Barchester Towers - Book 6

Barchester Towers might be Anthony Trollope's best beloved or best known novel.  At least that's my impression.  In this novel he continues to tell the story of now ex-warden Mr. Harding, his daughter Eleanor, his older daughter Susan and his fearsome son in law the Archdeacon.  The gentle old man, the Bishop, has passed away, opening up a vacancy which everyone thinks the Archdeacon will inherit from his father.  However, the government has changed from Whig to more progressive and Archdeacon Grantly is not looked upon as an ally there, since he is more conservative.  So a new man is brought in, Mr. Proudie, a henpecked husband if there ever was one and his indomitable wife, Mrs. Proudie.  And along with them comes Mrs. Proudie's protegee, the bishop's chaplain, Obidiah Slope, one of the best characters ever, sort of like a Uriah Heep but toned down a bit and in the garb of clergy.  He is the most manipulative, calculating, unctuous man, but still Trollope keeps him human.

It's all about the struggle for power.  And love.  We meet again Mr. Quiverful and his desperate distracted wife, mother of 14.  We also are introduced to other new characters.  Mr. Thorne and his spinster sister, Miss Thorne, who is a hoot.  And Mr. Arabin, an Oxford man who is brought out of academia and into Barchester to be the clergyman for St. Euwold's by his old classman, Dr. Grantly.

Adding even more to the charming and comical cast of characters is the Stanhope family, who finally come home from their sojourn at Lake Como for the past 12 years to wreak havoc on their old neighbors.

There's tons of references to various roles in the Anglican hierarchy.  I found myself having to look up what different titles meant.  Still not clear on all of them.  Also, because the Church of England is the state church, it's all tied up with politics, so it is very different from here in the USA. 

Trollope kills off Eleanor's new husband from the previous novel, The Warden, quite cold-heartedly, I thought.  She really didn't seem to grieve his passing that much, even though we are to assume it was a happy marriage.  He simply dies and not much is said about it. But the young, newly married widow is comforted by the fact that she is carrying his child whom she names after him.  She and Mary Bold dote on the little boy excessively.  Mr. Bold was well off and left his estate to Eleanor  So now she is a rich, young, pretty widow who starts picking up suitors, to her great discomfort.  A lot of the book is about Eleanor learning that she isn't quite as perceptive as she thought she was. 

It is an absolutely delightful story, full of wonderful characters that even if you aren't meant to like them, you can laugh at them heartily.  Trollope has a great sense of humor that runs the gamut from witty insights to puns, to fully crafted comical characters.  He's just brilliant!

A thumping good read!  For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.