“The Warden” makes an excellent introduction to Trollope's work. It tells of a dispute that arises between the Church of England and reformers. The Reverend Harding is the warden of small home providing quarters for 12 retired, impoverished workers. The facility is provided for by a trust set up by its founder over 200 years ago. Income off the land provides income for the maintenance of the home and a living for the warden, who is a gentle, honest man. This income, which has increased over the years, is an 800-pound annual revenue. A young reformer files suit, claiming the intent of the will is being violated. The reformers led by John Bold believe the excess funds should go to the hospital residents. The church hierarchy, led by Dr. Grantly, the archdeacon of Barchester, defends the rights of the church. This turns into a great public scandal, and the warden, …
“The Warden” makes an excellent introduction to Trollope's work. It tells of a dispute that arises between the Church of England and reformers. The Reverend Harding is the warden of small home providing quarters for 12 retired, impoverished workers. The facility is provided for by a trust set up by its founder over 200 years ago. Income off the land provides income for the maintenance of the home and a living for the warden, who is a gentle, honest man. This income, which has increased over the years, is an 800-pound annual revenue. A young reformer files suit, claiming the intent of the will is being violated. The reformers led by John Bold believe the excess funds should go to the hospital residents. The church hierarchy, led by Dr. Grantly, the archdeacon of Barchester, defends the rights of the church. This turns into a great public scandal, and the warden, Reverend Harding, suffers a moral dilemma over whether he really is entitled to the money. Please Note: This book has been reformatted to be easy to read in true text, not scanned images that can sometimes be difficult to decipher. The Microsoft eBook has a contents page linked to the chapter headings for easy navigation. The Adobe eBook has bookmarks at chapter headings and is printable up to two full copies per year. Both versions are text searchable.
This was tough to get into, I'd nod off after two or three paragraphs. Once characters and conflicts were presented, The Warden wasn't much of a slog. I'm grateful I had a copy of Oxford World's Classics because a tenth of the novel time was spent looking at the footnotes and explanatory notes. That's one factor in how it came to have four stars, other factors being the Dickens parody, the mocking narration.
