Category Archives: Trollope, Anthony

Love in the Time of Barsetshire – Dr. Thorne & The Small House at Allington

What is the difference between a romance and the marriage plot? I surmise, without credential or support, that marriage plots are written largely from the perspective of marriage as an economic enterprise with the focus on the male half of the courtship, and romances are specifically oriented to the experience of female love, especially female sexual love.

Whatever the difference is, Trollope’s Barsetshire cycle is all about the marriage plot (with the possible exception of The Warden, although there is a prominent courtship in that one, as well), but they are definitely not “romance novels.”

And, I hasten to add, they are delightful.

A warning: there are spoilers to follow, so if you want to be surprised by the events of Dr. Thorne and The Small House at Allington, stop reading now.

Dr. ThorneDr. Thorne
by Anthony Trollope
Rating: ★★★★½
Series: Chronicles of Barsetshire #3
Publication Date: January 1, 1858
Genre: classic
Pages: 557
ReRead?: Yes
Project: 2025 read my hoard, classics club round 2

Son of a bankrupt landowner, Frank Gresham is intent on marrying his beloved Mary Thorne, despite her illegitimacy and apparent poverty. Frank's ambitious mother and haughty aunt are set against the match, however, and push him to save the family's mortgaged estate by making a good marriage to a wealthy heiress. Only Mary's loving uncle, Dr Thorne, knows the secret of her birth and the fortune she is to inherit that will make her socially acceptable in the eyes of Frank's family - but the high-principled doctor believes she should be accepted on her own terms. A telling examination of the relationship between society, money and morality, Dr Thorne (1858) is enduringly popular for Trollope's affectionate depiction of rural English life and his deceptively simple portrayal of human nature.


I think that Dr. Thorne may contain my favorite of all of the courtships. Mary Thorne is so lovely, but Frank Gresham – he is a resolute hero.

In Trollope, the course of love does not run smooth. Frank is the only son and heir of a (rather minor) squire, who falls in love with Mary and never wavers. His mother, Lady Arabella, a pain in the ass woman if one has ever existed, is insistent that he marry money. His father has squandered most, if not all, of the family money and Frank is tasked with bringing the family fortunes back. Mary, on the other hand, is the adopted illegitimate daughter of Dr. Thorne’s sister, who was seduced by the drunken, but now wealthy, Louis Scatcherd.

When I mentioned the economic enterprise of marriage, Dr. Thorne really leans into to that aspect. And, indeed, marriage was one of the primary, if not the only, mechanisms by which individuals in Victorian England were able to change their class. They could marry up, into wealth and stature. Or, alternatively, they could marry down, into genteel poverty and loss of stature.

Lady Arabella married down. She wants Frank to marry up. Frank wants to marry Mary.

There is almost always a happy ending in Trollope. Except in:

The Small House at AllingtonThe Small House at Allington
by Anthony Trollope
Rating: ★★★★½
Series: Chronicles of Barsetshire #5
Publication Date: January 1, 1864
Genre: classic
Pages: 695
ReRead?: Yes
Project: 2025 read my hoard, classics club round 2

'She had resolved to trust in everything, and, having so trusted, she would not provide for herself any possibility of retreat.'

Lively and attractive, Lily Dale lives with her mother and sister at the Small House at Allington. She falls passionately in love with the suave Adolphus Crosbie, and is devastated when he abandons her for the aristocratic Lady Alexandrina de Courcy. But Lily has another suitor, Johnny Eames, who has been devoted to her since boyhood. Perhaps she can find renewed happiness in Johnny's courtship?

The Small House at Allington was among the most successful of Trollope's Barsetshire novels, and has retained its popularity among modern readers. This new edition identifies the novel as a subtle study of the heroism and the cost of constancy, drawing out the intense psychological drama which lies at the heart of the story, and how it reflects Trollope's divided feelings about change in a rapidly evolving world.


This is the penultimate book in the Chronicles, followed only by The Last Chronicle of Barset (which I am reading now). I would rank it behind both Framley Parsonage and Dr. Thorne, but I rank all of these books very high, so that doesn’t mean much. I just like the plots in the other two better. Strangely, I think that my least favorite, at least right now, is Barchester Towers. This is odd, because that one seems to be acknowledged as the best of the lot.

The Small House at Allington concerns itself with the romantic travails of the Dale girls, Lily and Bell, resident at the small house. Lily falls in love with the definitely unworthy Adolphus Crosbie – a man less like Frank Gresham cannot be imagined. I definitely got the impression that Lily surrendered everything to Crosbie, including, probably her virginity.

Here I channel my inner Taylor Swift, in Fifteen:

And Abigail gave everything she had
To a boy who changed his mind
And we both cried

‘Cause when you’re fifteen
And somebody tells you they love you
You’re gonna believe them
And when you’re fifteen
Don’t forget to look before you fall

Trollope creates a love triangle for us – Johnny Eames, a local young man, has been in love with her for as long as he can remember. When Crosbie jilts Lily, the reader, along with most of the neighborhood, roots for Johnny to get the girl. Lily takes a cue from Miss Havisham (without the dress or the rotting, spider web clad wedding cake) and decides that spinsterhood is her only option.

Crosbie and Johnny Eames each get what they deserve. And the marriage plot ends in a marriage, but not for Lily.

I first read the entire Chronicles a decade ago, in 2015, and have been waiting for a reread ever since. They are just as good – possibly better – the second time around. After The Last Chronicle of Barset, I will be moving on to Can You Forgive Her, which is the firsts book in the Palliser novels.

Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope

Framley ParsonageFramley Parsonage
by Anthony Trollope
Rating: ★★★★½
Series: Chronicles of Barsetshire #4
Publication Date: January 1, 1860
Genre: classic
Pages: 580
ReRead?: Yes
Project: classics club round 2

Mark Robarts is a clergyman with ambitions beyond his small country parish of Framley. In a naive attempt to mix in influential circles, he agrees to guarantee a bill for a large sum of money for the disreputable local Member of Parliament, while being helped in his career in the Church by the same hand. But the unscrupulous politician reneges on his financial obligations, and Mark must face the consequences this debt may bring to his family.=

One of Trollope's most enduringly popular novels since it appeared in 1861, Framley Parsonage is an evocative depiction of country life in nineteenth-century England, told with great compassion and acute insight into human nature.


I completed my first read of the Chronicles of Barchester around a decade ago, in 2014-2-15. I remember thoroughly enjoying the experience, so, when a Goodreads friend mentioned she would be reading it in March, I decided to jump on board.

I, again, thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience. So much, that I’m going to reread the rest of the series, except for The Warden, which I reread last year, starting with Barchester Towers.

This book centers on a young vicar, Mark Robarts, who has the living at Framley. He is a youthful 26 years old, and is friends with Lord Lufton, whose mother, the managing Lady Lufton, has strong ideas about what everyone else should do. Particularly Lord Lufton.

The chapters that focus on Mark are intensely uncomfortable. He gets himself mixed up with a wastrel named Mr. Sowerby, which creates serious risks to his financial security and reputation. So many times I wanted to grab him by the shoulders and yell at him to stop being stupid.

Trollope is such a gifted writer. He occasionally breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the reader in a confiding and warm way. I became very attached to many of his characters, especially Lucy Robarts, sister of Mark, who is a lovely and worthy young woman. His marriage plots are fraught and provide genuine tension.

When I am reading Trollope, I wonder why I am not always reading Trollope. I like him so much more than Dickens.

Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope

All the way back in 2012, I migrated from Blogger to WP. In that time, I’ve had multiple blogs, with differing themes, I’ve been self-hosted and I’ve used free sites, and I’ve been generally unable to commit to anything. I’ve decided at this point that I want all of my bookish content to live in one place. So, over the next several months, I’ll be republishing posts that have long been published on other blogs, adding reviews to my review index, and then eventually deleting those old posts & blogs for good.

I’m starting with my first classics club project – the OG of reading projects for me – which ran from 2012 through 2015.

Barchester TowersBarchester Towers
by Anthony Trollope
Rating: ★★★★
Series: Chronicles of Barsetshire #2
Publication Date: November 1, 1857
Genre: classic
Pages: 526
Project: classics club round 1

‘I never saw anything like you clergymen … you are always thinking of fighting each other’

After the death of old Dr Grantly, a bitter struggle begins over who will succeed him as Bishop of Barchester. And when the decision is finally made to appoint the evangelical Dr Proudie, rather than the son of the old bishop, Archdeacon Grantly, resentment and suspicion threaten to cause deep divisions within the diocese. Trollope’s masterly depiction of the plotting and back-stabbing that ensues lies at the heart of one of the most vivid and comic of his Barsetshire novels, peopled by such very different figures as the saintly Warden of Hiram’s Hospital, Septimus Harding, the ineffectual but well-meaning new bishop and his terrifying wife, and the oily chaplain Mr Slope who has designs both on Mr Harding’s daughter and the fascinating would-be femme fatale Signora Vesey-Neroni.


Barchester Towers is a bigger novel than The Warden in every way. Its scope is more sweeping, it’s characterizations even richer (and more satirical) and its cast of characters has grown significantly. I enjoyed The Warden a lot. I adored Barchester Towers.

I am a sucker for huge Victorian novels, peopled by legions of occasionally hilariously named characters. Dickens has nothing on Trollope in his naming facility. From Mr. and Mrs. Quiverful (the cleric with 14 children, of course) through Mrs. Proudie (activist wife of the new, low church bishop who becomes embroiled in a major power struggle) and Obadiah Slope – a nametag nearly as evocative as Uriah Heep, whom he resembles in more than just the sound of his name – Trollope has given us a whole society to enjoy.

The basic premise of Barchester Towers is simple. The bishop, father of the Archdeacon Grantley, has died, leaving the bishopric open and available. When the Prime Minister chooses the evangelical Dr. Proudie to fill his position, rather than the High Church archdeacon, all hell rather breaks loose in Barchester, with normally quiet, retiring clerics jockeying for better positions, more prestige, and new opportunities.

In addition, poor Eleanor Bold, whose romantic travails were a centerpiece of The Warden has, sadly, been widowed after giving birth to a child. She has been left rather well-off in widowhood and becomes the marital target of three disparate men – Mr. Slope (played by the always excellent Alan Rickman in the BBC special), who is frankly after her money and is greasy, obsequious perfection (he makes Austen’s Mr. Collins look like the picture of unboastful humility), Dr. Stanhope, who is also after her money, and is more of the bluff, hearty type, and the brilliant Francis Arabin, who is high church, and is summoned in effort to combat the low church fellows who are taking over Barchester.

The weirdly sorta hot Obadiah Slope, as performed by a young Alan Rickman

One begins to wonder if Trollope plans to successively marry and widow poor Eleanor in every installment. And one further notes that Trollope clearly never envisioned Mr. Slope being played by Alan Rickman. Because, yeah, he’s bizarrely appealing.

In any event, Barchester Towers is awesome. It is a romp, full of satire, and humor, and puncturing self-importance. Trollope is delightfully subversive and biting. Obadiah Slope is one of those characters we love to hate, with all of his wily and duplicitous scheming. And even the most “unwordly” of clergymen are always engaged in manipulation to improve their positions, which they would attribute to their desire to direct their flock, but we know better because Trollope tells us so: it’s nearly always self-interest at the core.

And when Trollope asks: “[i]s it not a pity that people who are bright and clever should so often be exceedingly improper? and that those who are never improper should so often be dull and heavy?” I answer with a resounding “Yes!”

“There is no happiness in love except at the end of an English novel. But in wealth, money, houses, lands, goods and chattels, in the good things of this world, yes, in them there is something tangible, something that can be retained and enjoyed.”

Trollope, you clever, diverting, amazing, awesome, and exceedingly delightfully improper old cynic. I can’t wait to read the next installment.

The Warden by Anthony Trollope

All the way back in 2012, I migrated from Blogger to WP. In that time, I’ve had multiple blogs, with differing themes, I’ve been self-hosted and I’ve used free sites, and I’ve been generally unable to commit to anything. I’ve decided at this point that I want all of my bookish content to live in one place. So, over the next several months, I’ll be republishing posts that have long been published on other blogs, adding reviews to my review index, and then eventually deleting those old posts & blogs for good.

I’m starting with my first classics club project – the OG of reading projects for me – which ran from 2012 through 2015.

The WardenThe Warden
by Anthony Trollope
Rating: ★★★★½
Series: Chronicles of Barsetshire #1
Publication Date: March 1, 1855
Genre: classic
Pages: 201
ReRead?: Yes
Project: classics club round 1

"The Warden" centers on Mr. Harding, a clergyman of great personal integrity who is nevertheless in possession of an income from a charity far in excess of the sum devoted to the purposes of the foundation. On discovering this, young John Bold turns his reforming zeal to exposing what he regards as an abuse of privilege, despite the fact that he is in love with Mr. Harding's daughter Eleanor. It was a highly topical novel (a case regarding the misapplication of church funds was the scandalous subject of contemporary debate), but like other great Victorian novelists, Trollope uses the specific case to explore and illuminate the universal complexities of human motivation and social morality


This slender book is the first volume in Trollope’s Chronicles of Barsetshire. It is one of Trollope’s shorter works (if not the shortest), and provides the reader with a brief but delightful introduction into the characters and setting of Trollope’s ecclesiastical series.

I have not read a lot of Trollope. The only other of his novels that I have read is the stand-alone “The Way We Live Now,” which I read a number of years ago – long enough ago that if I were to try to review it, I would need to reread it. I remember distinctly enjoying it. Trollope is a student of human nature, and explores human behavior in a way that is really compelling. The Warden is a slice of life book centered around Mr. Harding, the warden of a hospital for poor men (the bedesmen), who becomes the subject of a dispute between his son-in-law, Dr. Grantly, and a reformer, John Bold. Mr. Bold attempts to make the case that Mr. Harding’s salary – which is rather generous – should, by rights, go to the bedesmen for whom he provides spiritual succor and physical care.

Poor Mr. Harding, who is a genuinely honorable man, ends up being tugged like a bone between two dogs when Mr. Bold files a lawsuit to oust Mr. Harding and give the bedesmen the money from a trust that is in place to care for them. The men have varying reactions to this plan. Some of them think it is a grand idea. One of them thinks that they are likely to not really benefit in the end, and is loyal to Mr. Harding:

“Law!” said Bunce, with all the scorn he knew how to command—”law! Did ye ever know a poor man yet was the better for law, or for a lawyer?

I’ll let you guess who was right.

As if this dispute isn’t ugly enough, Mr. Harding’s younger daughter, Eleanor, is also in love with John Bold, and is therefore, herself, engaged an emotional tug-of-war between her filial love and respect for her father and her romantic love for Mr. Bold.

“Mr Bold,” said she, “you may be sure of one thing; I shall always judge my father to be right, and those who oppose him I shall judge to be wrong. If those who do not know him oppose him, I shall have charity enough to believe that they are wrong, through error of judgment; but should I see him attacked by those who ought to know him, and to love him, and revere him, of such I shall be constrained to form a different opinion.” And then curtseying low she sailed on, leaving her lover in anything but a happy state of mind.

And, to top off this rather convoluted family pentagon, Mr. Harding’s other daughter, Susan, is married to Dr. Grantly. Lots of Victorian family drama ensues, ending in the resignation of Mr. Harding from his position, and the marriage of John Bold and Eleanor Harding.

One of my favorite things about this book is the believability of it. This is how families act, even modern families, when disputes are allowed to fester, and people take sides, and grudges are held. There is always a peacemaker. In this case, the peacemaker ends up being Mr. Harding, who is a simply lovely character. He is genuinely good, and it horrifies him when he is confronted with the position that he has been being paid at the expense of his charges. He displays no sense of entitlement – he is hurt, not angry, not defensive. Once he decides on his course of action, he pursues it single-mindedly and selflessly.

“I cannot boast of my conscience, when it required the violence of a public newspaper to awaken it; but, now that it is awake, I must obey it.”

I want to say a quick few words about Trollope’s women. All three of them – Susan (wife of Dr. Grantly/daughter of Mr. Harding), Mary (sister of John Bold) and Eleanor (daughter of Mr. Harding/sister of Susan/friend of Mary) were fully realized and complex characters. Eleanor was a bit too good to be true, but didn’t I just love her nonetheless.

In the end, of course, the bedesmen end up much worse off than they were before the reformer decided to try to help them. They have the same (small) apportionment of money, and no Mr. Harding. The position of Warden goes unfilled because the bishop cannot be prevailed upon to offer it to anyone other than Dr. Harding, who continues to refuse to return to the position through the end of The Warden.

This was a simply wonderful read. It is followed by Barchester Towers, which is the sequel to The Warden and takes up about two years after the resignation of Mr. Harding and the marriage of John and Eleanor.