The Warden (Folio Society Edition) – Anthony Trollope

Septimus Harding, the kindly warden of an almshouse, finds his peaceful life shattered when a zealous young reformer, John Bold, publicly questions his comfortable income, which is disproportionate to the poor men he supervises. This moral and legal conflict, fueled by a sensationalist press, pits Harding’s personal integrity against the forces of Victorian-era church reform and social justice. This first novel in the Barchester Chronicles is an insightful, often satirical, look at privilege and duty.