The Warden (1855)

This is the first in the classic Chronicles of Barsetshire series and features befuddled cleric Septimus Harding and a kafuffle over his income. Trollope set his story in his current day, in this case 1855. There is lots of social satire (including a veiled reference to Charles Dickens), biting humour, and pokes at church & state.

I’ll admit this was humourous, but I’m not really into early Victorian times so began to find Trollope’s references boring. I’m glad I read this (my introduction to Trollope) but I’m not in a hurry to read more by him, even though it’s likely that if I did want Victorian literature, he would be near the top of my list.

Read this if: you’re a fan of Victorian literature. 3½ stars ( )

After years of reading around Trollope, I was finally hit by the urge to pick up one of his books, and boy am I glad I did. In doing research to find out where I should start, I read that [The Warden], while important as the first of the Barsetshire novels, is one of Trollope's lesser works. If that is true, I can't wait to move on the remainder of Barsetshire, and after that, the Palliser novels. But on to my review.

In simplest terms, it is easy to describe this book as [Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell] without the magic or Downton Abbey without the melodrama: not a whole lot of importance happens, but the narrator and characters are so charming, the story is worthwhile. The dialogue is outstanding. It was extremely easy to imagine these conversations actually taking place in Victorian parlors. The characterization is quite strong, and there are little details, like Mr. Harding's habit of playing an imaginary cello in times of stress, that are just so enjoyable.

There are a few points that I do feel I have to harp on though. There are two consecutive chapters in the middle of the book that are extended metaphors that bog the flow of the story down, without contributing much. Not coincidentally, these are both thinly veiled attacks on institutions of the time: one the journalistic establishment; the other, Charles Dickens. Not long after these two chapters, Trollope suddenly falls in love with footnotes for a single chapter...with the unfortunate fact that every one of these says essentially the same thing.

In the end, however, I greatly enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it to fans of Victorian literature, and possibly even to people who enjoy Downton Abbey, as long as they can deal with the lack of opulence. If you've made it this far, I'd just like to add that this is my first review on LT and am grateful for your having stuck with me till the end. ( )

Very enjoyable book that is concerned about people putting their great big feet in puddles before ascertaining their depth! It's very cleverly worked out and contains just the amount of love and romance to drive the plot forward. Like most of Trollope's Barchester series, it is somewhat a comedy of manners and more enjoyable for that.

Recommended to those who like the classics and have a certain fondness for schadenfreude (even though they know they shouldn't). ( )

I can't read only fluff in the summertime: my goal for the summer is to bust through a few books in the Barsetshire Chronicles. Loved reading the free ebook, but I used the Penguin Classics edition for the footnotes and intro. ( )

Wonderful novel of politics and individuals. ( )