'In the writing of Barcherter Towers I took great delight,' Anthony Trollope recalls in An Autobiography.I Born in 1815, Trollope did not have a childhood filled with delight. His father's business as a barrister,and his attempts to farm, failed. His family, used to poverty, was eventually supported by his mother, Frances, who, late in life, turned to writing. Trollope experienced hard times at home and miserable schooldays at Harrow and W~mchester. 'I feel convinced in my mind that I have been flogged oftener than any other human being alive,' he wrote.……

Barchcster Towers is the second of Trollopes six Barsetshire novels, following on directly from The Warden, though each novel is complete in itself.The political intrigues of tile cathedral close unfold and we are delighted by the dominant Mrs Proudie, wife of the ineffectual Bishop: the scheming Chaplain, Obadiah Slope: and the worldly and ambitious Archdeacon Granth. We meet again, from The Warden, the kindly old Mr Harding, and his daughter, Eleanor, now newly widowed.

Trollopes comic genius and ironic wit reveal a past world, which is nevertheless recognisable today.

INTRODUCTION

Who Will Be the New Bishop?

Hiram"s Hospital According to Act of Parliament

Dr and Mrs Proudie

The Bishop"s Chaplain

A Morning Vuit

War

The Dean and Chapter Take Counsel

The Ex-Warden Rejoices in his Probable Return to the Hospital

The Stanhope Family

Mrs Proudie" s Reception- Conunoced

Mrs Proudie"s Reception - Concluded

Slope Versus Harding

The Rubbish Cart

The New Champion

The Widow"s Suitors

Baby Worship

Who Shall Be Cock of the Walk?

The Widow"s Persecution

Barchester by Moonlight

Mr Arabin

St Ewold"s Parsonage

The Thornes of Ullatborne

Mr Arabin Reads Himself in at St Ewold"s

Mr Slope Manages Matters Very Cleverly at Pnddingdale

Fourteen Arguments in Favour of Mr Quiverfurs Claims

Mrs Proudie Wrestles and Gets a Fall

A Love Scene

Mrs Bold is Entertained by Dr and Mrs Grantly at Plumstead

A Serious Interview

Another Love Scene

The Bishop"s Library

A New Candidate for Ecclesiastical Honours

Mrs Proudie Victrix

Oxford- the Master and Tutor of Lazarus

Miss Thorne"s F&e Champ&re

Ullathorne Sports-Act I

The Signora Neroni, the Countess De Courey, and Mrs Prondie Meet Each Other at Ullathorne

The Bishop Sits Down to Breakfast and the Dean Dies

The Lookalofts and the Greenacres

Ullathorne Sports - Act II

Mrs Bold Confides her Sorrow to Her Friend Miss Stanhope

Ullathorne Sports - Act Ⅲ

Mr and Mrs Quiverful Are Made Happy, Mr Slope is Encouraged by the Press

Mrs Bold at Home

The Stanhopes at Home

Mr Slope"s Parting Interview with the Signora

The Dean Elect

Miss Thorne Shows her Talent at Match-Making

The Belzebub Colt

The Archdeacon is Satisfied with the State of Affairs

Mr Slope Bids Farewell to the Palace and its Inhabitants

The New Dean Takes Possession of the Deanery, and the New Warden of the Hospital

Conclusion

NOTES