So great to listen to you discuss your enjoyment of these and praising them! I still have to read the final two books in the series but have enjoyed what I’ve read so much. I agree the second is one of the strongest. And I also wouldn’t have thought I’d enjoy books which are so concerned about church leaders, but of course there’s so many other excellent characters as well. Thanks for this!
Thank you. Barchester Towers is so funny and lively. It really hooked me in the series. Who knew the English clergy and the people of a small community could be so interesting?!
I finished this series last year and LOVED it! I became so immersed in the story, time, and especially the characters. Trollope is the master of characterization; I felt I knew these wonderful, complex, fleshed out people intimately.
Great recap, Brian! (Mary T here, I changed my YT handle a few weeks ago.) You refreshed my memory for each of the Barset novels. It’s always a pleasure to hear another reader express their pleasure in having read a book you wholeheartedly enjoyed as well. Because of the humor, if the six, I enjoyed “Barchester Towers” the most. By the time all the threads were pulled together in “The Last Chronicle…” my patience with Lily Dale 🙄, John Eames & Adolphus Crosbie had worn pretty thin. However, I definitely enjoyed reading the series. Trollope had fun with the ultimate interplay between Mrs Proudie and the Archbishop & co. (The BBC series is very good. It is based on the first two novels. Alan Rickman is amazing as Obediah Slope and Donald Pleasance is perfectly cast as Septimus Harding.)
Hi Mary!! I feel the same about Barchester Towers. The Lily Dale - John Eames saga is wearying. Who do you blame more , Lily or John. I blame John the most.
Great summing up/ review of this wonderful series of books. I read them all many years ago and am now re reading - just finishing Doctor Thorne. I also like Barchester Towers best and just love the names. Mrs Proudie is pretty scary! But interesting that working through her husband was the only way a woman could exercise any power ( and of course the bishop just liked to have a comfortable life so he let her rule the parish and make decisions!😂) the curate Mr Slope is so odious you just cheer when he gets his comeuppance!
I’ve read these books many times and love them so much. I am an atheist and probably have no standing to say this, but I think Septimus Harding embodies what a good Christian is supposed to be. I always read Trollope in times of stress and he never lets me down. The Palliser novels are wonderful as well. I also recommend Orley Farm. A lawyer once told me that it was lawyers’ favorite Trollope novel.
I love Trollope. Have read 22 of his 47 novels and liked almost all. My favorites are the two last ones of Barsetshire but Palliser series is also very good.The focus here is politics, another great interest of Trollope. For me he is like an old friend, a really confort reading with good writing. I suggest you The American Senator, a stand-alone not so big and very funny. Nice video!
Thank you for the recommendation. I have heard of The American Senators so I will be on the lookout for it. I definitely plan to try the Palliser series.
I have a DVD of The Barchester Chronicles from the BBC. Nigel Hawthorne, Geraldine McEwan and Alan Rickman give unforgettable performances. It's hilarious.
I love this series so much! The characters are like family to me and you definitely see the full range of humanity in his books. They are hard to put down because you want to know what happens. I find Trollope easier to read than other Victorian authors. I just finished the Palliser series and I thought I didn’t like them as much but the last two books are outstanding and I will miss them.
I'm glad to see your review of the series. I'm up to Doctor Thorne. I may not finish the series until 2026, but I'm enjoying going slow. Yes, the character names are so great.
Love the Chronicles. I went on and read the six books in the Palliser series and they are just as good, swapping out the church for contemporary British politics. Highly recommended.
I'm right at the beginning, in the middle of The Warden right now, a buddy read with Sonya. I'm also enjoying the timeless commentary on the power of the media with all the concern about The Jupiter. I'm stopping noe for fear of spoilers!
I can’t believe I have not read this series yet-but I think it will be on my 2025 plan. I absolutely loved The Warden, but somehow have not gone forward yet. (I have read some other Trollope and like his narrative style very much.)
I still have Vol. II on my list or TBR. But the fact is I couldn’t stand _The Warden_ which makes me (almost) the only person on BookTube who feels that way.
Well of course I’ve heard of Trollope but I didn’t know anybody actually read stuff like that any more. And u read ALL six volumes! Congrats. Sorry don’t mean to sound snippy, Just a little surprised but got to give it to u you’re a real trooper. Be well.⚛️❤
I know you say you don't read a lot of fantasy, but this certainly feels like a fantasy epic... Sure, it's missing a few sword fights and a patina of magic, but the continual drama between not just individuals but families, dynasties, and institutions of state or religious control - it all sounds pretty familiar!
I have never understood the enthusiasm some people feel for Trollope. For me he's the ultimate Victorian bore, spinning out words to fill those huge three-deckers and never producing anything exciting or interesting enough to cause controversy in his era. They're just fat volumes that fill up space on the bookshelf. Dickens, for all his many faults, has a liveliness and ambition that the old slug Trollope never even approaches.
