Audiobook · read by volunteers
Barchester Towers
Anthony Trollope (1815–1882)
Read by Andy Minter (1934-2017), eva, Catharine Eastman, Kara Shallenberg (1969-2023), Kirsten Ferreri, Lucy Burgoyne (1950-2014), Anita Roy Dobbs, Gesine, krithiga, Ana Simão · 53 chapters · 22 h 25
About the book
The old bishop of Barchester has died, and the whole cathedral town is holding its breath. Archdeacon Grantly expects to step into the post; instead, the appointment goes to the mild Dr. Proudie, whose real power is his formidable wife, and to their oily chaplain, Mr. Slope. What follows is a battle of ambition, vanity and ecclesiastical politics fought out in drawing rooms, vestries and garden parties, with the beautiful young widow Eleanor Bold at the centre of several rival schemes. Trollope writes with warm irony and a keen understanding of human weakness. Barchester Towers is the second of his Barsetshire novels and follows on from The Warden, though it stands on its own. Fifty-three chapters, over twenty-two hours and a rotating cast of readers will take you into a world of small matters that feel enormous to those inside.
Introduction
Anthony Trollope, who lived from 1815 to 1882, was one of the most prolific and popular novelists of Victorian England. He wrote steadily every morning before going to work for the Post Office, and his output ran to dozens of novels. Barchester Towers, published in 1857, is the second in his Barsetshire series and is a direct sequel to The Warden, which is also available from LibriVox. Later books in the series leave Barchester itself, but this one is firmly rooted in the cathedral city.
The story deals with a struggle for influence inside the Church of England, but Trollope is less interested in doctrine than in human behaviour. His clergymen are ambitious, vain, kindly or scheming, and he treats them with humour and affection. The new bishop, Dr. Proudie, is dominated by his wife, a strict Sabbatarian, and by his chaplain, Mr. Slope. Archdeacon Grantly becomes a worthy opponent to them. Meanwhile Eleanor, now a wealthy young widow, sets clerical hearts fluttering, and the question of who will control the wardenship of Hiram’s Hospital draws all the parties together.
Many readers consider this one of Trollope’s most entertaining works. The pace is relaxed, the comedy dry and the portraits memorable.
This recording runs to fifty-three chapters and more than twenty-two hours, read by several volunteers, among them Andy Minter, who died in 2017, eva and Catharine Eastman. It suits long evenings and slow journeys perfectly. The humour is gentle but never far from the surface, and the mixture of romance, comedy and church politics makes the book an excellent introduction to Trollope for newcomers.
Public domain
Anthony Trollope died in 1882: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text