Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: The Warden (Oxford World's Classics) by Anthony Trollope, Michael Sadleir, Frederick Page, Edward Ardizzone ISBN: 0-19-283408-8 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.57 (7 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Excellent introduction to Trollope
Comment: I read "Barchester Towers" which is the sequel to this some years ago, and I must confess that whilst I liked it I found it very padded out in the second half. "The Warden" is a shorter and in my opinion a superior book. It is the first of the Barchester series and it makes an excellent introduction to Trollope's work. It tells of a dispute that arises between the Church of England and reformers over the rights of the warden of a hospital to the excess proceeds of the land which funds the hospital. In modern terms the hospital is a kind of retirement home for poor workers. 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 defend the rights of the church, but are content with legal technicalities. This turns into a great public scandal, and the warden Mr Harding suffers a moral dilemma over whether he really is entitled to the money. Trollope looks at both sides of the dispute dispassionately. His sympathies are with the warden who is shown to be the only person who really cares about the wellbeing of the hospital residents. Things are complicated by the fact that Dr Grantly is married to one of Mr Harding's daughters and John Bold is in love with the other. For those such as myself who are more familiar with the works of Charles Dickens it is interesting to see 19th century England from a different (more conservative) perspective. The novel also includes a satire of Dickens via a character called Mr Popular Sentiment.
Rating: 5
Summary: Very modern theme
Comment: In a world where ostensibly not-for-profit universities have amassed assets of, in at least one case, more than $20 billion, this book is very relevant. Trollope asks whether there is anything wrong with being a ridiculously rich non-profit organization with staff that soaks up most of the money intended for the folks whom the organization was created to assist. Well is there?
Rating: 3
Summary: A Man of Conscience
Comment: Trollope's debut novel about a man of conscience proved the first of a series set in fictional Barchester. Despite its slow start due to extensive exposition, the story gradually unfolds until the three main characters rush off to London--that great resolver of country crises. There is much internal debate as the "disinterested victim" ponders his comfortable situation. His quiescent conscience slowly awakens to a possible moral injustice, as a result of a sincere lawsuit provoked by an ardent reformer--in tune with 19th century England's mood for social reform. Two outside forces combine to make Mr. Warding's
existence miserable: the ponderous process of the Law (as represented by Sir Abraham Haphazard) and the unbridled power of the Press (in the person of Tom Towers, that "compounder of thunderbolts").
Rev. Septimus Harding at 50 is a mild-mannered Cathedral preceptor, who also serves as warden to a charity hospital for 12 aged men who are no longer able to earn their keep. Far from stealing anything from them, he has acutally increased their daily allowance from his own purse, but the mood of reform which sweeps the nation has caught even Barchester in its pitiless scrutiny. The press condemns; the young reformer (who is coincidentally the suitor of Harding's younger daughter) sets in motion the legal machinery which will surely topple this 400-year-old Injustice.
Now for the critical debate: does the State have the right to dictate to the Church how it shall spend its monies? Is temporal authority to tread upon, investigate, and demand reform in sacred matters? Is there no sanctity of the cathedral Close? Gentle Harding becomes trapped in the middle of this public debate--his heart smitten with personal pain in case he has inadvertently committed great wrong through merely doing his best for the men in his kindly care. Bullied by the Archdeacon, his overbearing son-on-law, the Warden embarks on a moral journey to find peace of mind. His only consolations are his devoted daughter (who denies her own heart in order to remain loyal to her tormented
father) and his aged friend, the Bishop, who is embarrassed but powerless before his pompous son, the Archdeacon. How can such a public outcry be appeased; how can true justice be done for the old beadsmen? Yet, must a man sacrifice his conscience for
the good of others?
Tropllope warns of the dangers of the pen: both the ruthless Press and the more subtle but effective novelist. It is difficult to stay the course of the pendulum of reform once it has been set in motion, as John Bold regretfully
discovers. This is a short intense novel of personal conviction and moral courage, a classic for thoughtful readers. The author provides hints into his characters' personalities by their very names, as did Dickens. [One wonders how such a church vs state situation would be handled today. Alabama courthouse.}
 |
Title: Barchester Towers (Oxford World's Classics) by Anthony Trollope, John Sutherland, Michael Sadleir, Frederick Page, Edward Ardizzone ISBN: 0192834320 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: May, 1998 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
 |
Title: Doctor Thorne (Everyman Paperback Classics) by Anthony Trollope, James Kincaid ISBN: 046087604X Publisher: Everymans Library Pub. Date: 01 December, 1997 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
 |
Title: The Small House at Allington by Anthony Trollope, Julian Thompson ISBN: 0140433252 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: June, 1991 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
 |
Title: Framley Parsonage (Penguin English Library) by Anthony Trollope, David Skilton, Peter Miles ISBN: 0140432132 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: January, 1985 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
 |
Title: The Last Chronicle of Barset (Everyman Paperback Classics) by Anthony Trollope, David Skilton, David Cardiff ISBN: 0460872346 Publisher: Everymans Library List Price(USD): $6.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
