Barchester towers - Anthony Trollope (Chronicles of Barsetshire #2)

Barchester Towers is the story of the church war that takes place between Mrs Proudie, the wife of Barsetshire’s newly installed bishop, and Mr Slope, the sly, scheming chaplain.

In the traditional society of Barsetshire, Dr Grantly, who has hoped to succeed his father as bishop, must suffer the indignity of seeing the post go to the ‘Low Church’ Dr Proudie at the instigation of the new Whig government. When Mr Quiverful is made Warden of Hiram’s Hospital contrary to Slope and Grantly’s wishes, the battle for social supremacy becomes increasingly heated until it reaches a scandalous conclusion.

With its warm humour and cleverly drawn characters, Barchester Towers has become Anthony Trollope’s most famous novel. First published in 1857, it is the second of the Chronicles of Barsetshire.