Review: Barsetshire Chronicles (no spoilers)

[@charmainesaliba5546]

Hi Kelly! Fantastic review of all series. You made me want to read the series. It would be great to do it as a year reading goal. Happy reading 💛

[@booksimnotreading]

Thanks Charmaine! Happy reading to you! 💛

[@mame-musing]

For me, the most fun one to read was “Barchester Towers”. It was especially so when I found out Alan Rickman played the odious schemer Rev. Obediah Slope (I had looked up the old TV series “Barchester Chronicles”). I envisioned Rickman as I read the book. “Doctor Thorne” has the most satisfying romantic plot line among the 6 novels. Also, it has a great plot twist (yay, Trollope saves the day). It’s the novel in which the forthright and unabashed American heiress, Miss Dunstable is introduced. Also, Dr. Thorne is one of the early novels where Trollope chooses inheritance as such a strong plot device. Inheritance is a major theme in many of his stories. I agree, I think this one can easily be read as a stand alone and there aren’t any significant clerical plot elements. I think in “Last Chronicle of Barset” I think Trollope teased his readers a bit too much about the anticipated fate of two major characters he brought back into play. And I also got teary eyed at the fate of one of the kindest characters in Victorian literature. For anyone reading “The Warden” I would recommend an Oxford World Classic edition because it has great explanatory notes about Church of England and relative social events in the mid 1800’s. I hope you enjoy which ever Trollope novel you choose to read next. (“Can You Forgive Her?” , the first of the Palliser series is very good.)

[@booksimnotreading]

Miss Dunstable might be my favorite character in the whole series. She's so fantastic! You might be right about The Last Chronicle of Barset pulling our chain a bit. I read a bit extra before I read the final book, so I already knew about that outcome. Again, I think it took a lot of guts for Trollope to leave things where he did.

[@StephaniePatterson-jb5it]

I found this on KZbin with Spanish subtitles.

[@booksimnotreading]

@@StephaniePatterson-jb5it Wild! KZbin seems a bit glitchy today. Mainly glad you found it though!

[@kathleencraine7335]

Yes! I second your recommendation of the Oxford World's Classics edition of "The Warden" (edited by Nicholas Shrimpton). It has an extra Appendix called "Trollope's Barsetshire Novels and the Church." It gives definitions of Low Church, Broad Church & High Church, and also defines the various positions (bishop, dean, archdeacon, clergyman, perpetual curate, etc.), and he provides examples from the books. It is SO worth it to get this edition for this Appendix and explanatory notes. It also includes Trollope's short story "The Two Heroines of Plumplington", written just before he died in 1882 and set in Barsetshire 30 years after The Warden.

[@HannahsBooks]

I really need to get myself together and read this series finally! I loved The Warden, and I've loved the other Trollopes I've read, but somehow I just haven't moved on. Thanks for your encouragement to get started!

[@booksimnotreading]

Hannah, if you loved The Warden, I promise there are some wonderful books in store for you! Thank you so much for watching and commenting!

[@BooklessPete]

Wow! I will get to these someday! At least I have them!

[@booksimnotreading]

I can’t wait to hear what you think of them when you do. Promise you will tell me! 💛

[@BooklessPete]

I promise! ​@@booksimnotreading

[@willchambers8065]

I think I'm going to make a concerted effort to make it through this next year. My own journey was Framley Parsonage 1st, and then about two years until the Warden.

[@booksimnotreading]

Yes, Will, you should read these books! Please! You can tell me all about it! 💛

[@lorrainetaylor9852]

I loved the way you reviewed these amazing books together and understand not wanting to rank them. I listened to all of them on audio ( Timothy West nails it) but am now starting a physical reread. My favourites are Framley Parsonage and the Last Chronicle which also made me cry - for his ability to help you really care for and understand flawed characters. But without the humour and satire in all the books I wouldn’t have enjoyed the series as much. Great review.

[@booksimnotreading]

Thank you so much for your great comment! I’d be curious to hear if your feelings change at all when you physically reread them. Let me know! 💛

[@doreenmohr668]

You convinced me - I’m going to start my 1st Trollope soon!😏

[@blane1814]

Me too

[@booksimnotreading]

That's awesome!

[@booksimnotreading]

That's great! I can't wait to hear what you think!

[@nathanfoung2347]

God's nightgown! Well done you, that's commitment to a series that I don't have in me. But I do have them on my Kindle in case I have the urge to tackle them at some point. 🇬🇧 go well Kelly.

[@booksimnotreading]

You should, Nathan! It’s a wonderful series! And I think you would especially love Barchester Towers. So funny! Glad to know you have them and could start them any time the mood strikes you! Be well, friend. 💛

[@Novaturient_Liv]

Ahh- I am working through The Small House at Allington now. I have loved this series, and it's been fun to catch up on your videos as I read through them. I hope I like Lily Dale as much as everyone else does, as I feel rather "basic" with Doctor Thorne being my favorite thus far. I cannot wait to see what Victorian/ other literature you pick up next and your thoughts!

[@booksimnotreading]

A lot of people LOVE Doctor Thorne, as do I. But The Small House at Allington is extra special. Happy reading! 💛

[@AaronReadABook]

I read The Warden in 2020 too, I pretty much did the exact same thing as you as I had a year off too and it did make it hard to remember some of the returning characters to me, and reading the last two quite close together made a big difference as I was so happy to see some of my favourite characters again. I think The last and first books were overall my least favourites, and Barchester Towers and Doctor Thorne were my favourites, but really I loved them all. I've really enjoyed watching your videos on them over the years, and how you kinda know how to say Barsetshire now 😂 Have you watched any of the TV adaptations? The Tom Hollander Doctor Thorne is the only one I've seen all the way through.

[@booksimnotreading]

Aaron, you were part of inspiring me to try Trollope! I remember before you had a channel, you said you wanted videos of people going through vintage Trollope books! LOL! I have not watched any of the adaptations, and I don't think I'm going to. For once, these characters will just live in my head. With some other books (i.e. Mansfield Park), I literally had to make a video about the differences between the book and the film adaptation so I can actually go back, watch my own video and remember! So silly! But this series was really, really special.

[@AaronReadABook]

@@booksimnotreading I have never tried one of the Mansfield Park adaptations because I love it, and I hear they are bad. That said, I have seen a few episodes of The Barchester Chronicles and the casting is great, young Alan Rickman as Slope! But I get your point :)

[@kathleencraine7335]

I watched the entire adaptation and loved it. I think it just covers The Warden and Barchester Towers. Alan Rickman is fantastic.

[@kathleencraine7335]

Fantastic review of the series, Kelly; this is an excellent approach to these books. You made some great points: like not waiting a long time between reading the books, esp. between The Warden & Barchester Towers. I agree that Barchester Towers is the funniest, that Dr Thorne is the best to read as a stand-alone, and that The Last Chronicle of Barset has the most emotional punch, particularly when you have read them all in order. I read them in print from Sep 2011 to Jun 2012, and re-read them last year on audio (even more moving on audio) read by Simon Vance (aka Robert Whitfield), who is a fantastic reader. I understand Timothy West is a great reader, too, so for anyone interested in audio, there are 2 excellent narrations waiting for you!

[@booksimnotreading]

Thanks so much Kathleen! I appreciate your comment and providing people who might want to listen to them on audiobook some good narrators! 💛

[@josmith5992]

Gush away Kelly! I think I read this series in a year or just over and like you, can recommend that for remembering who characters, who are how they relate etc. I know which ones in the series aren’t my favorite as opposed to which is my favorite, I think only a reread of the series will help me decide…maybe.😉Great job giving just enough details to pique people’s interests but not spoiling the books and yes, never read the back!

[@booksimnotreading]

You played a big part in inspiring me to read Trollope! I'm so glad I read this series. And yes, never read the back of books, especially classics!

[@katiejlumsden]

So, so glad you loved the series 😊 Isn’t The Small House at Allington just wonderful?

[@booksimnotreading]

Yes, it’s a very special book! 💛

[@apollonia6656]

Love Trollop. Jane Austen; Gaskell; Trollope; Dickrns; Wilkie Collins.. .. What can go wrong in reading any of the above ? Wrong ? No, but goodness me.....re-read ? Yes. I love the Victorian era (obviously some late Regency) and the mAjor writer for me are the ones I mentioned above. Kind regards from GB.

[@apollonia6656]

Love the Barchester Chronicles. Weird, but I started with the Warden as a taster and got hooked.I Regards from GB.

[@booksimnotreading]

That’s great! Thank you so much for sharing with me! 💛🇬🇧

[@janetdeja2098]

The Small House at Allington, Doctor Thorne, The Warden top my list of favorites but I loved aspects of the other three. The ending was both satisfying and perplexing - I don't want to spoil by being specific. I am agonizing about starting the Pallisers. If I start I will have to complete it which is such a multiple year commitment.

[@booksimnotreading]

Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I read three Trollope's this year, so I'm not going to decide what Trollope to read next until 2025. Happy reading!

[@betsymaher9489]

Hi Kelly. Great video! I have The Warden and am really looking forward to reading the series. I have about 100 books piled up to read though and I'm a slow reader, mostly because I like to read aloud some of the time - weird but true. I've bought so many books since I started watching book tube and I had so many before I did that. I keep hearing about other books though and have been getting them from the library, like North and South which I'm reading right now, and end up reading those books in between the ones I have lined up. I do want to get to this series though. Thanks so much for your review and for the warning about not reading the backs of the books. Happy Sunday!

[@booksimnotreading]

Hello Betsy! So glad to hear you have The Warden. At least then when you are ready to start, the first book will be handy! I'm a slow reader too, no shame in that. And Booktube is definitely a place to discover some wonderful books. Happy reading!

[@betsymaher9489]

@@booksimnotreading 💘

[@apollonia6656]

@beyseymsner, I, too, have a TBR list that is nearly 100 books for this year but I doubt that I shall get through more than half of these. I am a voracious reader and make plans that I cannot keep 😥 Right now I have three books on !y coffee table to finish: Madame Binary ( been there for a month now),; Silas Marner; Doctor Pascal. I think I slowed down after reading Les Miserable and The Hunchback of Notre Dame in Feb/April.....it took a lot out of me for some reason. Went through that experience a few years back when I decided to read all the books by Nostovesky......loved them , but had a couple of months rest afterwards. Anyway ,The Barchester Towers is a great choice for a set piece because (a bit like Gaskell) the characters can be funny and interesting at the same time. Sorry about UT typos 🙄 All the Best from GB and Happy reading.

[@betsymaher9489]

@@apollonia6656 Thanks Kelly. I was "telling" Gina (Stanyer) since I started watching book tube videos this past year, everytime I hear about a book that sounds good, I have to run out and try to get it from the library or wherever. When I get them from the library I have to move them ahead of everything else. I just got into Volume II of North and South and the book has picked up for me now. Gina mentioned Piranesi by Susannah Clarke in a video I watched last night so I ran out to get that from the library today. It sounds like that will be a quick one though. I have really gone crazy for books. I'm sort of retired (wish you were) but I really should be working on real estate things, which I don't enjoy, and I keep putting books ahead of almost all the things I should be doing. It is very enriching for my life though. Sorry this is so long.

[@Montie-Adkins]

Uploaded Friday, Free Comic Book Day and Star Wars Day yesterday, and Kelly video today! That's a good weekend.

[@booksimnotreading]

Oh, I'm so glad that you are brave enough to enjoy all those things! Not sure how many people who read comic books enjoy my content, but who knows? :)

[@Montie-Adkins]

@@booksimnotreading Well even if we don't have reading content in common so much, your happy, sunshine delivery makes me watch.

[@booksimnotreading]

@@Montie-Adkins Thank you!

[@AlbertTheConjugator]

✌️😃 Well, you won me over. I'll have to give this a try 😊

[@booksimnotreading]

Yeah! 💛

[@Thecatladybooknook_PennyD]

Yay!! I started Dr Thorne!! I'm so excited to get to the rest! The Warden out of the first 2 is my fav. I love his relationship with Eleanor!! And even into Barchester Towers.

[@booksimnotreading]

His relationship with his daughters carries on into some of the later books!

[@LaurieInTexas]

Very nice overview of the series. I read the first two in 2021 and then waited almost 2 years to read Doctor Thorne. The long wait didn't matter that much for DT, but then when I read Framley Parsonage this year, I felt that the 2-1/2 years since reading Barchester Towers was too long to remember some of the characters well. I hope to read the last two this year, and your comments are really urging me to do so. I will encourage you to read The Way We Live Now since it sounds like you have not. It is really good but also very long. I will say that in the two audiobooks I listened to, the Proudie's name is pronounced Proud-ee which I feel is probably accurate based on their prideful nature. I haven't seen the TV show, so I am curious how it pronounced in that.

[@booksimnotreading]

I have heard their last name pronounced both ways, so … either way. I would encourage you to read the last two books this year. I felt the last three were so connected to each other. Plus, they are great! 😃 Thank you so much for the recommendation. I’d like to read a stand alone novel of his before I read another series. 💛