The Last Chronicle of Barset

View other editions of The Last Chronicle of Barset.
View books by Anthony Trollope.

A worthy end to a great series - Rated
The sixth and last novel in the chronicles of Barsetshire is to my mind perhaps one of the best in the entire series, and one of the very best Victorian novels I've ever read. The main storyline centers on the impoverished curate Josiah Crawley: when he uses a cheque to pay a butcher's bill and that cheque is found to have been recently stolen from Lord Lufton, Crawley is unable to explain how it came in his possession. Crawley is sentenced to appear before the next assizes, and soon the whole of Barsetshire is divided between those who think him guilty (amongst others the immortal Mrs. Proudie), and those who believe him to be innocent.

Mixed with this are two love-stories. First of all there's the romance between Major Grantly (2nd son of Archdeacon Grantly) and Crawley's daughter Grace. They truly love each other, but the Archdeacon is horrified, and Grace herself too is unwilling to think much of love as long as her father is suspected of theft. And secondly there is the continuing story (continued from the 5th novel in the series, 'The Small House At Allington') of the romance between Lily Dale and John Eames, if romance is what one can call it: he eagerly continues to woo her and hopes to marry her, she as stubbornly continues to refuse him.

Although 'The Last Chronicle of Barset' is by far the longest book in the series, I wished it could have been longer still. Trollope never bores, in the simplest of terms he paints an utterly realistic picture of the increasing anguish of Josiah Crawley as it seems more and more likely that he is in fact guilty of theft. Crawley may be poor, but he is also extremely proud and unwilling to accept any kind of help or charity from the many people that wish him well. Trollope must have been a sort of 'natural born psychologist', because I have rarely encountered the ease with which he describes and analyzes the myriads of thoughts and emotions of his characters, and he does so in a very convincing way (there is no need here for a 'willing suspension of disbelief', everything Trollope writes is very 'believable').

I must confess that I got to know Trollope late in life but I am very glad I eventually did, and will beyond a shadow of a doubt re-read the Barsetshire chronicles at some future time, and read the Palliser-novels as well.

A final note perhaps: while reading the Barsetshire chronicles I kept ample notes of all family ties and relations between the main characters and have summarized those in powerpoint-slides (one per novel). If anyone's interested just e-mail me and I will mail them to you as soon as possible.

Some of his finest work - Rated
I am a huge Trollope fan and although I don't claim to have read them all, have read enough of them to justify my opinion of this as one of his best books.

Sometimes amusing, sometimes desperately moving, this book stands alone and must surely be one of the only works of the era to tackle clinical depression (as we would call it today) with reality, sympathy and pathos, but without sentimentality. Mr Crawley is maddeningly obstinate, gloriously courageous and in spite of his eccentric and gloomy character, retains his humanity. I find his mentality entirely credible, in spite of the fact that it is largely alien to modern society. The book is not wanting in lighter touches, but Josiah Crawley towers above the other characters.

the love of old friendships, and the sweetness of old faces - Rated
As time passes, the novels of Anthony Trollope (1815-1882) seem to gain in freshness, stature and influence. He lived long enough to see his modest reputation fade, in contrast to that of many of his famous novelist contemporaries. Nowadays the situation seems to be reversing.

Of special merit, amongst his huge output, are the so-called Barsetshire ("clerical") novels, and the so-called Palliser ("political") novels. Of the former, the last and longest is "The Last Chronicle of Barset". Not only are there fresh concerns, complications and current affairs introduced here, but there are also fond and final appearances of people and places encountered in the earlier Barsetshire novels. Everybody's favourite literary virago, Mrs Proudie, is again denouncing and dominating everybody. Trollope even contrives to create a character who has the temerity to say to her, "Peace, Woman!"

There are the innumerable characters of marriageable age, whose names are perhaps more memorable than their characters, whose charming dialogues and relationship problems are deftly laid out and interwoven. Above all, there is master story-teller Anthony Trollope, admitting finally that for him Barset has been a real place, a place where he as been induced to wander too long by his "love of old friendships, and by the sweetness of old faces".

Superb TV and radio adaptations of Trollope's Barsetshire novels have appeared in recent years. His novels read aloud well, too, and audio cassette readings, some of them unabridged, can provide endless hours of rich listening pleasure.

Most interesting Trollope Characters - Rated
Reading the Barsetshire novels in sequence, one finds it hard to believe that the man who created the insipid and pollyannaish Lily Dale also created the tortured Rev Josiah Crawley. Trollope's outstanding depth of insight into the human soul comes out in full force throughout the book, and the plot's not bad either. Absolute must for anyone who thinks Trollope is all about ladies and gentleman having tea in drawing rooms and hunting. OK, there are some ladies and gentlemen having tea etc but so much more than that. Just a shame some of his other books don't come up to this standard.