The Warden: The first book in Anthony Trollope's Chronicles of Barsetshire series of six novels

The first novel of Trollopes Chronicles of Barsetshire series this work introduces the fictional cathedral town of Barchester and many of its clerical inhabitants. Originally published in 1855 the story centers on Mr. Septimus Harding who has been granted the comfortable wardenship of Hirams Hospital an almshouse from a medieval charity of the diocese. Mr. Harding a fundamentally good man and an excellent musician conscientiously fulfills his duties to the twelve elderly occupants of the hospital. He also cares for his younger daughter Eleanor who is in love with a young doctor named John Bold. The misfortunes of Harding begin when Bold becomes an enthusiastic reformer and endeavors to expose the great disparity in the allotment of Hirams antiquated charity funds. This leads to a sequence of events that he becomes powerless to stop from the editorials of Tom Towers in The Jupiter to the legal interference of Archdeacon Grantly. he novel is a thoughtful description of clerical life infused with the romance of a young couple which combines to form a novel with a melancholy conclusion.Anthony Trollope (/ˈtrɒləp/ 24 April 1815 - 6 December 1882) was an English novelist of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire which revolves around the imaginary county of Barsetshire. He also wrote novels on political social and gender issues and other topical matters.Trollopes literary reputation dipped somewhat during the last years of his life [2] but he had regained the esteem of critics by the mid-20th century.