Barchester Towers

Whatever happened to La Signiora Neroni?

Barchester Towers is one of the best books I've ever read. It is the best known novel in the Chronicles of Barset series. I am particularly overwhelmed by two female characters: the Bishop's wife and La Signora Neroni. The Bishop's wife is absolutely credible but La Signora Neroni is as rare as gold on Mars. (We need more strong women like her!). I was never fed up with the Bishop's wife although I cringed every time she interrupted the Bishop; I am sorry that Trollope, spurred on by an irate reader, has her die of a heart attack in the sixth novel. As far as La Signora Neroni is concerned, I only regret she never shows up in the subsequent novels of the series. A woman that amazing, endowed with the virtue of solertia, would have had so many unmasking replies for some of the men who try to fool others, like Mr. Slope, a real Tartuffe. One of the difficulties for readers is getting into the initial flow of the book. One should read the first chapter attentively, with curiosity about who will be the next bishop. And, although not absolutely necessary, it helps first to read The Warden , a short book in which many of the characters are introduced and the situation is set up for what happens at the outset in Barchester Towers: the delayed, but untimely, death of the old bishop. The other four books in the series have less need of being read in sequence. Those involved in church "politics" will also enjoy Barchester Towers immensely. This will provide a real catharsis for them, rarely found elsewhere.

Posted By carpentermap at Wed 29 Oct 2008, 11:54 PM in Barchester Towers || 5 Replies