Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope

I ordered this book, the second in the Barchester Series, at the same time I ordered the first of the series, The Warden (reviewed last month). I found that novel to be so low key and undramatic as to be rather boring, and I probably would have abandoned Trollope then, if I had not already bought this sequel. I would have missed a treat.

Barchester Towers is an absolutely delightful read, with realistic and well delineated characters who are striving to gain love, money, power, and prestige. But most of all, it is quietly and slyly humorous in a very gentle and fond manner. Whereas a Dickens novel might include some broad or satirical humor amidst high drama and pathos, this Trollope novel's humor is more subtle, more based on the essential comicality of ordinary people in everyday life.

The main characters are all clericals of the Church of England and their female relatives, and the plot concerns the conflict between passionate High Church adherents and Low Church devotees, coupled with the very secular desire on the part of some to rise to higher position to gain more income and/or prestige. Thrown into this scheming and counter-scheming is a love story, as the Warden's beautiful daughter is wooed by three suitors, representatives of the warring factions. At no time is the reader in doubt as to which she will choose, partly because Trollope tells us in a direct address to the reader that she will not be seduced by the two undesirable candidates for her hand. Thus, little suspense is involved here, but the charm comes from the manner of the telling. In tone and plotting, the novel is more similar to Jane Austin than to Charles Dickens.

The villain of the piece is absolutely believable, and will surely remind you of someone you know who is entirely self serving and hypocritical. This slimy schemer, Obadiah Slope, arrogantly assumes that he fools everyone, but, in the end, he fools nobody. (Trollope, like his contemporary and literary rival Dickens, has a genius for appropriate names for his characters. Among the most amusing names is Mr. Quiverful, for the man who has 14 children.)

The story can be a bit confusing for those of us Americans who are not familiar with the elaborate clerical structure of the Church of England, with its archdeacons and deans and curates and so forth. That little detracts from the reading enjoyment, however, since the actions of the characters could as well have taken place in a modern corporate or bureaucratic setting.

From now on, I will absolutely recommend Trollope, and I plan to read the rest of the Barchester series, as well as some others of his. He wrote 51 novels, so I will have plenty from which to choose.