Barchester Towers is the second of Trollope's six Barsetshire novels, following on directly from The Warden, though each novel is complete in itself. The political intrigues of the cathedral close unfold and we are delighted by the dominant Mrs Proudle, wife of the ineffectual Bishop; the scheming Chaplain, Obadiah Slope; and the wordly and ambitious Archdeacon Grantly. We meet again from The Warden, the kindly old Mr Harding, and his daughter, Eleanor, now newly widowed. 

Trollope's comic genius and ironic wit reveal a past world, which is nevertheless recognisable today.