8 h 10 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 8 h 10 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the law protects your comfortable life, but your conscience will not let you enjoy it?
In Anthony Trollope’s The Warden, Septimus Harding wants peace. A gentle clergyman and cellist, he lives comfortably on the income of Hiram’s Hospital, an almshouse in the cathedral town of Barchester. Then John Bold, a young surgeon eager for reform, questions how the charity’s money is used. Harding must face a painful doubt: is he entitled to what he receives?
Archdeacon Grantly urges his father-in-law to defend his rights. Harding’s daughter Eleanor loves her father but is drawn to Bold, the man challenging him. As a London newspaper turns the dispute into a public quarrel, private loyalties come under pressure. Trollope brings gentle humor to a conflict with no simple villain, where good intentions offer little protection against hurt.
What you’ll discover
- A conscience under pressure Follow a gentle man as legal rights and inward doubts pull him apart.
- Reform with a human cost Meet John Bold, whose honest campaign puts people he cares about under strain.
- Loyalty pulled two ways See Eleanor balance love for her father with her feelings for his challenger.
- The force of public opinion Watch a newspaper carry a local dispute far beyond the quiet cathedral close.
- Humor without easy villains Enjoy Trollope’s teasing eye for church defenders, reformers, and people certain they are right.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this book if you like gentle comedy, warm characters, church and village politics, and quiet moral questions. It suits readers who love stories where one decent person stands against the crowd.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Comfort rests on an old will
- Reform comes with personal ties
- A quiet question unsettles Harding
- Promises turn the men against Harding
- Legal protection leaves conscience unanswered
- Public judgment deepens a private doubt
- Ending the case cannot settle honesty
- Humour gives conscience a human voice
- Honesty matters more than being safe
Who’s who
- Septimus HardingThe mild, musical warden of Hiram's Hospital, who loves his cello and his daughter and wants only to be sure he is honest.
- Eleanor HardingHis younger daughter, loyal and brave, who loves John Bold and will do anything to spare her father pain.
- John BoldA young surgeon and reformer who takes up the old men's cause and is torn between duty and love.
- Dr Theophilus GrantlyThe archdeacon, Harding's forceful son-in-law, who defends church revenues and expects everyone to follow him.
- BunceThe senior bedesman, faithful to the warden, who sees clearly what a lawsuit will cost the old men.
- Abel HandyA bitter old stonemason who leads the bedesmen demanding a hundred pounds a year each.
- The Bishop of BarchesterHarding's gentle old friend, who hates quarrels and can offer only affection and the archdeacon's advice.
- Tom TowersA writer for The Jupiter who holds enormous hidden power and refuses to be influenced by anyone.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
The Warden in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Warden
by Anthony Trollope · 1855
A gentle churchman who plays an invisible cello faces a reformer, an archdeacon and a newspaper.
Medium level2–5 hours to read2 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What would you do if a newspaper called you a thief, and you could not be sure it was wrong? That is the question facing Septimus Harding, a gentle clergyman in the cathedral town of Barchester.
The Warden at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 40 min3 h 40 min fast, 5 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 66,500 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1855by Anthony Trollope
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A Comfortable Post Built on an Old Will
The story opens in Barchester, a quiet cathedral town in the west of England. Septimus Harding is precentor of the cathedral, the man in charge of its music. He is a small, mild man in black who plays the cello every day for anyone who will listen.
His good fortune rests on a will made in 1434. John Hiram, a wool merchant, left a house and some meadows to support twelve old wool-carders, with a warden to look after them. Over the centuries the meadows are covered with houses and their rents climb. The twelve old men receive a modest daily allowance, while the warden receives eight hundred pounds a year and a pretty house.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1855
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 5 h 15 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Trollope, Anthony. The Warden. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-warden.
Trollope, A. (2026). The warden. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-warden (Original work published 1855)
Trollope, Anthony. The Warden. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-warden.
@book{trollope2026warden,
author = {Trollope, Anthony},
title = {The Warden},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-warden},
note = {First published 1855}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Warden
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Warden by Anthony Trollope about?
It follows Septimus Harding, a kindly clergyman who runs an almshouse for twelve old men. When a young reformer questions his large income from an old will, Harding must decide what his conscience asks of him.
Who is who in The Warden?
Mr Harding is the warden. Eleanor is his daughter, John Bold the reformer who loves her, and Archdeacon Grantly is Harding's forceful son-in-law. Bunce is a loyal old pensioner, and Tom Towers writes for The Jupiter.
Is The Warden based on a true story?
The people are invented, but the issue is real. The novel appeared in 1855 amid public debate over church charities such as St Cross and Rochester, and reflects that controversy, though Barchester itself is imaginary.
The author
Anthony Trollope
1815–1882 · English Victorian novelist
Anthony Trollope (1815–1882) was an English novelist. He was born in London, lived in Ireland for many years, and later returned to England. He worked for the Post Office while writing novels. His books include The Warden (1855), Barchester Towers (1857), and Doctor Thorne (1858). He died in London.
More by Anthony Trollope
See all their booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
