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The Complete Barchester Chronicles  By  cover art

The Complete Barchester Chronicles

By: Anthony Trollope
Narrated by: Alex Jennings,Amanda Root,Anna Massey,Brenda Blethyn,David Haig,Eleanor Bron,Emma Fielding,full cast,Kenneth Cranham,Leo McKern,Rosemary Leach,Simon Russell Beale
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Publisher's summary

The acclaimed BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Anthony Trollope's gently satirical tales of provincial life

One of the most respected, successful chroniclers of nineteenth-century life, Anthony Trollope is still widely read and much-loved today. The Barchester Chronicles - witty moral comedies with a wonderful range of characters - are among his most popular tales.

The first in the series, The Warden, finds Rev. Harding forced to question the moral basis of the life he is leading; and in the sequel, Barchester Towers, the Reverend is now plain Mr Harding, bound up in a tale of intrigue, hypocrisy and ambition that will delight the listener.

Dr Thorne is a gripping drama of wealth and wedlock; while Framley Parsonage tells the story of a naive, ambitious young clergyman whose unwise associations bring him to the brink of ruin. The Small House at Allington explores the power of devotion, in the form of Lily Dale’s love for self-seeking Adolphus Crosbie.

Finally, The Last Chronicle of Barset sees the most popular characters from Trollope’s earlier novels, including the Proudies, Lily, Mr Harding and Archdeacon Grantly, reunited in a moving tale of honesty triumphing over hypocrisy.

Nearly twenty hours of ironic, witty and wonderfully written drama is contained in this collection. With a star cast including Brenda Blethyn, Eleanor Bron, Kenneth Cranham, Anna Massey, Leo McKern, Simon Russell Beale, Amanda Root, Alex Jennings, David Haig, Rosemary Leach and Emma Fielding, it is guaranteed to appeal to all fans of Trollope’s comic masterpieces.

©2008 BBC Audiobooks Ltd (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks Ltd

What listeners say about The Complete Barchester Chronicles

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Who would have thought I'd like this?

I never read Trollope, although I have read most of his contemporaries. He just never seemed very interesting - and the idea of books about church politics - in the 19th century - in England!, well, it didn't seem appealing. But the BBC always does good work and I was desperate for a good read.
Eureka! This is a wonderful set of 'dramatisations' - the characters voices are well differentiated and the story is engorssing. If you like Dickens or Eliot - I think you'll like this.

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36 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Anthony Trollope's Small Affairs

This is a BBC production. What else could better express the excellence of this audio book? The music and performances are perfect. This version is even more accessible than the unabridged audio book. I think this is a result from the slimming down of the original while remaining true to the storyline. The story includes The Warden, Doctor Thorne and The Final Chronicles of Barset. This production fairly zips along without losing any essential element of the story during the dramatization process. It is an ambitious undertaking and faultless executed.

From one point of view, this is a story with strong willed women and is peppered with men with their usual failings. There are delicious misunderstandings about who is to marry whom. The intramural quarrels were fortunately conducted without resort to swords, axes, guns or bombs. In particular, I loved the proposal scene where Mrs. Bolts slaps the face of the odious Mr. Slope. If any man deserved a good solid slap, it was he. This is a thoroughly enjoyable performance to the very last line.

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35 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great AudioBook

A Great listen, I throughly enjoyed listening to this book. All of the characters were distinctly individual. Loved the way all of the stories were smoothly intertwined. The romantic entanglements and life dramas were a listening pleasure. I will listen to this book again and again.

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28 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

If you like Jane Austen and are looking for something funny and engaging, I think you may enjoy this. The dramatisation works very well and the actors are uniformly excellent.

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25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

The complete Barchester Chronicles

As I love the TV adaption of the Chronicles of Barchester I looked forward to listening to this audiobook. I didn't realise the TV show just covered the first part of these chronicles. The fact that I was familiar with the story made the first Chronicle more enjoyable - I loved it. Now I plan to listen to them all again as I think the more familiar one becomes with the story the more one can follow the many characters.

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20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

I listened to this brilliant performance after the completion of the series. The acting and script are excellent. Lots of humour are evoked by the performance and I found it to be highly entertaining and faithful to Trollope's work. Excellent.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Well dramatized

Witty, sweet, bucolic British dramatization of all 5 of Trollope's Barchester books. Easy listening but without the detail and nuances of the full books. An excellent and lovely, although severe, abridgment.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Life never changes..

The narrators and actors were very good. I could not believe I was riveted by the story. I am now looking for more Trolope. Excellent story teller

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best ever!

Just wonderful on every level. Faithful to the books, yet creative and engrossing. BRAVO! Episodes are seamless and flow well.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Book

Would you listen to The Complete Barchester Chronicles (Dramatisation) again? Why?

This was a fantastic book

What other book might you compare The Complete Barchester Chronicles (Dramatisation) to and why?

NA

What does Anna Massey and Alex Jennings bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

NA

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, it is a long book, but definitely worth the Time

Any additional comments?

Would buy more in this series. Highly recommend

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6 people found this helpful