Chronicles of Barsetshire Series

The first novel in Trollope's series "Chronicles of Barsetshire", The Warden is a compassionate portrait of the gentle, thoughtful warden and percent of Barchester Cathedral, Mr Septimus Harding. Loved and appreciated by all with whom he works, Harding lives an ordered, regular life in his protected religious environment. Then a young reformer feels he has uncovered a mismanagement of funds used to support twelve bedesmen in the almshouse, Hiram's Hospital, and Harding is held to blame. The accusation comes as a shock not only to Harding himself but also to the cathedral community. It then comes to wider notice when the cause is taken up by a national newspaper. Trollope’s insight into character, his abundant imagination, and his sheer narrative skill are at their peak in The Warden. Public Domain (P)2013 Naxos AudioBooks

The intrigues of peaceful Barchester are of tremendous importance to its inhabitants, and Anthony Trollope enjoys observing how differently they impinge on the separate worlds of men and women. Men have to make a place for themselves in society; for them ambition is necessary and justified. Women, on the other hand, have to make marriage their career, and it is up to them to make as good a match as possible. For Trollope, however, genuine love is of the utmost importance to everyone, and the only real basis for marriage.

In Framley Parsonage, the fourth novel of Trollope’s Chronicles of Barsetshire, the author leaves the confines of Barchester and looks to the countryside, where he relates the moral difficulties of Mark Robarts, the young clergyman who has recently been appointed Vicar of Framley Parsonage. Desperate to keep up with the local aristocracy, the country parson is persuaded to underwrite the debts of Sowerby, a well-respected peer. However, when the debts are called in, Robarts finds himself in a serious predicament. Written with acute insight, together with a great deal of warmth and humour towards his characters’ attendant charms and foibles, Framley Parsonage is sure to delight.

Dr Thorne, the third novel in Anthony Trollope’s Chronicles of Barsetshire, sees the author steer away from the church politics of the first two novels and move towards the scandals and prejudice of the upper tiers of Victorian era aristocracies. It tells the tale of Frank Gresham and Mary Thorne, a couple intent on marriage despite their conflicting social backgrounds. Frank is engaged in a fierce battle with his family as his mother vehemently opposes the marriage and pushes him to marry a wealthy heiress; however, Frank shuns her attempts as he is determined to accept Mary on her own terms. Trollope’s classic, trademark prose shines in Dr Thorne: always solicitous, gentle and kind to his readers, the author peppers his narrative with wonderfully witty observations that will leave you smiling.

“And, above all things, never think that you're not good enough yourself. A man should never think that. My belief is that in life people will take you very much at your own reckoning.” Anthony Trollope’s The Small House at Allington is the 5th book in a series called The Chronicles of Barsetshire, but is the most well-known of the series due to it writing quality and timeline placement within the series, and because it was the favorite book of one a past British prime minister in the 1990s. The novel follows the Dales, a family who occupies a large estate. Christopher is the owner of the estate, and allows his widowed sister and her children to live on a small house on the property. The novel largely follows the children, Lilian and Isabella, as they are courted and try to find their place among society. Societal expectations sometimes prevent them from marrying who they truly love, while they are simultaneously encouraged to marry men who will be good economic providers for the family. The story continues growing in complexity with varying subplots and side characters getting attention throughout the tale, all while exploring the themes of societal roles and expectations, the purpose of marriage, indecision, heartbreak, and generational power struggles. The Small House at Allington has been cited as a great example of the Victorian novel style and is a perfect book for anyone wanting a period piece with complex characters, romance, and fascinating historical context.

The fifth novel in the Chronicles of Barsetshire, The Small House at Allington, concerns the lives of the two Dale girls, Lily and Bell, who live at the Small House. While Bell is in love with the local doctor, James Crofts, Lily is pursued by two men: the worldly, rich and handsome Adolphus Crosbie and the poor but honest Johnny Eames. With each determined to gain her hand in marriage, who will she choose? Enshrined as a literary classic, The Small House takes the reader on a delightful visit to rural England, and presents an insightful, compassionate and amusing examination of human nature, along with Trollope’s signature flashes of genius.