Chronicles of Barsetshire
Eleanor and John get married and Mr Harding resigns as Warden of Hiram's Hospital to become Rector of St. Cuthbert's Church on a much reduced income.
While Mary appears to have no fortune, she is actually the illegitimate niece of the millionaire Sir Roger Scatcherd, a fact known only to Doctor Thorne.
[8][11][12] In an attempt to make connections with high society, young vicar Mark Robarts foolishly guarantees a loan to a corrupt member of Parliament, Nate Sowerby.
When Mr Sowerby does not repay the loan, Mark’s friend Lord Lufton eventually steps in and saves Robarts from financial disaster.
Another subplot features the marriage of Doctor Thorne and the wealthy Miss Dunstable, who was initially the choice of Frank Gresham’s family.
Upon hearing this, Johnny Eames, lifelong admirer of Lily Dale, beats up Crosbie in an act of which promotes him to local hero.
John Eames continues his unsuccessful pursuit of Lily Dale, while the beloved former Warden, Mr Harding, dies of old age.
[8][17][18] While working at the General Post Office, Trollope travelled through the English countryside, witnessing the conventions of rural life and the politics surrounding the church and the manor house.
[20] While The Warden was intended as a one-off work,[3] Trollope returned to Barsetshire for the setting of its sequel Barchester Towers.
In his autobiography, he explained that by "placing Framley Parsonage near Barchester, I was able to fall back upon my old friends",[20] hence forming the fourth Chronicle of Barsetshire.
[28] It was released serially between 1866 and 1867 and published as a 2-volume work in 1867 by Smith, Elder & Co.[28] There is little to suggest that Anthony Trollope ever planned to write these six novels collectively as the Chronicles of Barsetshire.
[4] In his autobiography, he notes that after releasing The Last Chronicle of Barset, he wished for a "combined republication of those tales which are occupied within the fictitious county of Barsetshire".
As R. C. Terry writes, "the ironies embedded in the novel achieve their full effect only when one considers the entire Barsetshire series".
As The Examiner (1867) wrote, "the public should have these Barsetshire novels extant, not only as detached works, but duly bound, lettered, and bought as a connected series".
Terry argues that the series does "not reveal all of Trollope’s skills" [26] while A. O. J. Cockshut believes it is "simple in conception" and "not fully characteristic of his genius".
The London Review (1867) stated "we have thoroughly accepted the reality of their existence",[30] while The Athenaeum (1867) wrote, "if the reader does not believe in Barsetshire and all who live therein […] the fault is not in Mr Trollope, but in himself".
Similarly, Nathaniel Hawthorne claimed it was "as if some giant had hewn a great lump out of the earth and put it under a glass case, with all its inhabitants going about their daily business".
[21] Moreover, Arthur Pollard argues that setting these novels within "the clerical community" was "a brilliant choice" as it was "the central concern in the eyes of the nation".
[30] Similarly, critic Walter Allen claimed that Trollope has "little skill in plot construction",[35] while Stephen Wall suggested the outcome of The Small House at Allington "is visible early on".
In her essay, Mary Poovey draws on an example from The Warden, where Trollope offers his own insight into the character of Archdeacon Grantly – "our narrative has required that we should see more of his weakness than his strength".
[37] The Saturday Review (1861) refers to this as his "petty trick of passing a judgment on his own fictitious personages",[30] while The Leader (1855) argued that because of such judgement "the 'illusion of the scene' is invariably perilled".
[30] Similarly, Henry James referred to Trollope as having a "suicidal satisfaction in reminding the reader that the story he was telling was only, after all, make-believe".
She suggests this was both "a response to changes in Trollope's novelistic practice" and "a departure from an earlier critical consensus" regarding the use of a personal, narrative voice.
[49] While Thirkell introduced her own characters, she also incorporates members of Trollope's Barsetshire families, including the Crawleys, Luftons, Grantlys and Greshams.
[50] A writer for The New York Times (2008) suggested that "Unlike Trollope, Thirkell is uninterested in money and politics" but is instead, "interested in love".
[51] Another early sequel was Barchester Pilgrimage, by the renowned priest, novelist and theologian Ronald Knox, following the children and grandchildren of Trollope's characters.
