Continuing with by chronological work through of Anthony Trollope’s novels, the next on the list is The Warden. This is the first of the Chronicles of Barsetshire, Trollope’s first series of books.
First published in 1855, The Warden is one of the shortest books I have ever read, but I still love it fondly. This must be at the very least, my third read of this whole series, which follows the clerics of the High Anglican Church and their families, in the fictional Cathedral city of Barchester.
The Warden tells the story of Septimus Harding, Warden of Hiram’s Hospital, which is an almshouse for 12 elderly gentlemen. The almshouse is the legacy of one John Hiram, who made provision for the almshouse 12 “bedesmen” and a warden hundreds of years before our story begins. During this time the small daily allowance given the bedesmen has remained the same, while the warden’s living has increased to a lavish £800 a year along with a house and and garden.
Mr Harding has two daughters, his eldest, Susan, is married to the Archdeacon, Dr. Grantly, whose father is the Bishop of Barchester and an old friend of Mr Harding’s. The Bishop has the placement of warden of Hiram’s Hospital in his gift and it was he who placed his old friend there. His younger daughter Eleanor, is unmarried but in love with one John Bold. Bold is, in fact, the antagonist in our story.
John Bold takes up the cause of the 12 bedesmen, declaring that they are entitled to more of the share of the income from Hiram’s will then they are currently getting and begins a lawsuit to right their wrongs. The cause is taken up by an influential newspaper, The Jupiter, (a parody of The Times) as well as the popular reformist writers of the day, Dr Pessimist Anticant and Mr Popular Sentiment (parodies of Thomas Carlyle and Charles Dickens (how dare he!) respectively) and is a cause of much suffering to Mr. Harding who begins to think he has no right to his nice house and large income, and becomes much troubled in mind, eventually resigning his post.
As before, mentioned, this is a really short story, less than 300 pages long, much of which is taken up by an amusing rant about the journalism of the aforementioned newspaper and authors and their taking up of causes.
It is believed that Trollope took inspiration for The Warden from the real life case of of the Hospital of St Cross in Winchester, where the income allocated to the Hospital’s Master, the Earl of Guildford, was called into question in a similar manner.
I really enjoyed reading this book again, and I am already well into the second in the series, Barchester Towers, which I will blog about next week.
