fictionfan 's review for:

Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope

5.0

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Back in the cathedral city of Barchester for this one, which tells of the tension between those who wish to reform the church for a modern age and those who want to stick to the old traditions. Full of wonderful characters – Mr Slope is as slimy as Uriah Heep though not as evil, and Mrs Proudie is the entertainingly domineering power behind the henpecked new Bishop’s throne. It continues the story from The Warden of Mr Harding and his daughter Eleanor. It answers the question of how to write a second book when you’ve married off your heroine at the end of book 1 – simple! Have Husband #1 die of a sudden illness, wait a few months and put poor Eleanor back on the marriage market! I loved this, though not quite as much as The Warden. In this one Trollope spreads his wings, covers more characters and more subjects and as a result the book sprawls a bit and doesn’t have the same tight focus. It does have some great social commentary and some wonderful set-piece comic scenes though! Timothy West’s narration is a delight!