The Warden - Anthony Trollope
First published 1855.
Book 1 in 'The Chronicles of Barsetshire.' Followed by 'Barchester Towers.'
This is the third Anthony Trollope book I have read, and is the second of his Barsetshire Novels I have read, though in fact it is the first in that series. Barchester Towers, being the second book in the set, was the only one of his that I owned when I first read it, and fortunately worked as a stand-alone. It is interesting returning to Book 1, now, though, as I have more insight into the motivations of various characters in that second book!
But anyway, for those who haven't read either: The Warden follows the story of Septimus Harding, the titular Warden of Hiram's Hospital, as well as a precentor in Barchester Cathedral. Hiram's Hospital was set up generations earlier based on a bequest from a John Hiram, who asked that twelve elderly men would be looked after in the role of "bedesmen", with the Warden responsible for their wellbeing (there are a lot of terms I didn't know in this book, but the story does a good job of unpacking what they mean).
Although the bedesmen are well looked after, a reformer named John Bold - who is interested in marrying the younger daughter of Mr Harding - takes up a cause against the perceived injustices of Mr Harding earning far more from Hiram's estate than the bedesmen he looks after. Harding, whom both sides of the debate acknowledge is relatively blameless in all of this, finds himself caught between Bold on the one side, and his son-in-law (married to his elder daughter), Dr Grantly, an archdeacon, on the other side. Bold seems to care more for Harding than Grantly does, but both men are far more interested in proving themselves right than worrying about what happens to their father-in-law/prospective father-in-law.
And all of this is told in a humorous and slightly satirical manner, poking at the perceived need for reforms (Trollope was apparently quite conservative) and the ways in which campaigners may demonise individuals beyond what is deserved. Interestingly, one of the targets of Trollope's pen seems to be a lightly fictionalised Charles Dickens!
Harding is definitely the hero of the story, as it were, although he is quite weak-willed and generally unable to stand up for himself. By the end of the story, he has made progress on that front, and things end in an interesting place.
The perfect place for a sequel to pick up, it turns out.
Having now read three Trollope books, I can state that I enjoy his style, but that his Barsetshire series is more enjoyable to me than his Palliser books - the latter of which can drag on a bit in patches and get bogged down more in politics (this is confirmed by the introduction to this particular edition of The Warden). He is a very funny writer, writing in an older, slower style, and wanting to say something about society and how it works.
And the fact that this is a much shorter work for Trollope, at only 234 pages, is a bonus.
Completed 27 August 2025.
(The Chronicles of Barsetshire)
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