‘The Warden’ tells the story of a chapter in the life of Mr Septimus Harding, warden of Hiram’s Hospital and precentor of Barchester cathedral. (Readers requiring an explanation of the term ‘precentor’ may already be getting the impression that they are not the target audience for this novel). An introduction of this kind would normally refer to the “adventures of Mr Septimus..” etc but readers of Trollope will expect no such thing. Adventure, indeed incident, is devoid from this novel. Trollope almost seems to disdain the need for such things. Portraits, conversations, lectures – these are the principal building blocks of ‘The Warden’.

Hiram’s Hospital is an almshouse supported by a medieval charitable bequest. The charity’s income maintains the almshouse and its twelve elderly residents. The bequest is unclear as to what should happen to any surplus, and by tradition it has been treated as income for the hospital’s warden. Harding was appointed to the post of Warden by the Bishop of Barchester, and old friend and the father of Archdeacon Grantly, husband of Harding’s daughter, Susan.

The story such as it is revolves around the impact of a campaign to make the distribution of the charity’s income fairer. While the income from the estate has gone up significantly the spend on the bedesmen has hardly changed, leaving all the surplus to go to the Warden. A lawsuit is begun, to the distress of many involved.

Compromise seems alien to the language of those involved. The idea of recognising that the spirit of the bequest is no longer being complied with, even if the letter is, doesn’t occur to anyone. There is a rush to litigation, and the press gets involved. Directing any surplus from the bequest to other charities isn’t considered.

The novel’s resolution is largely a playing out of the “I told you so” warnings about meddling with the affairs of our betters – the legal suit is withdrawn, Mr Harding retires to a less contentious position, and the Warden’s post is left unfilled. The hospital declines and as the old patients die their places are also left vacant.

Trollope is the marmite of Victorian writers – he divides opinion between ardent fans and the rest. I struggled to care much about the fairly mild challenges faced by the characters in this novel. They seemed thinly drawn portraits acting as a vehicle for Trollope’s deeply conservative viewpoint. Interfering with the financial arrangements of the Church, even when done with innocent or well meaning intentions, leads to disaster for those with the most to lose. Whenever I find it difficult to see the value in a classic novel, which this undoubtedly is, I always work extra hard to try and work out what I am missing. Is there a gentle comedy here that doesn’t translate well to the 21st century Are the character portraits more subtle and nuanced than I have noticed? Are the satirical comments more biting and hard hitting than I give them credit for? Is Trollope’s language worthy of comment?

So far – none of the above. I am drawing a blank. I do wonder if reading the whole series might give a better perspective on ‘The Warden’, and allow me to see it more as an introduction to this world. This novel was the first of Trollope’s commercially successful  works, and formed the starting point of the very well received ‘Barchestershire Chronicles’. But surely life is too short to spend it reading novels that one feels alienated by?