Barchester Towers

<p>This 1857 sequel to <i>The Warden</i> wryly chronicles the struggle for control of the English diocese of Barchester. It opens with the Bishop of Barchester lying on his death bed; soon a battle begins over who will take over power with key players including the rather incompetent Dr Proudie his fiendishly unpleasant wife and his slippery curate Slope. This is a wonderfully rich novel in which men and women are too shy to tell each other of their love; misunderstandings abound; and Church of England officials are only too willing to undermine each other in the battle for power. It is a dazzlingly real portrayal of 19th-century provincial England peppered with humor wisdom and extraordinary characters.</p>