Barchester Towers cover art

Barchester Towers

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Barchester Towers

By: Anthony Trollope
Narrated by: Simon Vance
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $31.99

Buy Now for $31.99

About this listen

 This magnificent novel, sequel to The Warden and second in the Chronicles of Barsetshire, satirizes the struggle for ascendancy among the clergy of a cathedral city. The contest is between the outgoing church authorities led by Archdeacon Grantly and the newcomers led by Mrs. Proudie and her protégé, the ambitious Mr. Obadiah Slope. Each wishes to become the dominant voice in the quiet diocese of Barchester, and they contend for the newly vacant post of warden of Hiram's Hospital.

The truth is that Barchester's leadership is really concerned with social rather than spiritual or moral issues. These intrigues, entwined through the lives of many memorable characters, provide a humorous backdrop for exploring the clash between the old and new ways in Victorian England.

(P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc. Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Witty
All stars
Most relevant  
First time experience of Anthony Trollope - loved the characters and the humour of this book - never bored despite the length - looking forward hearing more. Simon Vance did an excellent job as narrator. Well worth listening to.

An enjoyable experience

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved that even though it's 160 years since it was written, all the same human foibles and folly of humankind are there like it was written today. Trollope keeps his reader (listener) in his confidence and speakers to him in little pieces of commentary, like someone "breaking the fourth wall" in film.
He laughs at humanity and pomposity and had very obvious lines and dislikes of some of his characters.
I really enjoyed it and the narrator was excellent

The charm and humour of Trollope

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
There's more than an element of contrivance in Trollope's plotting but the satirical edge is very enjoyable and often seems quite modern. Slope is a great comic creation as are Mrs Proudie and the archdeacon. They verge a little on caricature but they're fun to be around.
Simon Vance is my favourite reader and this is as good as his excellent work on the Anthony Powell Dance to the Music of Time series.

The pleasure of satire

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.