The Warden by Anthony Trollope

The Warden by Anthony Trollope
First Published: 1855
Source: Librivox

Summary:
Hiram's Hospital, a fifteenth century foundation attached to Barchester Cathedral, provided a home for twelve old men. Through the centuries the income of the foundation had greatly increased, and the Wardenship was a handsome sinecure for the Precentor of the Cathedral. The incumbent, the Rev. Septimus Harding a gentle, 'cello-playing old clergyman, lived near the Hospital, with his younger daughter, Eleanor.Hiram's Hospital, a fifteenth century foundation attached to Barchester Cathedral, provided a home for twelve old men. Through the centuries the income of the foundation had greatly increased, and the Wardenship was a handsome sinecure for the Precentor of the Cathedral. The incumbent, the Rev. Septimus Harding a gentle, 'cello-playing old clergyman, lived near the Hospital, with his younger daughter, Eleanor.

John Bold, a young surgeon of Barchester, although in love with Eleanor, became convinced that the financial affairs of the Foundation were mismanaged and demanded a public accounting. Mr. Harding's son-in-law Archdeacon Grantly, enraged at this assault on clerical prerogatives, fought the case bitterly until Bold, distressed by the uproar he had occasioned, withdrew his suit. Nevertheless the Warden resigned, and after Eleanor and John Bold were married left his post and became Rector of St. Cuthbert's, a small parish in the Cathedral Close.


My Thoughts:
Oh my goodness, why have I not read anything by Trollope sooner?! In this satire he skewers almost everyone in the book, from the church, to the newspapers, to the poor, to the general public and it is brilliant. And so thought provoking - it was hard to find a side to come down on because they all so clearly had their faults.

The twelve old men who lived in the hospital (the bedesmen) ought, clearly, to be in the right when they sign a petition to challenge the way the income of the foundation is being spent. Yet, they are already receiving in monies, housing, food, and care much more than they could ever have hoped to have before they were accepted into the hospital. In fact, they each receive in income more than they made while they were still working. Are they merely being greedy in wanting even more?

Is poor Mr. Harding, kind and gentle man that he is, to be pitied? After all, he gives the bedesmen money out of his own income over and above what the foundation sets aside for them and takes the best care of them he possibly can. On the other hand, he squanders every penny of the 800 pounds a year he earns and then some.

Perhaps John Bold is the hero? After all, he is championing the rights of the poor. But he sets in motion the entire affair without any real thought to what might be best for the bedesmen or for the feelings of people he cares about.

The Church of England is the villain! No, wait, the law is the villain. Or is it the newspaper which gets everything stirred up to the point that Mr. Harding feels he must resign?

See what I mean? So much to think about. How I do love a good satire! Like Charles Dickens, Trollope takes a good poke at his characters just by naming them: a strident young reformer named Bold, a lawyer named Haphazard, a newspaper man utterly full of himself named Towers. And the commentators who publish pamphlets about the affairs of the country? Dr. Pessimist Anticant and Mr. Popular Sentiment! Who, by the way, is actually a caricature of Dickens whose zeal for reform Mr. Trollope did not endorse.

Anthony Trollope wrote a series of book called the Chronicles of Barsetshire of which The Warden is the first book. Now I need to get my hands on the next book in the series. But first, somewhere in my house is one of Trollope's other books. Now where did I put that???