THE WARDEN delivers intricacies of Church of England operations for charity hospitals
woven into the peculiarities of character, from timid WARDEN to outspoken Bold.

There's compelling reading in-between some long repetitions...

The mysteries are why:

1. no one can decipher Hiram's Will to determine how much $ goes to poor men and how much to Warden?

2 . did The Good Warden never question his 800 pounds a year vs the skimpy amount he extended to his 12 men,
notably because he thinks is not really doing much to earn the money...?

3. didn't he just stand up and admit that he'd never thought about that unfairness and that, thanks to Bold,
he would now remedy it, with even back payments?

4. the gentle Bishop let the 12 men suffer without a new warden because he refused to hire anyone except Harding
who no longer would accept the position? ( )

A little hard to read in beginning due to language and long passages that appeared dull. But at the end, the book gives reader much to think about and the depth of the story and the main character stays with you. ( )

Slow and mighty descriptive, but I enjoyed listening to this as an audiobook. ( )

I read this (having avoided Trollope all my life) after reading Peter Hall’s praise in his riveting Diaries. I am glad I did. Gripping narrative, credible characterisation and surprisingly relatable situations. Although I admire Trollope’s instincts, the disproportionate discourses on the press and lawyers amongst other things jar slightly. Otherwise for me an ideal book for the holidays. ( )

The clerical intrigue is not as dull as I expected, but ultimately just did not capture my interest. The flatness of the characters, particularly the working-class characters, is unfortunate.

I remember enjoying the Small House at Allington, so I'll try again with a later book in the series.