-
Barchester Towers
- Narrated by: Timothy West
- Length: 19 hrs and 6 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Warden - Chronicles of Barsetshire, Book 1
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: David Shaw-Parker
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Loved and appreciated by all with whom he works, Harding lives an ordered, regular life in his protected religious environment. Then one day, a young reformer feels he has uncovered a mismanagement of funds and Harding is held to blame. The accusation comes as a shock not only to Harding himself but also to the cathedral community. It then comes to wider notice when the cause is taken up by a national newspaper.
-
-
Slow start, longer than needful, but enjoyable
- By Tally D Lykins on 06-16-16
By: Anthony Trollope
-
The Barchester Chronicles
- Six BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Hattie Morahan, Blake Ritson, Iain Glen, and others
- Length: 17 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anthony Trollope's series of witty, gently satirical stories of provincial life are set in the fictional town of Barchester and the surrounding county of Barsetshire. With a focus on the lives, loves and tribulations of the local clergy and rural gentry, the canvas is broad and colourful, with a set of iconic characters in whose lives we become intimately involved as they grow up, grow old, and fall in or out of love and friendship across the years.
-
-
Start here…
- By Charisma on 12-31-22
By: Anthony Trollope
-
The Way We Live Now
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: David Shaw-Parker
- Length: 37 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Way We Live Now is a complex and compulsive tale that traces the career of Augustus Melmotte, a strange and mysterious financier who bursts into London society like a guided missile. In setting up a dubious scheme based on speculative money and stock market gambles, Melmotte manages to lure in several members of the English aristocracy, for whom money is the summum bonum. The world is at his feet - until the corruption catches up with him.
-
-
Fun, but no heroes here
- By Tad Davis on 03-20-16
By: Anthony Trollope
-
Can You Forgive Her?
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 27 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Can You Forgive Her? is the first of the six Palliser novels. Here Trollope examines parliamentary election and marriage, politics and privacy. As he dissects the Victorian upper class, issues and people shed their pretenses under his patient, ironic probe.
-
-
Very Very Victorian
- By David on 09-27-11
By: Anthony Trollope
-
The Belton Estate
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Flo Gibson
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charming, loving Clara Amedroz is involved with two suitors. How she deals with this dilemma is full of humor and very moving.
-
-
Claire's Two Lovers
- By Joseph R on 08-27-09
By: Anthony Trollope
-
Silas Marner
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here is a tale straight from the fireside. We are compelled to follow the humble and mysterious figure of the linen weaver Silas Marner, on his journey from solitude and exile to the warmth and joy of family life. His path is a strange one; when he loses his hoard of hard-earned coins all seems to be lost, but in place of the golden guineas come the golden curls of a child - and from desolate misery comes triumphant joy.
-
-
Too busy to read Middlemarch?
- By N. Dandridge on 07-04-18
By: George Eliot
-
The Warden - Chronicles of Barsetshire, Book 1
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: David Shaw-Parker
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Loved and appreciated by all with whom he works, Harding lives an ordered, regular life in his protected religious environment. Then one day, a young reformer feels he has uncovered a mismanagement of funds and Harding is held to blame. The accusation comes as a shock not only to Harding himself but also to the cathedral community. It then comes to wider notice when the cause is taken up by a national newspaper.
-
-
Slow start, longer than needful, but enjoyable
- By Tally D Lykins on 06-16-16
By: Anthony Trollope
-
The Barchester Chronicles
- Six BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Hattie Morahan, Blake Ritson, Iain Glen, and others
- Length: 17 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anthony Trollope's series of witty, gently satirical stories of provincial life are set in the fictional town of Barchester and the surrounding county of Barsetshire. With a focus on the lives, loves and tribulations of the local clergy and rural gentry, the canvas is broad and colourful, with a set of iconic characters in whose lives we become intimately involved as they grow up, grow old, and fall in or out of love and friendship across the years.
-
-
Start here…
- By Charisma on 12-31-22
By: Anthony Trollope
-
The Way We Live Now
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: David Shaw-Parker
- Length: 37 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Way We Live Now is a complex and compulsive tale that traces the career of Augustus Melmotte, a strange and mysterious financier who bursts into London society like a guided missile. In setting up a dubious scheme based on speculative money and stock market gambles, Melmotte manages to lure in several members of the English aristocracy, for whom money is the summum bonum. The world is at his feet - until the corruption catches up with him.
-
-
Fun, but no heroes here
- By Tad Davis on 03-20-16
By: Anthony Trollope
-
Can You Forgive Her?
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 27 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Can You Forgive Her? is the first of the six Palliser novels. Here Trollope examines parliamentary election and marriage, politics and privacy. As he dissects the Victorian upper class, issues and people shed their pretenses under his patient, ironic probe.
-
-
Very Very Victorian
- By David on 09-27-11
By: Anthony Trollope
-
The Belton Estate
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Flo Gibson
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charming, loving Clara Amedroz is involved with two suitors. How she deals with this dilemma is full of humor and very moving.
-
-
Claire's Two Lovers
- By Joseph R on 08-27-09
By: Anthony Trollope
-
Silas Marner
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here is a tale straight from the fireside. We are compelled to follow the humble and mysterious figure of the linen weaver Silas Marner, on his journey from solitude and exile to the warmth and joy of family life. His path is a strange one; when he loses his hoard of hard-earned coins all seems to be lost, but in place of the golden guineas come the golden curls of a child - and from desolate misery comes triumphant joy.
-
-
Too busy to read Middlemarch?
- By N. Dandridge on 07-04-18
By: George Eliot
-
He Knew He Was Right
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 30 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Louis Trevelyan's young wife meets an old family acquaintance, his unreasonable jealousy of their friendship sparks a quarrel that leads to a brutal and tragic estrangement.
-
-
Nigel Patterson as the narrator is great
- By NH on 10-31-16
By: Anthony Trollope
-
The Claverings
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 20 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the opening of The Claverings (1866) the beautiful Julia Brabazon jilts her lover Harry Clavering in order to make a marriage of convenience with a wealthy but dissolute earl. Harry licks his wounds, leaves London to train as a civil engineer, and falls in love with his employer's daughter, to whom he soon becomes engaged. But when Julia returns unexpectedly as a wealthy widow, the flame of Harry's old love is rekindled.
-
-
A classic love triangle in a classic novel...:)
- By Lidia Chymkowska on 12-17-18
By: Anthony Trollope
-
Orley Farm
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Flo Gibson
- Length: 25 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lady Mason's trial for forgery and perjury shocks the neighborhood. A cast of unforgettable characters views her with disdain, compassion, and disbelief. And then there are the love stories....
-
-
Dreary effort
- By Sharon on 08-03-13
By: Anthony Trollope
-
Emma
- An Audible Original Drama
- By: Jane Austen, Anna Lea - adaptation
- Narrated by: Emma Thompson, Joanne Froggatt, Isabella Inchbald, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Austen wrote, 'I am going to take a heroine whom no-one but myself will much like' and thus introduces the handsome, clever, rich - and flawed, Emma Woodhouse. Emma is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage; nothing however delights her more than matchmaking her fellow residents of Highbury. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr. Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protegee Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected.
-
-
Background sonds RUINED this
- By Sandra Dodd on 09-09-18
By: Jane Austen, and others
-
Jane Eyre
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Thandiwe Newton
- Length: 19 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following Jane from her childhood as an orphan in Northern England through her experience as a governess at Thornfield Hall, Charlotte Brontë's Gothic classic is an early exploration of women's independence in the mid-19th century and the pervasive societal challenges women had to endure. At Thornfield, Jane meets the complex and mysterious Mr. Rochester, with whom she shares a complicated relationship that ultimately forces her to reconcile the conflicting passions of romantic love and religious piety.
-
-
Perfect!!
- By Amazon Customer on 04-21-16
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Mary Sarah Agliotta
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Probably the most shocking of the Brontës' novels, this novel had an instant and phenomenal success and is widely considered to be one of the first sustained feminist novels. A mysterious widow, Mrs. Helen Graham, arrives at Wildfell Hall, a nearby old mansion. A source of curiosity for the small community, the reticent Helen and her young son Arthur are slowly drawn into the social circles of the village.
-
-
A good story ruined by the narrator
- By i. Ski on 04-17-14
By: Anne Brontë
-
The Vicar of Bullhampton
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Peter Newcombe Joyce
- Length: 22 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This comprehensive novel consists of three subplots which interlink to form the whole and supply a trio of targets at which Trollope aims his proselytising pen. The first treats on the courtship of a woman by a man whom she does not love and with whom she is not compatible. Mary Lowther will not accept such a marriage of dishonesty. The second deals with the plight of a young woman who has fallen prey to the wiles of an evil seducer and subsequently adopts a life of prostitution.
-
-
A Trollope discovery
- By R. Hughes on 04-30-17
By: Anthony Trollope
-
Our Mutual Friend
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 31 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A sinister masterpiece, Our Mutual Friend was Dickens' last completed novel. It is perhaps his ultimate vision of a dark, macabre London and the corrupting power of money.
-
-
Worth six stars
- By Erez on 07-05-08
By: Charles Dickens
-
A Tale of Two Cities [Tantor]
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Tale of Two Cities is one of Charles Dickens's most exciting novels. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, it tells the story of a family threatened by the terrible events of the past. Doctor Manette was wrongly imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years without trial by the aristocratic authorities.
-
-
it's the singer not the song*
- By Maynard on 11-09-13
By: Charles Dickens
-
Bleak House
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett, Teresa Gallagher
- Length: 35 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A complex plot of love and inheritance is set against the English legal system of the mid-19th century. As the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce drags on, it becomes an obsession to everyone involved. And the issue on an inheritance ultimately becomes a question of murder.
-
-
WONDERFUL NARRATIONS!
- By KT on 08-25-11
By: Charles Dickens
-
Persuasion
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anne Elliot has grieved for seven years over the loss of her first love, Captain Frederick Wentworth. But events conspire to unravel the knots of deceit and misunderstanding in this beguiling and gently comic story of love and fidelity.
-
-
Juliet Stevenson is Simply Amazing
- By Em on 04-15-12
By: Jane Austen
-
Emma [Naxos Edition]
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 16 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of Jane Austen's most popular novels. Arrogant, self-willed, and egotistical, Emma is her most unusual heroine.
-
-
Wonderful listen
- By A. Bloom on 08-07-08
By: Jane Austen
Publisher's summary
Exclusively from Audible
Barchester Towers is the second of six in the series known as Chronicles of Barsetshire. Narrator Timothy West brings life to the story, begun in The Warden, of Mr. Harding and his daughter Eleanor. It chronicles the struggle for control of the English diocese of Barchester after one Bishop dies and a new one is selected.
The rather incompetent new Bishop, Dr. Proudie, led by his formidable wife, and ambitious chaplain, Mr. Slope, begin to create turmoil with their desire to shake up the church establishment in Barchester with new policies and practices. However, the established clergy of Barchester, led by Archdeacon Grantly, the son of the previous Bishop, are equally determined to keep things just as they've always been. Archdeacon Grantly declares 'War, war, internecine war!' on Bishop Proudie, but who will win the battle between the archdeacon, the bishop, Mr. Slope, and Mrs. Proudie?
The Guardian included Barchester Towers in its list of '1000 novels everyone must read'. Full of humour and extraordinary characters, it is no wonder it continues to be Trollope's best-loved work.
Narrator Biography
Timothy West is prolific in film, television, theatre and audiobooks. He has narrated a number of Anthony Trollope’s classics, including the six Chronicles of Barsetshire and The Pallisers series. He has also narrated volumes of Simon Schama’s A History of Britain and John Mortimer’s Rumpole on Trial. Timothy West’s theatre roles include King Lear, The Vote, Uncle Vanya, A Number, Quarter, and Coriolanus. His films include Ever After, Joan Of Arc, Endgame, Iris, The Day of the Jackal. On television, Timothy has appeared in Great Canal Journeys, Last Tango in Halifax and Bleak House.
Critic reviews
More from the same
Related to this topic
-
The Warden - Chronicles of Barsetshire, Book 1
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: David Shaw-Parker
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Loved and appreciated by all with whom he works, Harding lives an ordered, regular life in his protected religious environment. Then one day, a young reformer feels he has uncovered a mismanagement of funds and Harding is held to blame. The accusation comes as a shock not only to Harding himself but also to the cathedral community. It then comes to wider notice when the cause is taken up by a national newspaper.
-
-
Slow start, longer than needful, but enjoyable
- By Tally D Lykins on 06-16-16
By: Anthony Trollope
-
The Way We Live Now
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Timothy West
- Length: 32 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this world of bribes, vendettas, and swindling, in which heiresses are gambled and won, Trollope's characters embody all the vices: Lady Carbury is 'false from head to foot'; her son Felix has 'the instincts of a horse, not approaching the higher sympathies of a dog'; and Melmotte - the colossal figure who dominates the book - is a 'horrid, big, rich scoundrel...a bloated swindler...a vile city ruffian'. But as vile as he is, he is considered one of Trollope's greatest creations.
-
-
Finally!
- By Laurene on 06-05-10
By: Anthony Trollope
-
Agnes Grey
- By: Anne Bronte
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written when women---and workers generally---had few rights in England, Agnes Grey exposes the brutal inequities of the rigid class system in mid-19th-century Britain. Agnes comes from a respectable middle-class family, but their financial reverses have forced her to seek work as a governess.
-
-
Make.it.stop.
- By Wayne on 03-18-22
By: Anne Bronte
-
The American
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Self-made American millionaire Christopher Newman arrives in Paris brimming with hope and optimism, excited to experience the culture and, hopefully, find the perfect woman to become his wife. After a chance encounter with American expatriate friends, his attention is drawn to Madame de Cintré, 25-year-old widowed daughter of the late Marquis de Bellegarde. Having fallen on hard times, the centuries-old aristocratic family permits Newman's courtship to proceed; however, they later persuade the widow to break off her engagement to the nouveau-riche businessman.
-
-
excellent reading
- By Andorboth on 12-03-22
By: Henry James
-
Agnes Grey
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Emilia Fox
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Having lost the family savings on risky investments, Richard Grey removes himself from family life and suffers a bout of depression. Feeling helpless and frustrated, his youngest daughter, Agnes, applies for a job as a governess to the children of a wealthy, upper-class, English family. Ecstatic at the thought that she has finally gained control and freedom over her own life, Agnes arrives at the Bloomfield mansion armed with confidence and purpose.
-
-
Loved it
- By Kerry on 05-22-10
By: Anne Brontë
-
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Mary Sarah Agliotta
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Probably the most shocking of the Brontës' novels, this novel had an instant and phenomenal success and is widely considered to be one of the first sustained feminist novels. A mysterious widow, Mrs. Helen Graham, arrives at Wildfell Hall, a nearby old mansion. A source of curiosity for the small community, the reticent Helen and her young son Arthur are slowly drawn into the social circles of the village.
-
-
A good story ruined by the narrator
- By i. Ski on 04-17-14
By: Anne Brontë
-
The Warden - Chronicles of Barsetshire, Book 1
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: David Shaw-Parker
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Loved and appreciated by all with whom he works, Harding lives an ordered, regular life in his protected religious environment. Then one day, a young reformer feels he has uncovered a mismanagement of funds and Harding is held to blame. The accusation comes as a shock not only to Harding himself but also to the cathedral community. It then comes to wider notice when the cause is taken up by a national newspaper.
-
-
Slow start, longer than needful, but enjoyable
- By Tally D Lykins on 06-16-16
By: Anthony Trollope
-
The Way We Live Now
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Timothy West
- Length: 32 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this world of bribes, vendettas, and swindling, in which heiresses are gambled and won, Trollope's characters embody all the vices: Lady Carbury is 'false from head to foot'; her son Felix has 'the instincts of a horse, not approaching the higher sympathies of a dog'; and Melmotte - the colossal figure who dominates the book - is a 'horrid, big, rich scoundrel...a bloated swindler...a vile city ruffian'. But as vile as he is, he is considered one of Trollope's greatest creations.
-
-
Finally!
- By Laurene on 06-05-10
By: Anthony Trollope
-
Agnes Grey
- By: Anne Bronte
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written when women---and workers generally---had few rights in England, Agnes Grey exposes the brutal inequities of the rigid class system in mid-19th-century Britain. Agnes comes from a respectable middle-class family, but their financial reverses have forced her to seek work as a governess.
-
-
Make.it.stop.
- By Wayne on 03-18-22
By: Anne Bronte
-
The American
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Self-made American millionaire Christopher Newman arrives in Paris brimming with hope and optimism, excited to experience the culture and, hopefully, find the perfect woman to become his wife. After a chance encounter with American expatriate friends, his attention is drawn to Madame de Cintré, 25-year-old widowed daughter of the late Marquis de Bellegarde. Having fallen on hard times, the centuries-old aristocratic family permits Newman's courtship to proceed; however, they later persuade the widow to break off her engagement to the nouveau-riche businessman.
-
-
excellent reading
- By Andorboth on 12-03-22
By: Henry James
-
Agnes Grey
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Emilia Fox
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Having lost the family savings on risky investments, Richard Grey removes himself from family life and suffers a bout of depression. Feeling helpless and frustrated, his youngest daughter, Agnes, applies for a job as a governess to the children of a wealthy, upper-class, English family. Ecstatic at the thought that she has finally gained control and freedom over her own life, Agnes arrives at the Bloomfield mansion armed with confidence and purpose.
-
-
Loved it
- By Kerry on 05-22-10
By: Anne Brontë
-
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Mary Sarah Agliotta
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Probably the most shocking of the Brontës' novels, this novel had an instant and phenomenal success and is widely considered to be one of the first sustained feminist novels. A mysterious widow, Mrs. Helen Graham, arrives at Wildfell Hall, a nearby old mansion. A source of curiosity for the small community, the reticent Helen and her young son Arthur are slowly drawn into the social circles of the village.
-
-
A good story ruined by the narrator
- By i. Ski on 04-17-14
By: Anne Brontë
-
Anna Karenina
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Maggie Gyllenhaal
- Length: 35 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Leo Tolstoy's classic story of doomed love is one of the most admired novels in world literature. Generations of readers have been enthralled by his magnificent heroine, the unhappily married Anna Karenina, and her tragic affair with dashing Count Vronsky.
-
-
Need to Disclose and Highlight Name of Translator
- By Charles B on 08-27-18
By: Leo Tolstoy
-
Dombey and Son
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 36 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this carefully crafted novel, Dickens reveals the complexity of London society in the enterprising 1840s as he takes the listener into the business firm and home of one of its most representative patriarchs, Paul Dombey.
-
-
Perfect pair
- By Philip on 03-25-08
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Idiot
- By: Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Narrated by: Alastair Cameron
- Length: 23 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young Prince Mishkin is that rare thing - a "completely beautiful human being". He is honest, humble, generous, and selfless, but unfortunately these traits mean he is often mistaken for an idiot. Upon his return to St. Petersburg, after being away at a Swiss sanatorium for the treatment of epilepsy, Prince Mishkin is taken under the wing of the wife of General Yepanchin, who arranges for him to live with the family of her money-obsessed friend Ganya.
-
-
wow.
- By Michal Krawczyk on 04-25-17
-
Nicholas Nickleby
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 31 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The most gorgeously theatrical of all Dickens's novels, Nicholas Nickleby follows the delightful adventures of a hearty young hero in 19th-century England. Nicholas, a gentleman's son fallen upon hard times, must set out to make his way in the world. His journey is accompanied by some of the most swaggering scoundrels and unforgettable eccentrics in Dickens's pantheon.
-
-
Amazing
- By Terie on 07-12-07
By: Charles Dickens
-
My Lady Ludlow
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Susannah York
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lady Ludlow's appalling snobbery, prejudice and bred-in-the-bone conviction as to the superiority of the English aristocracy and their feudal way of life are deliciously tested, and found wanting, in this gently radical tale of the collapse of a social system. Elizabeth Gaskell's My Lady Ludlow is a brilliant picture of the shift in power in a rural northern village, from the velvety feudal Ludlows to the glitter of the new money rattling through the system courtesy of the brazen baker from Birmingham.
-
-
A treat
- By Tad Davis on 03-04-20
-
On the Irrawaddy, A Story of the First Burmese War
- Svenska Ljud Classica
- By: G. A. Henty
- Narrated by: Mike Harris
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With the exception of the terrible retreat from Afghanistan, none of England's many little wars have been so fatal in proportion to the number of those engaged as our first expedition to Burma. The Burman policy of carrying off every boat on the river, laying waste the whole country, and driving away the inhabitants and the herds, maintained our army as prisoners in Rangoon through the first wet season; and caused the loss of half the white officers and men first sent there.
-
-
Great story! Great reading. Editor - not so much
- By David on 11-03-17
By: G. A. Henty
-
Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Norma West
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Previously unpublished in unabridged audio, these three works (one novel unpublished in her lifetime and two unfinished fragments) reveal Jane Austen's development as a great artist.
-
-
For the Austen Addict
- By Joseph R on 09-09-09
By: Jane Austen
-
On the Origin of Species
- By: Charles Darwin
- Narrated by: Richard Dawkins
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion and a life-long committed Darwinist, abridges and reads this special audio version of Charles Darwin's famous book. A literally world-changing book, Darwin put forward the anti-religious and scientific idea that humans in fact evolved over millions of generations from animals, starting with fish, all the way up through the ranks to apes, then to our current form.
-
-
A Perfect Abridgement
- By M on 05-28-09
By: Charles Darwin
-
The Mill on the Floss
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Laura Paton
- Length: 20 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Maggie Tulliver has two lovers: Philip Wakem, son of her father’s enemy, and Stephen Guest, already promised to her cousin. But the love she wants most in the world is that of her brother Tom. Maggie’s struggle against her passionate and sensual nature leads her to a deeper understanding and to eventual tragedy
-
-
Great compassion
- By nina lalumia on 12-26-16
By: George Eliot
-
Middlemarch
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 35 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dorothea Brooke is an ardent idealist who represses her vivacity and intelligence for the cold, theological pedant Casaubon. One man understands her true nature: the artist Will Ladislaw. But how can love triumph against her sense of duty and Casaubon’s mean spirit? Meanwhile, in the little world of Middlemarch, the broader world is mirrored: the world of politics, social change, and reforms, as well as betrayal, greed, blackmail, ambition, and disappointment.
-
-
Best Audible book ever
- By Molly-o on 12-25-11
By: George Eliot
-
Vanity Fair
- By: William Makepeace Thackeray
- Narrated by: John Castle
- Length: 31 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set during the time of the Napoleonic Wars, this classic gives a satirical picture of a worldly society. The novel revolves around the exploits of the impoverished but beautiful and devious Becky Sharp who craves wealth and a position in society. Calculating and determined to succeed, she charms, deceives and manipulates everyone she meets. A novel of early 19th-century English society, it takes its title from the place designated as the centre of human corruption in John Bunyan's 17th-century allegory.
-
-
The Best Narration, One of the Greats
- By James Abraham on 05-18-13
-
Wives and Daughters
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 25 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in English society before the 1832 Reform Bill, Wives and Daughters centers on the story of youthful Molly Gibson, brought up from childhood by her father. When he remarries, a new stepsister enters Molly's quiet life, the loveable, but worldly and troubling, Cynthia. The narrative traces the development of the two girls into womanhood within the gossiping and watchful society of Hollingford.
-
-
It's not about the ending!
- By Sandra on 07-25-05
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Warden
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Nigel Hawthorne
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in the world of the Victorian professional and landed classes, the story centres 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 it.
-
-
a delight
- By Janet on 12-22-08
By: Anthony Trollope
-
Old New York
- By: Edith Wharton
- Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir, Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spanning four decades in the mid-19th century, the interconnected novellas of Old New York lay out in vivid detail the complex and inscrutable codes, customs, and taboos of New York society in classic Wharton style.
-
-
narration
- By Alissa on 01-31-23
By: Edith Wharton
-
Dr Wortle's School
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Timothy West
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dr Wortle's School introduces the unassuming Mr. Peacocke and his polite, newly-wed bride, as they join the teaching staff of an elite and exclusive Christian boys' school. Dr. Wortle, a devoted English scholar and the headmaster of the seminary academy, welcomes his two new teachers, confident that they will uphold the high standards of education at the school.
-
-
Trollope is amazing, and Timothy West is amazing
- By Claire on 04-18-12
By: Anthony Trollope
-
Can You Forgive Her?
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 27 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Can You Forgive Her? is the first of the six Palliser novels. Here Trollope examines parliamentary election and marriage, politics and privacy. As he dissects the Victorian upper class, issues and people shed their pretenses under his patient, ironic probe.
-
-
Very Very Victorian
- By David on 09-27-11
By: Anthony Trollope
-
The Rainbow
- By: D. H. Lawrence
- Narrated by: Maureen O'Brien
- Length: 20 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in the rural midlands of England, The Rainbow revolves around three generations of Brangwens, a family deeply involved with the land and noted for their strength and vigour. When Tom Brangwen marries a Polish widow, Lydia Lensky, and adopts her daughter Anna as his own, he is unprepared for the conflict and passion that erupts between them. Their stories continue in Women in Love.
-
-
Death and Rebirth, the Old and New.
- By Geoff Maddison on 08-09-12
By: D. H. Lawrence
-
Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Tony Britton
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the death of his son, Sir Harry Hotspur had determined to give his property to his daughter Emily. She is beautiful and as strong-willed and high-principled as her father. Then she falls in love with the black-sheep of the family.
-
-
Sometimes a Great Fall
- By Joseph R on 08-29-09
By: Anthony Trollope
-
The Warden
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Nigel Hawthorne
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in the world of the Victorian professional and landed classes, the story centres 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 it.
-
-
a delight
- By Janet on 12-22-08
By: Anthony Trollope
-
Old New York
- By: Edith Wharton
- Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir, Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spanning four decades in the mid-19th century, the interconnected novellas of Old New York lay out in vivid detail the complex and inscrutable codes, customs, and taboos of New York society in classic Wharton style.
-
-
narration
- By Alissa on 01-31-23
By: Edith Wharton
-
Dr Wortle's School
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Timothy West
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dr Wortle's School introduces the unassuming Mr. Peacocke and his polite, newly-wed bride, as they join the teaching staff of an elite and exclusive Christian boys' school. Dr. Wortle, a devoted English scholar and the headmaster of the seminary academy, welcomes his two new teachers, confident that they will uphold the high standards of education at the school.
-
-
Trollope is amazing, and Timothy West is amazing
- By Claire on 04-18-12
By: Anthony Trollope
-
Can You Forgive Her?
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 27 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Can You Forgive Her? is the first of the six Palliser novels. Here Trollope examines parliamentary election and marriage, politics and privacy. As he dissects the Victorian upper class, issues and people shed their pretenses under his patient, ironic probe.
-
-
Very Very Victorian
- By David on 09-27-11
By: Anthony Trollope
-
The Rainbow
- By: D. H. Lawrence
- Narrated by: Maureen O'Brien
- Length: 20 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in the rural midlands of England, The Rainbow revolves around three generations of Brangwens, a family deeply involved with the land and noted for their strength and vigour. When Tom Brangwen marries a Polish widow, Lydia Lensky, and adopts her daughter Anna as his own, he is unprepared for the conflict and passion that erupts between them. Their stories continue in Women in Love.
-
-
Death and Rebirth, the Old and New.
- By Geoff Maddison on 08-09-12
By: D. H. Lawrence
-
Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Tony Britton
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the death of his son, Sir Harry Hotspur had determined to give his property to his daughter Emily. She is beautiful and as strong-willed and high-principled as her father. Then she falls in love with the black-sheep of the family.
-
-
Sometimes a Great Fall
- By Joseph R on 08-29-09
By: Anthony Trollope
-
The Way We Live Now
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Timothy West
- Length: 32 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this world of bribes, vendettas, and swindling, in which heiresses are gambled and won, Trollope's characters embody all the vices: Lady Carbury is 'false from head to foot'; her son Felix has 'the instincts of a horse, not approaching the higher sympathies of a dog'; and Melmotte - the colossal figure who dominates the book - is a 'horrid, big, rich scoundrel...a bloated swindler...a vile city ruffian'. But as vile as he is, he is considered one of Trollope's greatest creations.
-
-
Finally!
- By Laurene on 06-05-10
By: Anthony Trollope
-
The Complete Barchester Chronicles
- A Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisation
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Amanda Root, Anna Massey, and others
- Length: 18 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here is a new audio edition of the acclaimed BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of Anthony Trollope's gently satirical tales of provincial life, available together in one download. Nearly 20 hours of ironic, witty, and wonderfully written drama is contained in this audiobook. The cast includes Anna Massey, Alex Jennings, David Haig, Rosemary Leach, Kenneth Cranham, Emma Fielding, and Brenda Blethyn.
-
-
Who would have thought I'd like this?
- By Armen on 03-15-09
By: Anthony Trollope
-
The Riddle Of The Sands
- By: Erskine Childers
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Riddle of the Sands is set during the long suspicious years leading up to the First World War and is a classic of spy fiction.
-
-
A great read and excellent for the WWI centennial
- By Phebe on 01-29-14
By: Erskine Childers
-
Louisa May Alcott Box Set
- Little Women & Cousin Tribulation's Story
- By: Louisa May Alcott
- Narrated by: Museum Audiobooks cast
- Length: 21 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) was a novelist, short story writer and poet. The novel Little Women (1868) remains a beloved classic of children’s literature today. Loosely based on the lives of the author and her three sisters, the narrative follows the lives of the four March sisters, chronicling their passage from childhood to womanhood. "Cousin Tribulation's Story" is a short story about a family who wake up on Christmas morning to a sumptuous breakfast. Then they hear of an immigrant family with a sick mother who have nothing to eat.
-
Dombey and Son
- The Audible Dickens Collection
- By: John Mullan - introduction, Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Owen Teale, John Mullan - introduction
- Length: 41 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Audible presents an original dramatisation of Charles Dickens' Dombey and Son, first published as Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son: Wholesale, Retail and for Exportation. A literary masterpiece in which Dickens' gift for vivid characterisation is at its best, this is the story of a powerful man whose inability to appreciate those around him leads to his lonely demise and, later, his possible redemption.
-
-
Fabulous
- By Jodi on 05-01-21
By: John Mullan - introduction, and others
-
The Mill on the Floss
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Eileen Atkins
- Length: 19 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
'If life had no love in it, what else was there for Maggie?' The Mill on the Floss, first published in 1860, is considered one of George Eliot's most autobiographical works. Having formed a complex bond with her own family, George Eliot, now known to the public as Mary Ann Evans, depicts the loving yet volatile relationship between the Tulliver siblings and their doting father. Spanning over a period of 10 years, The Mill on the Floss follows the coming of age of the beautiful and idealistic Maggie.
-
-
Magnificent reading
- By In DC on 02-15-10
By: George Eliot
-
Hannay: His 5 Adventures
- By: John Buchan
- Narrated by: Graham Scott
- Length: 49 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Thirty-Nine Steps, Hannay struggles to thwart an assassination plot designed to hasten war between Britain and Germany. Later he is plucked from the trenches first, in Greenmantle, to frustrate a plot to ferment an uprising in the Islamic world; and then, in Mr. Standfast, to undertake a vital secret mission against a German spy ring operating among pacifist elements in England. After the war, his adventures continue in The Three Hostages; and then in The Island of Sheep, when an old oath to protect the son of a friend from his days in Africa draws him into new danger.
-
-
Values of a bygone era
- By Barbara on 03-16-24
By: John Buchan
-
Bleak House
- The Audible Dickens Collection
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Miriam Margolyes
- Length: 43 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This Audible Exclusive performance features a unique introduction written and narrated by Miriam Margolyes. Recognised as one of Dickens' most accomplished titles, Bleak House has impressed critics and audiences alike since it was first published in 1852. The novel boasts one of the most intelligent and engaging plots in all of English literature and is sure to engage the listener's imagination as it transports us back in time to the seedy, grimy and hazardous streets of Victorian London.
-
-
The Best Audiobook Ever?
- By MattB on 01-17-19
By: Charles Dickens
-
Anna of the Five Towns
- By: Arnold Bennett
- Narrated by: Peter Joyce
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in stifled, industrial Staffordshire in the late 19th century, against a strong evangelical background, Anna of the Five Towns tells of the courting of hard businessman Ephraim Tellright's daughter by prosperous and accomplished Henry Mynors. As her father's fortune grows, so does Anna understanding. She realises her legacy and responsibility for the possible ruination of her father's tenants, Titus Price and his son, Willie, who also loves her.
By: Arnold Bennett
-
Ruth
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Eve Matheson
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The orphaned heroine Ruth, apprenticed to a dressmaker, is seduced by wealthy Henry Bellingham who is captivated by her simplicity and beauty. Their affair causes her to lose her home and job to which he offers her shelter, only to cruelly abandon her soon after. She is offered a chance of a new life though shamed in the eyes of society by her illegitimate son. When Henry reappears offering marriage she must choose between social acceptance and her own pride.
-
-
Fallen Woman Finds Redemption
- By Susan on 12-06-12
-
Sherlock Holmes
- By: Arthur Conan Doyle, Stephen Fry - introductions
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 62 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever since he made his first appearance in A Study In Scarlet, Sherlock Holmes has enthralled and delighted millions of fans throughout the world. Now Audible is proud to present Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, read by Stephen Fry. A lifelong fan of Doyle's detective fiction, Fry has narrated the definitive collection of Sherlock Holmes - four novels and four collections of short stories. And, exclusively for Audible, Stephen has written and narrated eight insightful introductions, one for each title.
-
-
Chapter Guide!
- By Katya Rice on 05-25-18
By: Arthur Conan Doyle, and others
-
Barnaby Rudge
- The Audible Dickens Collection
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Jason Watkins
- Length: 31 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jason Watkins, the award-winning stage and screen actor best-known for his roles in The Lost Honour and A Very English Scandal, masterfully performs this brand-new recording of Barnaby Rudge; first published in 1841, it was Dickens’ fifth title and his first historical novel. Set against the backdrop of the Gordon Riots of 1780, Barnaby Rudge reflects back on a time of revolt against the British parliament, following the Catholic Relief Act of 1778.
-
-
History repeats
- By Amazon Customer on 03-07-23
By: Charles Dickens
What listeners say about Barchester Towers
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
- Janet
- 12-30-08
Read The Warden first
I would urge the reader to consider reading the first book in the Barchester series --The Warden--before reading this one. Although one could read Barchester Towers alone and enjoy it immensely, I think the relationships between the central characters are better enjoyed and savored more fully if one has read about them first in The Warden. (It's relatively short and very enjoyable.)
Still BT is an enjoyable read all by itself and the wonderfully amusing wry asides by the author truly made me laugh out loud. If you yearn for a simpler time, or delight in the very best novels of English country life from Austen to Pym, or simply love an English sentence well-turned, you will enjoy this book. The reader is excellent.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
47 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Vicente
- 09-11-09
Simply superb
The book itself, of course, is a perennial classic for its elegance and wit. Timothy West has comprehended the book magnificently and his reading of it is a triumph. Listening is sheer, unadulterated pleasure.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
20 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Charles Parselle
- 12-22-10
MARVELOUS VINTAGE WINE MARVELOUSLY POURED
What can one say about Anthony Trollope? He's one of the giants. My wife wouldn't be found dead reading him so it is clear that not everyone falls for him, but for those who love Trollope, Barchester Towers is one of the loveliest, though frankly there's nothing Trollopian I wouldn't read. With readings, the narrator is also critically important and here we have Timothy West, who in my opinion is as good as it gets. I think he is not entirely on the mark with Madeleine, but bear in mind this book has multiple characters. Timothy West does a terrific job differentiating them. He is better at men than at women - go figure - but he is overall so good that listening to this book was a pleasure from start to finish.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
16 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Nathaniel
- 02-12-11
The Warden/Barchester Towers
I listened to The Warden/Barchester Towers after listening to The Way We Live Now (my first Trollope venture) and for that reason, I believe, I was not as entranced with the first two Barsetshire novels as I was with my first. The books are similar, in that they deal with issues of the time and the affairs of the many characters found throughout the book, but upon starting the Barsetshire books I was lost from the beginning because of all the religious terminology. I had to do a bit of research on the subject before I continued so I would not be completely lost. The Warden should be listened to first to get the feel for some of the main characters of Barchester Towers. Like The Way We Live Now, Trollope develops great characters we can really care for and really dislike. Trollope’s characterization is what keeps me coming back for more. Regarding the story, it is entertaining and funny and sometimes slow and boring. Sometimes I had no idea what Trollope was going on about, but I always soon found myself back on track with the story and, having finished the story, feel that I didn’t miss that much when I was spacing out at the more tedious bits. Timothy West does an excellent job narrating and I must admit that his narration is another reason why I can’t quite give up on Trollope’s writing. After taking a little break, I attend on listening to Doctor Thorne and then, eventually, the rest of the series. All in all, this is pretty good story telling.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Merlin
- 07-07-10
Great book: very well read
Listening to this book convinced me that Trollope is a fine writer, and I plan to listen to many more of his works. In all cases I'll choose the Timothy West version. This reader is excellent. I especially like the way he conveys character through the various voices he uses. His Mr. Slope and Bishop Proudie are especially good.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- My Name
- 03-01-10
Superb
This is a terrific book and the narrator (Timothy West) is amazing in bringing the book to life. I didn't want it to end.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Darwin8u
- 02-24-20
Content to be Human
"Till we can become divine we must be content to be human, lest in our hurry for change we sink to something lower."
- Barchester Towers, Anthony Trollope
This was lovely. Barchester Towers in probably Trollope's best known and most popular work. It could stand alone, but really should be read after Warden as book 2 in the Barsetshire Series (six books). Trollope's prose is beautiful but his characters (good and bad; pretty and plain) are sketched with such nuance and understanding that two books in I feel like many of them are family.
This year, I committed to reading the six novels in the Chronicles of Barsetshire and the six novels that compose his Palliser series. After finishing book two, however, I'm about read to commit to reading all 47 of his novels PLUS his autobiography. I surprised my wife by joining The Trollope Society last night (£36) and feel it is inevitable that one of these days I'm going to have to explain to my lovely wife, my partner, my soul why 47 books just came here from London (you can order a very nice set of Trollope's complete novels for £950 + £50 for shipping to the US). It really does seem almost as inevitable as entropy. Unstoppable really. It might not be this week, this month, or this year, but it just seems easier to bite it in one chunk than collect these novels higgledy-piggledy.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jefferson
- 02-13-14
"I'll Slope him!" "I'll dean him!"
War in Barchester. The army invading the quiet cathedral town is spearheaded by the low church, hen-pecked, gormless new Bishop Proudie, his evangelical, despotic wife ("the she-bishop," the "Medea of Barchester"), and their odious, duplicitous, ambitious, bad-beef complexioned and clammy-handed chaplain Mr. Slope, who, fancying himself the true new Bishop of Barchester, plans to promote Sabbath-day schools and to throw the music and ceremony of the Anglican service out with the rubbish. The outraged local defending forces are comprised of the modest, mild, weak, but stubborn ex-Warden of Hiram's Hospital Mr. Harding, his arrogant, righteous, and hot-tempered Archdeacon son-in-law Dr. Grantly, and the high church "champion," the thoughtful former Oxford professor of poetry and new vicar of St. Ewold, Mr. Arabin. Amid the warfare run rumors of courtship: Eleanor Bold, the younger daughter of Mr. Harding, with a beloved baby son and 1200 pounds per year, is a very eligible widow for suitors calculating, feckless, or inexperienced. Also mixed in the conflict is the Stanhope family, back in Barchester after a twelve-year sojourn in Italy, during which the father, a prebendary of the cathedral, was catching butterflies while supposedly caring for his sore throat. The Stanhope son Bertie is a lazy, good-natured, and unprejudiced parasite, his sister Madeline (AKA La Signora Neroni) is a crippled, beautiful, arachnoid man-catcher with eyes bright as Lucifer's and compelling as a basilisk's, and the first-born daughter Charlotte does her best to enable the predilections of her younger siblings.
In his second Barchester Chronicles novel, Barchester Towers (1857), then, Anthony Trollope sets these colorful characters in play with and against each other in a largely unpredictable and wholly entertaining comedy of manners with much to say about mid-nineteenth-century gender, class, age, reform, religion, love, family, and novels, all in a way that is particularly Victorian British and universally human.
Trollope's writing is witty, elegant, suspenseful, knowing, allusive, and quotable. I enjoy, for example, his epic similes using classical literature, Elizabethan drama, or the Bible, as when he hilariously compares Mrs. Proudie to Achilles or Mr. Slope to Lady Macbeth. Trollope's narrator and characters say pithy things like:
"If honest men did not squabble for money in this wicked world of ours, the wicked men would get it all."
"A man must be an idiot or else an angel, who, after the age of forty shall attempt to be just to his neighbours."
"Gentlemen do not write to women about their tresses, unless they are on intimate terms."
"There is no happiness in love, except at the end of an English novel."
And Trollope relishes sympathetically mocking his characters, as when with heroic formality he encourages the Bishop to stand up to his wife:
"Now, bishop, look well to thyself, and call up all the manhood that is in thee. Think how much is at stake. If now thou art not true to thy guns, no Slope can hereafter aid thee. How can he who deserts his own colours at the final smell of gunpowder expect faith in any ally. Thou thyself hast sought the battlefield; fight out the battle manfully now thou art there. Courage, bishop, courage! Frowns cannot kill, nor can sharp words break any bones. After all the apron is thine own. She can appoint no wardens, give away no benefices, nominate no chaplains, an' thou art but true to thyself. Up, man, and at her with a constant heart."
The novel is not without a disappointment or two. Eleanor's sister-in-law Mary Bold has devolved from an intelligent and independent woman who writes reform-minded newspaper pieces in The Warden (1855), the first novel in his Chronicles, to a bland live-in nanny in Barchester Towers. And some things, naturally enough, feel dated, like the ideas that the ideal condition of wife and husband is for the woman to be a beautiful parasitic plant like ivy decorating a wall (the man) and that independence is a "heavy burden" for women.
But mostly I listened to Barchester Towers chuckling, grinning, and generally reveling in Trollope's characters, story, and prose and in Timothy West's virtuoso reading of them. As Juliet Stevenson was born to read Virgina Woolf, West was born to read Anthony Trollope. He's perfect with people young and old, high and low, male and female, and unlike Simon Vance reading The Warden, West's Eleanor has no irritating falsetto. His Mr. Slope (nasally unctuous), Mr. Harding (mild, good, and weak) and Signora Neroni (provocative ersatz Italian charm) are all wonderful.
Charles Dickens had crowded Trollope out of my life until I read The Warden, the first novel in his Chronicles, and was so delighted by it. Both authors write colorful and comical characters we care about, but while Dickens leans towards caricature, Trollope leans towards realism. Dickens' characters are often wholly good or wholly evil, while Trollope's are often very mixed indeed. (Compare Dickens' villain Uriah Heep with Trollope's Obadiah Slope.). Trollope feels less sentimental and melodramatic than Dickens, but after all they both wrote entertaining and page-turning, socially-conscious, humorous, and dramatic novels. I warmly urge fans of 19th century novels, especially readers familiar with Dickens but unfamiliar with Trollope, to read Barchester Towers. (Though both The Warden and Barchester Towers tell self-contained stories, reading the first book first would increase one's pleasure in the sequel.)
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Neil Chisholm
- 11-13-12
A complete delight
Barchester Towers could have been written by Jane Austen's granddaughter! It is filled with janeisms but set some 50 years later. Trollope has the observations, the wit and the overall gentle and genteel comedy of manners and misunderstandings that made Jane Austen's books so loved.
Even the characters are updated Austen characters, some with wonderful humorous names such as a father of 14 children being called Mr Quiverful and the social climbing farmers the Lookalofts. My personal favourate was Mr Slope who challenges Mr Collins from Pride and Prejudice as the most odious curate ever!
I love the direct appeals Trollope makes to the reader - it brings you right into the action and Timothy West is absolutely perfect as the narrator. I believe, some narrators are born to read a particular author, Juliet Stevenson is perfect for Jane Austen as Timothy West is for Trollope. A match made in heaven!
At the end of The Warden I wasn't sure about Trollope and not sure if the Barsetshire series had grabbed me. I can tell you now at the end of Barchester Towers that I am totally smitten with it - I have already downloaded the next in the chronicles and can't wait to start it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Too Happy
- 05-15-16
I thought I'd read all the classics.
It is wonderful to find this gem of a tale. I will immediately purchase the next book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful