An omnibus edition of the complete "Chronicles of Barsetshire", written by the English author Anthony Trollope between 1855 and 1867. The omnibus contains the following books:
The Warden
The tranquil atmosphere of the cathedral town of Barchester is shattered when a scandal breaks concerning the financial affairs of a Church-run almshouse for elderly men. In the ensuing furore, Septimus Harding, the almshouse's well-meaning warden, finds himself pitted against his daughter's suitor, John Bold, a zealous local reformer. Matters are not improved when Harding's abrasive son-in-law, Archdeacon Grantly, leaps into the fray to defend him against a campaign Bold begins in the national press.
Barchester Towers
After the death of the bishop of Barchester, a bitter struggle begins over who will succeed him, and resentment and suspicion threaten to cause deep divisions within the diocese. Trollope's masterly depiction of the plotting and back-stabbing that ensue lies at the heart of one of the most vivid and comic of his Barchester novels.
Doctor Thorne
Son of a bankrupt land-owner, Frank Gresham is intent on marrying his beloved Mary Thorne, despite her illigitimacy and apparent poverty. Frank's ambitious mother and haughty aunt are set against the match, however, and push him to save the family estate by making a good marriage to a wealthy heiress. A telling examination of the relationship between society, money, and morality.
Framley Parsonage
Mark Robarts is a clergyman with ambitions beyond his small country parish. In a naive attempt to mix in influential circles, he agrees to guarantee a bill for a large sum of money for his disreputable local Member of Parliament, but the unscrupulous politician reneges on his financial obligations, and Mark must face the consequences.
The Small House at Allington
Engaged to the ambitious and self-serving Adolphus Crosbie, Lily Dale is devastated when he jilts her for the aristocratic Lady Alexandrina. Although crushed by his faithlessness, Lily still believes herself bound to her former fiancee and therefore condemned to remain single, so that when a more deserving suitor arrives, she is unable to see past her feelings for Crosbie.
The Last Chronicle of Barset
When Reverend Josiah Crawley uses a large cheque to pay his debts, he is accused of theft. Shamed before the entire community, his world begins to crumble and he even questions his own sanity. A devastatingly realistic portrait of a man's anguished nightmare of self-doubt, and the effects of poverty.
EDIT: 31 Oct 2009
Thoroughly proof-read "The Warden" against the Penguin Classics edition. Uploaded v2.
EDIT: 22 Nov 2009
Thoroughly proof-read "Barchester Towers" against the Penguin Classics edition. Uploaded v3.
EDIT: 10 Jan 2010
Proof-read "Doctor Thorne" against the Penguin Classics edition.
Lots of errors in this one, including a couple of missing lines and paragraphs. Uploaded v4.
EDIT: 7 Feb 2010
Proof-read "Framley Parsonage" against the Penguin Classics edition. Fixed a significant number of errors, and restored the much shorter paragraphs of the original
Cornhill Magazine version of the text, which Trollope much preferred to the longer amalgamated paragraphs used in the subsequent novelisation. Uploaded v5.
EDIT: 16 Dec 2010
Thoroughly proofed both "The Small House at Allington" and "The Last Chronicle of Barset" against their respective "Penguin Classics" editions. Renamed the book from "The Barchester Chronicles" to "The Chronicles of Barsetshire" to reflect the conventional naming of the series. I would now regard this book as "complete"; if you find any remaining errors, please let me know. Uploaded v6.
Previous download count: 289
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