Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope; Chronicles of Barsetshire, Book 2; Unabridged MP3 Audio Book; Narrator Simon Vance

This magnificent novel is a satirical comedy about the fight for ascendancy among the clergy in a cathedral city. The formidable Mrs. Proudie, the oily Mr. Slope, and the flamboyant Signora Neroni are among the memorable characters vying to be the dominant voice in the quiet diocese of Barchester.

Anthony Trollope (1815–1882) is most famous for his portrait of the professional and landed classes of Victorian England, especially in his Palliser and Barsetshire novels. Brought up amidst debt and deprivation, Trollope inherited a writing ambition from his mother, and famously disciplined himself to wake up every morning at 5:30 a.m. and write 250 words every quarter of an hour. While carving out a successful career at the post office, he got his first novel published in 1847 and eventually achieved fame and fortune with forty-seven novels and some sixteen other books. His Autobiography is a fascinating look at his life and his own character, as well as other famous literary figures and politics of the times.

Simon Vance, a former BBC Radio presenter and newsreader, is a full-time actor who has appeared on both stage and television. He has recorded over four hundred audiobooks and has earned over twenty Earphones Awards from AudioFile magazine, including one for his narration of Theft by Peter Carey. A twelve-time Audie finalist, Simon has won three Audie Awards, including one for Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, and the 2008 Booklist Voice of Choice Award. He has also been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009.