The Warden was the first of the Barchester novels which made Trollope’s reputation and for many readers it is first favourite too. Its hero, the Reverend Septimus Harding, is that rarest thing in fiction - a man who is selfless and sympathetic, a saint, yet truly alive. The vicissitudes of his career as Warden of the Barchester almshouse make a story, which is enlivened by Trollope’s satire on cathedral-town intrigues and his robust dislike for the crusading spirit of his great contemporary, Dickens.
