The Warden

By: Anthony Trollope

Narrated by: Margaret Hilton

Trollope's classic novel features Reverend Septimus Harding, the elderly warden of the Barchester alms-house, which provides charity for the town's neediest citizens. However, for a man devoting himself to helping the poor, Reverend Harding's salary is rather lucrative. Aiming to ease his conscience and quiet his neighbors' whispers, he decides to divest himself of all the income he earns at the alms-house. But instead of making his life easier, Reverend Harding's decision causes unforeseen complications. The first of his Barsetshire series, this novel provides a detailed, gently satirical portrayal of 19th century British life.

Don't miss the sequel, Barchester Towers (Unabridged).Public Domain (P)1988 Recorded Books, Inc.

Barsetshire #1

“Did you ever know a poor man made better by law or a lawyer!' said Bunce bitterly.”
- Anthony Trollope, The Warden

Such a lovely social novel. Trollope sets up a series of characters and a situation and you know that Warden Septimus Harding, Archdeacon Grantly, and John Bold are set to collide and that the reforms of Dr Bold or the conservatism of Archdeacon Grantly will help the Warden. I loved the Warden of this story. I love his morality, his humility, his simpleness. I love Trollope's criticisms of the Church of England (and its clergy) and the excesses of reform. I love his take on the Press. But it is a gentle novel. There are no demons in Trollope's novel and no saints. There are men who make mistakes and overshoot the mark. Men who start a ball rolling and are unable to see where it will lead. There are women too. The women are fully formed and not just side notes.

History revealed

To fall into the world of 18th century England in a complex and inexorable story of greed, shame and resolve was well worth the listen.

Very Cozy if Slightly Dissatisfying

I liked this the best of the three Anthony Trollope novels I’ve listed to, so far, it was very interesting and had that cozy, detail-oriented Trollope style.
The ending was a little dissatisfying but I suppose everyone did get their just due…
Recommend!

Don't buy this

The audio is entirely unsatisfactory, the recording is from 1988, poorly transferred and the title should be dropped. The sample is not reflective of the quality of this title, I couldn't listen for ten minutes.

The Warden

This recording is almost impossible to understand. The sound quality is muffled and indistinct. The highest quality download is "2." I gave up trying to listen after 30 minutes.