Barchester Towers

The second in Anthony Trollope’s ‘Chronicles of Barsetshire’ series ‘Barchester Towers’ was first published in 1857. The story opens with the death of the much-loved Bishop of Barchester. His grief tempered with ambition, the Bishop’s son naturally believes he will succeed his father. However, a power struggle ensues when the zealous Bishop Proudie and his scheming wife descend upon the Cathedral. Familiar characters from the first novel in this series ‘The Warden’ also reappear, including Eleanor Bold and Septimus Harding. There is much comedy to be had among the conflict, as Trollope skilfully captures and satirises the antipathy between the traditional and the new in this, one of the best-loved and most comical novels of the series.

Anthony Trollope (1815 – 1882) was a Victorian writer and author of 47 novels. He also wrote an autobiography, short stories and plays, travel articles, reviews and lectures. A prolific writer, he made no secret of the fact that money was his motivation for writing – an admission which raised eyebrows among his literary contemporaries at the time. The amount of works Trollope authored are testament to his belief in hard work. His first successful novel was The Warden followed by its sequel, Barchester Towers. The Chronicles of Barsetshire are perhaps his most well-known series of novels, though many of his works have been adapted for TV and radio, starring many familiar faces such as Alan Rickman, David Tennant, Bill Nighy and Tom Hollander. Alongside his literary career, Trollope also worked for some time for the Post Office and is credited with the introduction of the iconic post box to Britain. A memorial to Anthony Trollope was unveiled in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey in 1993.