Set the Tardis to 1861

I'm beginning to wonder whether my plan to audit the whole of the Barchester Chronicles this summer is not a great use of my time. This volume is twice as long as the first (The Warden, set in 1851) but it doesn't really seem to add very much that is new. The characters are the same, as is the setting, and their concerns and attitudes also. I still love the atmosphere of the Cathedral close in 1855, the sunny gardens and very correct grammar and manners, and the insights into the nineteenth century frame of mind (e.g. the position of women and class structures) but it is now becoming predictable and repetitive. I'm going to skip the next volume (Dr Thorne) and fast forward to 1861. Into this happy band of ecclesiasticals should fall the nuclear bomb of the Origin of Species, and I'm hoping that will spice things up.

The performance from Timothy West is first class. Every character has a distinct, consistent and appropriate voice, including Trollope himself: it is Trollope himself who is starting to pall for me.

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3 people found this helpful

Beloved classic enlivened by narration.

With Trollope’s novels a story is enhanced by the manner of his telling of it, his asides to the reader, humour and satire. When West reads Trollope for us, it seems as if the author himself were talking to us, with the extra talent of an accomplished actor.
19th century novels may seem long to some folk in the present age where short books are those which win literary prizes but I enjoy the slower pace which gives a longer acquaintanceship with your heroes and favourite villains. Trollope’s characters are rarely entirely saintly or completely demonic (cf Dickens, satirised as Mr Popular Sentiment), and he avoids the inflexible strict moral tone of Carlyle (Mr Pessimist Anticant) - I do love how he names many minor characters (Mr Quiverfull does not find his 14 children the unalloyed blessings from the Almighty of psalm 127, which hasn’t stopped a group of evangelical Christians from appropriating his name for their polyphiloprogenitive movement.)

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2 people found this helpful

Wonderful

What made the experience of listening to Barchester Towers the most enjoyable?

I've always loved this book in all it's many forms, so now I can listen to it at night when sleep evades me! Thank you Amazon.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Love them all!

What does Timothy West bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Wonderful reading voice.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both

Any additional comments?

Try it if you like classics.

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1 person found this helpful

Excellent.

Interesting story; insightful about human nature and motivations; well-realised settings and characters. Fascinating historically re: the Church

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A great novel, exquisitely read

The skilful plot peopled by engaging characters, incomparably read by a brilliant reader, Make this a great audible experience.

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Highly recommended

Unfortunately, I have started to read the Barsetshire Chronicles in the wrong order, but none the less I don't think this matters a great deal. This is in fact the second novel from the Trollope tales, and what a treat to get "The Chronicles" included with Audible membership.
There are a great many characters in the novel from the smarmy Mr Slope (my favourite) to Dr Grantly, the Arch Deacon my least favourite.
The newly appointed Bishop is totally henpecked and the power behind the throne, is definitely his less than delightful wife.
I have downloaded the entire series, and I am totally hooked. Timothy West is a first class narrator, and I look forward to listening to my next chronicle with great anticipation.

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An enchanting, beautifully written & wonderfully read novel

Trollope came to my rescue during the Covid lockdown, and there is no finer or better read novel on Audible than Barchester Towers. Trollope gives the lie to illiterate metropolitan youth who know nothing of history or of the humanity of the best of the Victorians. In this finest of Trollope’s novels, the magic of prose and perfection of grammar lift the soul. Give yourself time to adjust to the slow pace and beautiful contortions, and be transported out of the miseries of Lockdown.

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Magnificent. Definitely a Desert Island Disc!

I think this is one of Trollope’s funniest novels and in Timothy West’s always capable hands it comes across as more so than on the printed page. He endows each of the many characters with a distinctive register so that, without resorting to silly falsettos or booms, you always know exactly who is speaking be they male or female, self-important or timid and whatever else can be conveyed by an actor truly in command of his craft.
The Barchester novels take us into mid Victorian rural England where venality, class consciousness, snobbery and skullduggery are no less rampant than in the city. In this one, and in the last, the main focus is on the clergy - and what a vain, backbiting, bickering, mercenary lot they are! We come to understand so much about Victorian society which was no picnic even for the “gentry”. Women without much of a dowry are brought up to realise that only looks and charm might bag a husband capable of supporting them and overlooking their deficiencies. Women of wealth were shamelessly preyed upon by penniless aristos. Gentlemen of little wealth were urged to “marry money”.
For his times, Trollope treats his women characters sympathetically, allowing them to be strong-willed, independent spirited and even clever (unlike Dickens, whose women characters are either fallen or angels).
This novel contains some superlatively memorable characters: the slimy, self-serving chaplain Mr Slope, the odious, self-righteous, prejudiced and bossy Mrs Proudie, the timorous, ineffectual, henpecked Bishop Proudie, and the towering, opinionated, permanently angry Archdeacon Dr Grantly. All are well written, but when it comes to Mr West’s rendition of them .... oh, what joy!
I could listen to this one again and again, and would definitely take it to a desert island!

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The human side of Victorian clergy

Trollope's great talent was to bring to life the flawed and all too human clergymen of his time. As an omniscient narrator, his intrusions into the story add humour and complexity to a strong storyline. There are, perhaps, a few chapters with which a modern reader could happily dispense but overall a corking read.

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Shenanigans and misunderstandings make entertaining plot

I much preferred this to part 1 of the series. It introduced a host of characters from endearing to despicable to Machiavellian, brought to life by the excellent West.

Church politics, love quadrangles, mischief, humour and more were reminiscent of Austen mixed with a touch of Dickens.

There were a few too many characters- some appeared in a couple of chapters for no apparent enhancement to the plot. But overall, this kept my attention and I’ll be downloading the next.

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