<P>The first novel in Trollope's series 'Chronicles of Barsetshire' <I>The Warden</I> is a compassionate portrait of the gentle thoughtful warden and percent of Barchester Cathedral Mr Septimus Harding. <P>Loved and appreciated by all with whom he works Harding lives an ordered regular life in his protected religious environment. Then a young reformer feels he has uncovered a mismanagement of funds used to support twelve bedesmen in the almshouse Hiram's Hospital and Harding is held to blame. <P>The accusation comes as a shock not only to Harding himself but also to the cathedral community. It then comes to wider notice when the cause is taken up by a national newspaper.<P>Trollope’s insight into character his abundant imagination and his sheer narrative skill are at their peak in The Warden.<P>Public Domain (P)2013 Naxos AudioBooks