Barchester Towers.

TROLLOPE, Anthony.

$9,800.00

Item Number: 98876

London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts, 1857.

Rare first editions, first issue of one of Trollope’s most important novels. Octavo, original cloth, blind stamped boards. Half-title present in Volume I, brick-red endpapers with advertisements. Sadleir 5. Bookplates of Oliver Brett on front free endpapers and of Duff Cooper on versos. In near fine condition. Each volume is housed in a three quarter calf clamshell box. Uncommon set in the original cloth of one of Trollope’s most important novels.

Barchester Towers is the second novel in Trollope's series known as the "Chronicles of Barsetshire". Among other things it satirises the antipathy in the Church of England between High Church and Evangelical adherents. Trollope began writing this book in 1855. He wrote constantly and made himself a writing-desk so he could continue writing while travelling by train. "Pray know that when a man begins writing a book he never gives over", he wrote in a letter during this period. "The evil with which he is beset is as inveterate as drinking – as exciting as gambling." In his autobiography, Trollope observed "In the writing of Barchester Towers I took great delight. The bishop and Mrs. Proudie were very real to me, as were also the troubles of the archdeacon and the loves of Mr. Slope". When he submitted his finished work, his publisher, William Longman, initially turned it down, finding much of it to be full of "vulgarity and exaggeration." Recent critics offer a more sanguine opinion, "Barchester Towers is many readers' favorite Trollope", wrote The Guardian, which included it in its list of "1000 novels everyone must read."