidating Mrs. Proudie? 😄
Most of the book can be understood without reading The Warden, the first book in the series. There are only a few references to earlier events that I didn't understand, but the story still makes sense without knowing about those events.
If you've never read an Anthony Trollope novel before, this would probably be a good one to start with!
Is it available online?: Yes, on Gutenberg.
Rating: 10/10.
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