My obsession with Trollope continues. Having read my way almost to the end of the Barchester Chronicles, I decided to rewind almost to the beginning, with a re-read of this, actually the second novel in the series (The Warden being the first). This was partly because, having encountered several people in Framley Parsonage who I knew had appeared originally in the earlier novels, I wanted to refresh my memory of what they were like in younger days. And also, to be honest, I'm slightly afraid of reaching the end (one more left to read, The Last Chronicle of Barset) and wanted to spin out my pleasure a bit longer.
If you are very old, or very addicted to watching old TV series, you may remember a rather wonderful adaptation of the first two novels, done by the BBC in 1982. I've been catching up on this via YouTube and there are some very fine performances in it -- Alan Rickman as Mr Slope, Nigel Hawthorne as Mr Grantley, and more besides. But of course any adaptation, however fine and true to the original, can never match the brilliant subtlety of the original. Here we have the terrible ructions in the cathedral city of Barchester that follow the appointment of a new Bishop, Bishop Proudie. A weak and foolish man, Dr Proudie is completely under the thumb of his domineering wife, and of her protegee the ghastly Obidiah Slope. Mrs Proudie and Slope are of the 'low church' persuasion, and, believing that the cathedral is shockingly high church, set about an attempt to reform it.
Probably the religious conflicts will not mean much to many readers today, but the way they manifest in the community is as fascinating, and even nail-biting, as it ever was. Slope and Mrs Proudie are determined to prevent Mr Harding, the old Warden of the cathedral's alms house, Hiram's Hospital, from being re-elected, and want to replace him with Mr Quiverful, a neighbouring clergyman who they think they can manipulate. At the same time Slope, perhaps rather inconveniently, decides he wants to marry Mr Harding's widowed daughter, Elinor Bold. But while he is courting Elinor, he falls under the spell of Madeline Neroni, the beautiful crippled daughter of Dr Stanhope, a Prebendary of the cathedral who has, however, lived for twelve years in Italy...
The twists and turns, the conflicts and reversals, are manifold, and extremely entertaining. But, as I've said before, I really love Trollope for the way he pops into the narrative from time to time to address the reader on his own practice and methods.
But let the gentle hearted reader be under no apprehension whatsoever. It is not destined that Eleanor will marry Mr Slope or Bertie Stanhope. Perhaps it may be allowed the novelist to explain his views on a very important point on the right of telling tales. He ventures to reprobate that system which goes so far to violate all proper confidence between the author and his reader by maintaining nearly to he end of the first volume a mystery as to the end of their favorite personage.
I also love him for his understanding of psychology, and of the way he sees so clearly how people's lives can be so much influenced for the worse by misunderstandings and the failure to be honest and clear about their own thoughts and feelings. And for his great sympathy for women, who he portrays with so much empathy and admiration.
All that being said, it did seem to me that Trollope developed as a novelist over the twelve years between the first and last of the Barchester novels. If you asked me what made me think this I would not be able to say precisely right now, but this one seemed to me to be in some way slightly less mature -- perhaps it was something to do with the rather larger prevalence of satire in the sub-plots, which, though quite entertaining, sometimes seemed a little overdone?
Be that as it may, I am now part way through Trollope's great satirical novel, The Way We Live Now -- quite a different cup of tea, but very enthralling in its own way. So watch this space.
