The Warden (1855) is the first chronicle of Barset, and Trollope’s fourth novel. Septimus Harding is the eponymous warden with responsibility for Hiram’s Hospital, an almshouse containing a dozen bedesmen, who have clearly exceeded their fixed period. The post of warden is essentially a sinecure, as Harding is required to do virtually nothing in return for his comfortable home and salary of £800. His quiet and predictable existence is disturbed, however, when he unexpectedly becomes the centre of a public controversy.
John Bold, a zealous young doctor, appears on the scene, determined to reform the system by exposing the hypocrisy of Harding’s position through the pages of the crusading Jupiter (based on The Times). In so doing, he upsets Harding’s daughter, Eleanor, with whom is desperately in love, and realises he must choose between her and his principles. Harding, meanwhile, has to examine his conscience and decide whether he can justify his position in the face of accusations of greed. He battles to reconcile his public and private roles, and to find inner peace amongst the turmoil into which he is thrown. Even after Bold loses his appetite for battle, the scandal has taken on its own terrifying momentum, with long-lasting ramifications for everyone.
The novel mainly concerns itself with Harding’s conflicting emotions, as he tries to act honourably while facing considerable pressure from all sides and incessant interference from his comically ambitious son-in-law, Archdeacon Grantly. Harding’s teleological experience is intensely moving, and the reader cannot help but feel sympathy for the man, even if his situation appears untenable. Trollope expertly pits the forces of conservatism and reform against one another, and deftly avoids taking sides. Although he is keen to expose the abuse of privilege in the Church of England, he is equally critical of the implacable reformers, caricaturing them remorselessly in the figures of Dr Pessimist Anticant and Mr Popular Sentiment.
I must confess to having started reading The Warden well over a decade ago, and then abandoned it in disgust. My elderly self, however, enjoyed it immensely, at least once the narrative got going. The novel is generally hated by everyone except inveterate Trollopians, but I would urge those who enjoy his other novels to give it another go. The opening chapters are, it must be said, a tad tedious, but thereafter the story is truly engrossing, and Harding is a beautifully drawn hero. On finishing it, I immediately reached for Barchester Towers.
The Warden by Anthony Trollope