The Last Chronicle Of Barset

London, Smith, Elder and Co., 1867. 2v

Congeries of tales of Barsetshire: of Mr. Soames’s cheque, which Mr. Crawley was accused of stealing; of Major Grantly’s love for Grace Crawley, which so displeased the Archdeacon; of Johnny Eames and his unsuccessful suit for the hand of Lily Dale; of the affairs of the Dobbs Broughtons and Mrs. Van Siever; of the painting of “Jael and Sisera“; and finally the distressful story of how Mrs. Proudie met defeat at the hands of Mr. Crawley and Dr. Tempest, and died, freeing the poor Bishop from his thralldom.

I regard this as the best novel I have written. I was never quite satisfied with the development of the plot, which consisted in the loss of a cheque, of a charge made against a clergyman for stealing it, and of absolute uncertainty on the part of the clergyman himself as to the manner in which the cheque found its way into his hands.... I have never been capable of constructing with complete success the intricacies of a plot that required to be unravelled.