The Warden

The first of Trollope's popular Barsetshire novels, set in the fictional cathedral town of Barchester,The Wardencenters on the honorable cleric Septimus Harding, one of Trollope's most memorable characters. When Harding is accused of mismanaging church funds, his predicament lays bare the complexities of the Victorian world and of nineteenth-century provincial life. And, as Louis Auchincloss observes in his Introduction, "The theme ofThe Wardenpresents the kind of social problem that always fascinated Trollope: the inevitable clash of ancient privilege with modern social awareness."

<b>Louis Auchincloss</b> has written more than fifty books, including <i>The Rector of Justin</i> and, most recently, <i>Manhattan Monologues</i>. He lives in New York City.