I was excited when The Warden by Anthony Trollope was selected for my Classics Club Spin result. I had read nothing by Trollope and I was eager to try his writing. It took me a while to get used to the style but in the end it was a big success for me.
This description of The Warden is from Goodreads:
The Warden centers on Mr. Harding, a clergyman of great personal integrity who is nevertheless in possession of an income from a charity far in excess of the sum devoted to the purposes of the foundation. On discovering this, young John Bold turns his reforming zeal to exposing what he regards as an abuse of privilege, despite the fact that he is in love with Mr. Harding's daughter Eleanor. It was a highly topical novel (a case regarding the misapplication of church funds was the scandalous subject of contemporary debate), but like other great Victorian novelists, Trollope uses the specific case to explore and illuminate the universal complexities of human motivation and social morality.
I had gotten the impression that Trollope's writing was humorous but I failed to see the humor in this story at first. It seemed that all would end very sadly. How could the Warden, Mr. Harding, end up happy or contented when, even if legal proceedings excused him from guilt, he still felt like he had done wrong, although unknowingly, and certainly could not continue to take the money that was not rightfully his?
As the story continued, it lightened up and I became immersed in it and did enjoy the humor of the situation. I loved the friendship between the Bishop and the Warden. I loathed the Archbishop (the Bishop's son) but enjoyed his relationship with his wife (Mr. Harding's oldest daughter). And I was happy with the ending.
I was at a disadvantage when reading this story, not truly being familiar with or understanding the positions and rankings in the Church of England. And even when I found explanations applicable to the time in which the book was written, they offered many options for how a position could be interpreted and acquired. I am sure I missed a lot of the satire, based on what I read in the notes at the end of this book. But I was able to get the basic themes and ideas.
I have left out so much about this story and how it was written. But the main takeaway is that it was a good read overall and I will be following up by reading more of Trollope's books. I have a copy of Barchester Towers, the second book in the Chronicles of Barsetshire, and I hope to read it before the end of 2024. It is almost 500 pages long, though, and The Warden was under 300 pages.
Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1998 (orig. pub. 1855)
Length: 284 pages
Format: Trade paperback
Setting: UK
Genre: Literary fiction
Source: I purchased my copy at the Planned Parenthood book sale in 2022.
26 comments:
Glad you enjoyed The Warden. I liked it too although I thought Trollope's stand alone The Way We Live Now was excellent. What I have heard from more than one person is that the second book and in The Barchester Chronickex is where the series really takes off.
A writer I have meant to read forever.
I'm glad to know this one ended up being a positive experience for you! It's been on my radar for a while and even if I don't do a second Classics Club list (on which it would definitely go) I will read it at some point anyway.
Trollope has been on my want to read list for a long time now. I've just been intimidated by the length of all of his books...though this one seems to have a more reasonable number of pages. Someday I will read him! (I'm just not sure when. ;D )
Trollope has always intimidated me so much that I haven't finished anything by him. It seemed at the time that anytime my wandered for even a couple of seconds that I found it difficult to reconnect with the narrative. It's been a long time since I've even tried, and I wish I could fix that. Happy that it worked out so well for you.
I watched the Masterpiece Theatre adaptation before I read any Trollope but I have enjoyed the few I read. Even for those who appreciate him, it takes a bit of mindset to get into his prose. I will admit I prefer Angela Thirkell who took his characters into the next generation or two.
So glad you enjoyed The Warden - one of my favourite books! Barchester Towers is very good too, and many of the characters from The Warden re-appear in it.
Kathy, I read another review of The Warden, and that person praised also praised The Way We Live Now very highly. I am going to look for more books by Trollope at the September book sale and maybe I will find a copy there.
Patti, I only got interested in Trollope's books in the last 10 years. But still I resisted reading his books, just as I did books by Charles Dickens.
Kelly, I am expecting to like other books by Trollope even more, although I don't usually go for longer books. It is definitely worth it to try at least one.
Well that's impressive that you took on & liked Trollope! I have not read him. But would you say his tales are a bit like Dickens or no? I'm trying to get an idea of the writing a bit. I am a Dickens fan. I am intimidated about the long classic novels. Hope you can tame them.
Lark, It is good to know that others have had intentions of reading Trollope and also been stalled. I am much encouraged by my experience with The Warden and from what I have heard, he has written many even better books. But mostly long ones I think.
Sam, it took me at least a third of the book to get use to the style of writing, and there were what I call dead spots where there was too much explanation about a subject, but I expect that type of writing more in books of this vintage so it did not bother me too much. I think I will like other books in this series.
"Barchester Towers" introduces Mrs Proudie, one of Trollope's most memorable characters, and has even more intrigue in the Bishop's Palace. Although it's long, you may find that it moves at a quicker pace than the first book.
Sorry I'm late to this post, Tracy, but I'm so glad you enjoyed this book. I need to read more Trollope, and I just haven't, although most people who've reviewed his work have liked it. This one does sound interesting, and I like it that he addressed a topical issue.
Constance, I agree, I will have to get used to Trollope's style of writing. But at least now I know more what to expect.
I have only read one of Thirkell's books, High Rising, the first in the Barsetshire series. I have the 2nd book in the series, and I got more of her books at the last book sale. I will have to read more by both of them before I can compare them.
I'm glad you got some good things from the book Tracy. I think it is atypical of his work: much shorter than others, but not as funny or as discursive, so I think if you can move on to later works you will like him better.
FictionFan, I was glad that I had a good experience with reading The Warden, once I got into it. I am looking forward to reading Barchester Towers and finding more books by Trollope to read.
Susan, I am not a good judge of how close Trollope's stories are to Dickens' books, because I have only read one of each. For Dickens, I read Bleak House, which was quite an undertaking. Actually I also read The Christmas Carol by Dickens, and loved it, but it is not very long.
Because they were writing around the same time, I assume that Dickens' novels and Trollope's are similar. Based on what I have read of each, they both go off on tangents not totally related to the main story, which could be a drawback for me. However, at this point I am much more likely to continue reading Trollope's books, but not sure why.
I also have a problem with longer novels, and that is an issue with both of these authors. Even when I have purchased a book and plan to read it, if it is longer it sits on the shelves for years.
The Warden is good but Barchester Towers is better. And I loved Dr. Thorne when I read it in February. There's less humour in The Warden than in the rest of the series, due to the nature of the situation in it I suppose. It's a while since I've read Dickens but my feeling is that Trollope's writing is more accessible than Dickens'. I romped through Dr. Thorne quite quickly.
Thanks, Marty, for that information on Barchester Towers. Since it is a longer book, I do hope it has a faster pace. I won't get to it until September at the earliest, because I am sticking to a list of books for summer reading.
Margot, Trollope surely wrote a lot of novels and a good number of short stories too. Seems like I will never catch up. Although I can focus on the two series and maybe The Way We Live Now first.
Trollope was more realistic and less colorful than Dickens, and his satire was "kinder and gentler." Trollope's heroines were much more human too, no Little Nells thank goodness.
Moira, It was the fact that The Warden was shorter that convinced me to give Trollope a try. But I think you are right, I will like his later books even better. Sometimes I just have to get used to an author's style and then I am fine.
Cath, I am glad to hear that you liked Barchester Towers and Dr. Thorne so much better than The Warden. I do want to read more Dickens too, but you are probably right that Trollope's writing will suit me more.
Marty, Thanks for that additional information comparing Dickens and Trollope. I am just hoping I can find more books by Trollope at the book sale, as I only have Barchester Towers on hand right now.
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