Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope

Second in the series of novels set in the fictional cathedral town of Barchester, the reader is treated to a hilarious, if unseemly, competition for domination of the diocese! The contenders in Barchester Towers are Mrs. Proudie the wife of the mild, sadly henpecked bishop and Mr. Slope his slimy and devious chaplain. When the beloved former bishop suddenly dies, a complete outsider is brought in to take his place. Instead of the bishop's son, Archdeacon Grantly, whom the entire parish was expecting, a more low-church minister, Bishop Proudie is given the post. The battle lines are immediately drawn between the High Church in the form of the Grantlys and the Low Church represented by the Proudie faction but there is mutiny within the ranks. Bishop Proudie's chaplain is not about to allow his territory to be invaded by a scheming bully, Mrs. Olivia Proudie. The various devices and stratagems concocted by these unholy people of God form the plot of this amusing satire. Published in 1