Barchester Towers is an 1857 novel by Anthony Trollope. It tells the story of a power struggle among the clergy of fictional Barchester following the death of a popular and long serving bishop.

One of the most engaging things about the book is the friendly, mischievous, sometimes indulgent, sometimes exasperated, voice telling the story. Initially we seem to be in the hands of an omniscient narrator from an age when people readily believed in a higher power directing human affairs. But sometimes this voice comes down to Earth, as we find our author sitting in the pews of Barchester Cathedral along with the other characters in the book.

And, fittingly, this omniscient, yet human, narrator, tells a story about the contradictions of power. We meet a bishop who seems powerful, while actual authority lies with his formidable wife, and a unpleasantly ambitious junior Church official intent on rising through the ranks. Some characters decide not to play the silly game of climbing the greasy pole, only to find themselves unaccountably ascending to senior positions. Others who yearn for power are denied it. And yet I was left wondering what is really achieved or denied, when authority remains such a shifting concept. This was a fascinating exploration, especially in a book from 1857.

I enjoyed Barchester Towers – moving, funny and insightful. Yes, there are occasional long passages of biographical background, which might have been best left in the author’s notes. But this author does not set himself up as perfect, and I could not help forgiving the bits and pieces that maybe could have done with the guiding hand of an editor. Do editors have the real power in the writing world? That might be a good point to end on.